[Harp-L] Subject: Re: Frankie Laine Dies at age 93

[EGS1217@xxxxxxx]

Another article from BluesWax Ezine and something I haven't seen  anyone else 
mention so far...is the recent passing of Frankie Laine  (2/6/07)...who to me 
was "the" first male voice I fell in love with as a  kid.  High Noon, Mule 
Train, Rawhide...I still love those  songs:
 
"Blues Notes:
 
Pop Phenomenon Frankie Laine Passes: 
Frankie Laine, a pop singer of the 1940s and â50s, died on  February 6 in San 
Diego, California. He was 93. He was born LoVecchio, the  oldest of eight 
children of an Italian immigrant barber in Chicago who had  cut Al Caponeâs hair. 
 
Laine had over 70 chart hits and is said to have sold 100 million  records, 
but the interesting thing was that he was a belter. Singing in  night clubs 
from the early 1930s, working day jobs and taking part in  dance marathons to 
make ends meet, he told the Saturday Evening  Post in 1954 that he had been 
inspired by Louis Armstrong, and  tried to use his voice like a horn, rather than 
imitating Bing  Crosby or Frank Sinatra. His first big hit, on Chicagoâs new  
Mercury label, was âThatâs My Desire,â a slow sensual ballad to which  Laine 
brought considerable intensity.  
Mercury had begun as an R&B label, and was one of the first labels  to 
promote new records by taking them to disc jockeys in towns where the  artist was 
appearing. Nobody knew how to use radio to sell records like  producer Mitch 
Miller. Though he had begun as a Jazz singer,  Laineâs first hit was followed by 
faux-Folk stuff like âMule Train,â  complete with whip-cracking sounds, and â
My Heart Goes Where The Wild  Goose Goes,â written by Terry Gilkyson, father 
of todayâs  singer-songwriter Eliza Gilkyson.  
Laine followed Miller from Mercury to Columbia, where he was assigned  
novelties, duets with Doris Day and Jo Stafford, and Hank  Williams covers. Miller 
said that he liked Laineâs âblue collarâ  voice. Although he was not exactly a 
matinee idol, Laine was so popular  that he starred in several musical films. 
 
Laine had the hit recording of the theme from High Noon in 1952,  though it 
was Tex Ritter in the soundtrack. After that Laine was  heard in the 
soundtracks of Western movies like Gunfight at the O.K.  Corral and 3:10 to Yuma. On TV 
he was the host of variety shows  and sang the theme song on Rawhide, which 
starred young Clint  Eastwood. Laine reprised this part of his career in the 
soundtrack of the  Mel Brooks comedy Blazing Saddles in 1974.  
Laineâs death marks the end of a long-ago era in popular music, when  the 
vast majority of Pop records sold were purchased on impulse and music  became a 
throwaway commodity. As far as anybody knows, Mitch Miller is  still alive, 
though he must be older than dirt."  
Elizabeth