Connie is a Dutch singer associated with freestyle, electronic music and 1980s disco. She is based in South Florida and begins performing after a friend introduces her to producer Henry Stone, the co-owner and president of TK Records. Stone becomes the executive producer of her debut single, Funky Little Beat, which appears in 1985 and brings her to an international audience.

Early releases and debut album

In 1986, Connie releases Experience on Sunnyview Records. That single, together with Funky Little Beat, Your Eyes, I Can’t Stop, Fire In My Heart, Laughter In The Rain, I’m In Love With You and Rock Me, forms her self-titled debut album, CONNIE. Her early recordings establish her as part of the classic freestyle era.

Touring and later albums

Over the following six years, Connie tours internationally and performs with Kool & The Gang, Evelyn Champagne King, Morris Day, Exposé and Lisa Lisa. In the early 1990s, she steps back from music to marry. Before her daughter is born in 1996, she records a second full-length album, No Tears, which appears on Black Olive Records.

Compilations and continued recording

Thump Records issues The Best of Connie in 2002. The compilation includes three versions of Funky Little Beat, along with her original recordings of Rock Me, Experience and Your Eyes, plus newly recorded covers of Look Out Weekend, How Can We Be Wrong and When I Hear Music. In 2006, she releases Let’s Party with Black House Productions, an English-Spanish crossover project with reggaeton, cumbia, merengue and R&B influences. That same year, an MP3 compilation titled The Best of (Funky Little Beat) appears with digitally remastered tracks.

Legacy

Funky Little Beat remains one of the defining recordings of the freestyle era, and Rock Me later reaches a wider younger audience after being used in a Nike commercial filmed at the Berrics. Connie continues to perform in public and private concerts in the United States and abroad.