Stupid Cupid

"Stupid Cupid" is a song written by Howard Greenfield and Neil Sedaka which became a hit for Connie Francis in 1958.

In the spring of 1958 Francis had hit #4 with her breakout hit, a rock ballad version of the standard "Who's Sorry Now?". The similarly-styled follow-up"I'm Sorry I Made You Cry" had barely reached the Top 40 and Francis recalls: "I knew I had to come up with a hit on the third record. It was crucial. I listened to every publisher's song in New York, but nothing was hitting me."^[1] Eventually Don Kirshner of Aldon Music had Greenfield and Sedaka, who were staff writers for Aldon, visit Francis at her home to pitch their songs; after listening to a number of ballads—which both Francis and her visitor Bobby Darin felt were too sophisticated to appeal to the teen market—Francis asked if the songwriters had "something a little more lively" and Greenfield asked Sedaka to play "Stupid Cupid", an uptempo number intended for the Shepherd Sisters. Sedaka objected that Francis, a "classy lady", would be insulted to be pitched such a puerile song; but Greenfield dismissed Sedaka's objection, saying, "What have we got to lose, she hates everything we wrote, doesn't she? Play it already!" After hearing only a few lines Francis recalls: "I started jumping up and down and I said, 'That's it! You guys got my next record!'"^[2]

Francis cut "Stupid Cupid" on 18 June 1958 at Metropolitan Studio (NYC); LeRoy Holmes conducted the orchestra while Morty Kraft produced the session. Noteworthy in the recording is the uncredited bass guitar work; a complex and energetic riff that has survived the decades and has proven to be one of early rock and roll's best recorded bass guitar sessions. A version of "Carolina Moon" recorded at Metropolitan Studio that 9 June with Kraft producing and Joe Lipman conducting was utilized as the B-side. "Stupid Cupid" provided a reasonably strong comeback vehicle for Francis reaching the Top 15 that August with a Billboard Hot 100 peak of #14. Francis would have to wait until 1959 to make her return to the Top 10 via "My Happiness".

In the UK Francis had made more chart impact than in the US with both "Who's Sorry Now?" (#1) and "I'm Sorry I Made You Cry" (#11); this trend continued with "Stupid Cupid" which—as a double sided hit with "Carolina Moon"—spent six weeks at #1 UK matching the success of "Who's Sorry Now". Francis would remain a potent UK chart force for the next four years with fifteen Top Twenty singles—eight of them Top Ten—but she would never again reach #1 UK despite topping the US charts three times in the early 60s.

Other versions

Maureen Evans made her first known recording with a cover of "Stupid Cupid"/ "Carolina Moon" cut for the Embassy label which produced soundalike versions of current hits for Woolworths to sell at lower price than the original hit. Queen included "Stupid Cupid" in the rock 'n' roll medleys in their live shows during the 1970s.

"Stupid Cupid" has also been recorded by its writer Neil Sedaka, by Wanda Jackson, by Jo Wyatt (of Minipops) whose 1982 version reached #1 in France^[3] and #45 in the Netherlands, and by Mandy Moore for The Princess Diaries soundtrack. A Portuguese rendering: "Estúpido Cupido", was recorded in 1959 by Brazilian singer Celly Campelo. Arja Koriseva featured a Finnish rendering of "Stupid Cupid": "Tuttu tuttu", on her 1990 self titled debut album. A German-language version, "Sexie Hexy", was recorded by Danny Mann for Polydor in 1960.

In 2003 Jordan McCoy sang this song in the American Idol's American Juniors.

References