- Born
- Birth nameAnnette Kleinbard
- Singer/songwriter Carol Connors was born as Annette Kleinbard on November 13, 1941 in New Brunswick, New Jersey. Carol began her singing career while still in high school. She was the lead singer of the pop vocal trio The Teddy Bears, who had a number one hit song in 1958 with the lovely pop ballad "To Know Him is to Love Him". Phil Spector specifically wrote the song to showcase Connors' voice. Carol holds the distinction of being the only woman to co-write a hit hot-rod song; she penned "Hey Little Cobra" for The Rip Chords. Connors also co-wrote the sole yuletide hot-rod song "Santa's Got a Cobra" for The Rip Chords. Carol's favorite song that she's written is "With You I'm Born Again", a 1980 hit duet with Billy Preston and Syreeta Wright. Among the songs Connors recorded throughout the 60s are "Go Go G.T.O" (a delightful duet with her sister Cheryl), "Yum Yum Yamaha" and "A Swingin' Summer". Carol is perhaps best known for co-writing "Gonna Fly Now", the rousing Oscar-nominated theme for the hit movie Rocky (1976). Other films Connors has made soundtrack contributions to are Butterfly (1981), Fade to Black (1980), The Earthling (1980), Mr. Goodbar (1977), The Rescuers (1977) and Orca (1977). Moreover, Carol co-wrote the themes for the TV shows Lifestyles of the Rich and Famous (1984) and Star Search (1983). Connors has performed the national anthem at numerous prestigious events throughout the years. In addition, Carol Connors has been involved in many charities: she's not only a board member of both the Connie Stevens CES Foundation and the Friars Charitable Foundation, but also has been a celebrity ambassador for Childhelp USA since 2001.- IMDb Mini Biography By: Florence
- Wrote the theme for the Dolphin Research Center.
- Owns two Abyssinian cats named Music and *Nlyrics.
- Received the Orchid Award from the Asthma Allergy Foundation of America in 1999.
- Received the "Woman of Action" honor from the Israeli Cancer Research Fund in 2003.
- Received the "Woman of Excitement" Award from the Southeast Symphony in 2004.
- When I wrote "Hey Little Cobra", Jan Berry, Brian Wilson and Roger Christian were all standing there and they went, "We knew it was written by a girl". No girl had ever written a hit hotrod song. And I said, "Why?" And they said, "Because you can't take your Cobra out of gear and let it coast to the line".
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