HOMESTYLES OF THE RICH & GATED

F.B. What do you consider your greatest masterpiece?
C.C. My most extraordinary piece; Walt Disney's ‘Who will Rescue Me’, the symphonic piece in the Rescuers, for which we were nominated for an Oscar. Eddie Madora asked, ‘how does it feel to hear your music with a hundred piece orchestra?’ For the first time in my life I was speechless that what was just a small train of a melody, a thought process was now being played by an entire orchestra as the lead symphonic piece.

My favorite piece is: ‘With You I’m Born Again’, by Billy Preston and Syreeta, ‘Come Bring Me Your Softness’ with David Shire, which was inspired by a great love affair I had. The song took me twenty two minutes to write, be it through God or Spirit it came through me.

People are her greatest inspiration. To be a good song writer you have to be a great listener. Within our hearts there is a well which is surrounded by many buckets, each one with a different emotion from which I draw the theme for a song.

F.B. Your top priority is?
C.C. That people will listen to my music.
F.B. Your pet peeve is?
C.C. Cheap men. I don’t need anything from anyone, but I can’t bear cheap men.
F.B. What do you want to be when you grow up?
She laughs,
C.C. I’m never going to grow up. According to my best friend Barbi, I’m a twelve year old. I mean, look at this house. It has images all over of mermaids and dolphins

Carol Connors may be most currently known for co-writing the theme from Rocky, “Gonna Fly Now”, for which she was nominated for an Academy Award. However, her repertoire reaches far beyond. Her career as a Songwriter, Singer, with songs which still play in our minds and on our lips, Carol is an extraordinary story teller with a warm heart and love of people. She lives with two Abyssinian cats that make an important addition to her family.

Miss Connors' country style house sits tucked away, high up on the hills of Beverly Hills.

As I was welcomed by her with open arms and gift held out, I walk into the lofty spaciousness of her beamed living room, filled with memorabilia, photographs of every recognizable face with loving dedications, awards and the staple in her life a grand piano which stands, embraced by the afternoon light against large glass doors which open to the pool and lush green of her garden. “It’s a Kawai piano. The best piano, in my mind,” She is quick to point out.
My eyes immediately catch the stairway wall leading to the rooms above, adorned with all her awards, gold and platinum records.
It was hard for my eyes not to stray from this doll like icon with her expressive blue eyes and rosebud mouth as she invited me to sit with her in the spacious living room filled with more than the eye could absorb in the short gift a moment with Carol Connors.

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F.B. Your career started with a $10 loan from your parents.

C.C. While I was at Louis Pasteur junior high school, my best friend was dating a young man in high school who would come to see her. Being her best friend I was always with her. I always would be singing and singing. One day he told me he would write a song for my voice, which I immediately doubted. He told me first I would have to give him $10. I screamed and said I didn’t even have ten cents. He told me if I could gather $10 he would cut a record for me. I begged my parents, assuring them we would have the number one record, we’d be rich, I would buy them a mansion and my father could have a race horse. My father responded, he had no interest in another race horse. However he did convince my mother to give me the $10 dollars and we cut an awful song, but my voice came through, with which the gentleman said ‘I’m going to write a song just for your voice, be at the recording studio tomorrow’. Complaining I had to take a bus, which in those days I could hardly afford, I went anyway. We cut the flip side of a horrible song called “Don’t You Worry My Little Pet”. Accompanied by two other boy singers, it was my voice which kept cutting through. With that the gentleman said, ‘I’m going to cut a song just for your voice’. A few days later, following his command and complaining about the price of a bus, I went to the studio to record the song, did it in two takes. The song became the number one record in the world at the time. It is now number 76 of the top five thousand top rock and roll favorite songs. The song is ‘To Know Him Is To Love Him’. It was Phil Spector, the Genius of Rock and Roll who did the Wall of Sound and is now on trial for the alleged murder of Lana Clarkson, who wrote this for my voice.

In fact Miss Connors was the voice of the Teddy Bears, which is how Elvis Presley became Carol’s first boyfriend. Presley wanted to meet the girl who sang ‘To Know Him Is to Love Him’. Presley first question was ‘why did you name the group the Teddy Bears?’ Carol’s giddy response was…’because of you, because of your record ‘……..just want to be your teddy bear..’

F.B. How long have you called this home?
C.C. After the success of Rocky, I was convinced by my business manager, Stanley Eisenberg, I would never have to work again, though I thank God, I have done many things since then, but I needed a house.

