Connie - Connie (1986), No Tears (1995), The Best Of Connie (2002) & Party Time 1 (2015) QUADRUPLE POST!!!!

So, I guess I have left you guys waiting for a new post for a very long time.  It has been an extremely difficult year, as you can imagine, and I thank you all for your words of sympathy and support. I am in a better state of mind, rest assured. Recently I was thinking about Connie's rare album No Tears for some reason and wanted to hear it again.  After an extensive search in my messy collection, I located it and, after realizing how good it was, I felt that I needed to share it.  My partner Mark was very supportive of my blogs (and loved Connie), and with that in mind, I thought I'd come back with a quadruple post to make up for lost time. :) I originally fell in love with Connie in 1986 after hearing her song "Experience" on the radio.  This was when freestyle music was beginning to explode, and I was addicted! I managed to track the single down, and on the other side was "Funky Little Beat", which would become her biggest hit. After that, however, I never heard anything more from Connie. She had a lower profile that some of her contemporaries, and it wasn't until I found her self-titled album many years later that I could indulge in more of her fab music. Born Consuelo Piriz on July 30, 1964, in Miami, Florida, Connie dreamed of performing as a child, and in her early 20s was introduced to music producer Henry Stone. Stone was the co-owner and president of R&B and disco label TK Records, and he executive produced Connie’s debut single “Funky Little Beat”, which became an instant club hit and almost hit the Billboard Dance top 40.  Amos Larkins II produced the self-titled album that followed, and the singles "Experience“, “I Can’t Stop”, and “Rock Me” followed, though not to the same level of success.  They were instant classics in freestyle clubs, however.  While touring, Connie managed to record three more singles - a remake of KC & The Sunshine Band's "Get Down Tonight" in 1987 (included here on her first album), and "Tonight's The Night" in 1988 and "Rockin, Rollin Weekend" in 1989, both produced by Amos Larkins II. After touring for several years, Connie got married and decided to focus on family. It wasn't until 1995 that she would release her next album, No Tears, along with the same-titled single, on obscure label Black Olive, this time with different producers. Though the sound was still very much freestyle and Connie, both the single and album failed to have any impact, as freestyle was past its prime. Nothing was heard from Connie for 7 more years, when Thump Records released The Best Of Connie in 2002. Produced once again by Amos Larkins II, it wasn't a true "Best Of" since it contained remakes of four past songs, as well as remixes of "Funky Little Beat", three new tracks, and remakes of Trinere's freestyle hits "How Can We Be Wrong" and "All Night", and Debbie Deb's "When I Hear Music" and "Look Out Weekend" (also originally produced by Amos Larkins II). While mostly a freestyle album, the three new tracks were decidedly euro-house. By then freestyle was no longer in vogue, except for in retro clubs. Luckily, the internet would soon change that, and the demand for retro music grew rapidly as the internet did.  As with several other artists featured on this site, the demand for Connie grew as well. In 2006 she recorded the Latin reggaeton album Let's Party (Estilo Reggaeton) (no, I do not have it as I am not a fan of reggaeton, sorry!) and also released The Best Of Connie - Funky Little Beat (which is basically just a remastered version of her first album). After this, Connie toured in retro freestyle shows with other legends.  Finally, in 2015, she released another album, Party Time 1, again working with Amos Larkins II and returning to the freestyle sound that she was known and loved for.  Clearly Connie is on a roll once again, touring extensively, and we can only hope she releases new music again soon.

Video for Funky Little Beat

Download Connie

1 Experience
2 Your Eyes
3 I Can't Stop
4 Fire In My Heart
5 Funky Little Beat
6 Laughter In The Rain
7 I'm In Love With You
8 Rock Me
9 Get Down Tonight

Download No Tears

1 No Tears
2 Dream On
3 Together Forever
4 La La (Means I Love You)
5 I Like It (Street Mix)
6 Round And Round
7 I'll Be Comin' Back
8 Burning Desire
9 I Like It
10 No Tears (Hip House Mix)

Download The Best Of Connie

1 The Power Of Love
2 Spinning
3 Feel The Beat
4 Funky Little Beat
5 How Can We Be Wrong
6 Rock Me
7 Experience
8 All Night
9 When I Hear Music
10 Your Eyes
11 Look Out Weekend
12 Funky Little Beat 2.0 (Club Mix)
13 Funky Little Beat 2.0 (Radio Mix)

Download Party Time 1

1 Call 911
2 Get Up
3 Don't Want You To Go
4 The Night Is Still Young
5 Must Be The Beat
6 No One
7 Rock This Party
8 Romance
9 Don't Be Jealous
10 A Boy And A Girl