After looking and looking, I found this wonderful home. The man who owned it was in textiles. He was renovating the entire place for himself, but the girl he was in love with refused to move into the home of a bachelor who had bedded so many women before him. At that time I was close with the Agong, the King of Malaysia. We arrived at the house with five stretch limos of body guards, my mother and father to see the house. The seller was there. I told him not to be deceive either by the presence of the Agong or the fact that I might have all the money in the world from my successes, which I did, but in my mind I was still the poor little girl. I further told him that if he countered my offer by five cents, I would walk away and never look back’. The house was mine and at my price.

F.B. Your favorite room is?
C.C. The bedroom. I have a large bed but I sleep and compose only on one tiny little corner of it with my two Abyssinian cats, Music and *Nlyrics.
The bedroom is comfortable. It is filled with books and collectables overlooking an expansive view of green hills and blue sky.
I learned years ago that there are certain things that belong to an individual which become our energies. I never sit in the living room, never slept in the upstairs guest room and only once in the one downstairs, because it has my father’s energy. He loved that room while he was alive. But it is the small section of her bed where she is inspired to write a lot of her songs after she takes them off the piano.

Carol Connors calls her house a ‘kind house’ because she claims it has been very kind to her.

The kitchen is another favorite room for Carol. She likes to bake. She recently put together a wonderful new recipe to be featured in a new celebrity cook book. A medley of all the good left over’s mixed with exotic spices which Carol created during 911 and passed on to her neighbors. It was an overnight success and called Auntie Carol’s Comfort Stew.
Miss Connors rarely entertains at home. She prefers to entertain at her favorite Beverly Hills haunts: Spago, 'A Cow Jumped Over the Moon' in Beverly Hills’ Rodeo Collection, Wolfgang’s Steak House. Carol is a chocoholic. Her favorite chocolate place is Madame Chocolat. In her opinion, it is the best chocolate she has ever tasted.

But Carol does not wander too far from Beverly Hills unless it is out of town. She enjoys vacationing in Mexico and the Far East. ‘I’m short and they’re all my size so I don’t have to strain my neck to look up as I speak with them'.

“My Rolls Royce doesn’t like going too far so I don’t drive it too much. In fact, I don’t even roll it down the hill". This pristinely beautiful car stays mostly in the garage. True ownership of the car is possessed by Carol’s two cats, Music and *Nlyrics for whom Carol leaves the windows always open so that they can use it as they please. Carol maintains they love the dark green color of the car providing them with a muted seclusion. The Rolls, so well known around town to all as ‘the green hornet’, Carol explains, ‘they let me park it anywhere, most of the time’.

F.B. Your favorite recreations are?
C.C. Waterskiing and scuba diving. But I have stopped since 'Age' told me to. I skied everywhere from Lake Tahoe to Lake Como and every ocean. I even skied in Viet Nam during the war.

Because of a shoulder injury Carol now sticks to scuba diving with best buddy Barbi Benton. She calls her mermaid buddy. Together they have been all over the world endorsing 'Body Glove Wet Suits'. Diving with Jean-Michel Cousteau in Fiji where they help in a great endeavor to save the great Reefs. They were just honored by www.reefcheck.org.

I asked Carol if she watches television. She is a news junkie. Fox news. She is prepared for any political question. Carol has been a nominee for two Academy Awards. She enjoys watching, in the comfort of her home, those films sent by the Academy for consideration. But of course, her favorite movie still remains Rocky. Calamity Jane is another one of her favorites. She wanted to be Doris Day. She knows every song and note from this film. Carol adds Westside Story to the list. ‘I saw it seventeen times with my sister, Cheryl, as a kid. We would sing every song and go over every line before exchanging parts.

Asked if her busy schedule allows her time for reading, Miss Connors says she has started again since she learned to use the Internet. She took two lessons and caught on immediately. Now she considers herself a computer fanatic. Computer of choice is her Dell P.C.

F.B. Describe your personality.
C.C. I’m definitely Type A. Everything I set out to do, I must do to completion.

Carol Connors is a devotee of 'Clientel Beauty' skin care products. She has graced the cover of its monthly 'Clientele Beauties' in which many of the philosophies she lives by, known to her friends as ‘Carolisms’, are quoted. Carol Connors wants to find the time to write a book around those very philosophies called “If You Can’t Cut the Mustard... Get Off the Hot Dog”.

F.B. How do you want to be remembered?

C.C. Through my music.

Carol Connors quotes a verse from her song, 'Only the music, Only my song'

My life has been my music
I pray it never dies
For if my song has touched someone
For a moment in their lives
Then I’ve been truly blessed
And my life has been worthwhile
I only hope you know I’ve done my best...
Only the music
Only the song
They’ll be there long after I’m gone.
Only the music,
Only my song,
They're my friends,
After all my friends have gone.

For more information on Carol Connors go to www.carolconnors.com

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