Frankie Laine
Frankie Laine (born Francesco Paolo LoVecchio; March 30, 1913 – February 6, 2007) was an American singer and songwriter whose career spanned nearly 75 years, from his first concerts in 1930 with a marathon dance company to his final performance of "That's My Desire" in 2005. Often billed as "America's Number One Song Stylist", his other nicknames include "Mr. Rhythm", "Old Leather Lungs", and "Mr. Steel Tonsils". His hits included "That's My Desire", "That Lucky Old Sun", "Mule Train", "Jezebel", "High Noon", "I Believe", "Hey Joe!", "The Kid's Last Fight", "Cool Water", "Rawhide", and "You Gave Me a Mountain". He sang well-known theme songs for many Western film soundtracks, including 3:10 To Yuma, Gunfight at the O.K. Corral, and Blazing Saddles, although his recordings were not charted as a country & western. Laine sang an eclectic variety of song styles and genres, stretching from big band crooning to pop, western-themed songs, gospel, rock, folk, jazz, and blues. He did not sing the soundtrack song for High Noon, which was sung by Tex Ritter, but his own version (with somewhat altered lyrics, omitting the name of the antagonist, Frank Miller) was the one that became a bigger hit. He also did not sing the theme to another show he is commonly associated with—Champion the Wonder Horse (sung by Mike Stewart)—but released his own, subsequently more popular, version. Laine's enduring popularity was illustrated in June 2011 when a TV-advertised compilation called Hits reached No. 16 on the UK Albums Chart. The accomplishment was achieved nearly 60 years after his debut on the UK chart, 64 years after his first major U.S. hit and four years after his death. |
Birth and Death Data: Born Chicago, Died February 6, 2007 (San Diego)
Date Range of DAHR Recordings: 1947
Roles Represented in DAHR: songwriter
= Recordings are available for online listening.
= Recordings were issued from this master. No recordings issued from other masters.
Recordings
| Company | Matrix No. | Size | First Recording Date | Title | Primary Performer | Description | Role | Audio |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Victor | D7VB-1369 | 10-in. | 10/7/1947 | Put yourself in my place, baby | Charles Dant Orchestra ; Betty Jane Rhodes | Female vocal solo, with jazz/dance band | songwriter | |
| Exclusive | EXC-1034 | 10-in. | 12/31/1948 | It ain't gonna be like that | Charles Brown ; Johnny Moore ; Oscar Moore ; Three Blazers (Johnny Moore) ; Eddie Williams | songwriter |
Citation
Discography of American Historical Recordings, s.v. "Laine, Frankie," accessed December 24, 2025, http://adp.library.ucsb.edu/names/360297.
Laine, Frankie. (2025). In Discography of American Historical Recordings. Retrieved December 24, 2025, from http://adp.library.ucsb.edu/names/360297.
"Laine, Frankie." Discography of American Historical Recordings. UC Santa Barbara Library, 2025. Web. 24 December 2025.
DAHR Persistent Identifier
External Sources
Wikipedia: Frankie Laine
Discogs: Frankie Laine
Allmusic: Frankie Laine
Grove: Frankie Laine
IMDb: Frankie Laine
Britannica: Frankie Laine
Linked Open Data Sources
LCNAR: Laine, Frankie, 1913-2007 - http://id.loc.gov/authorities/names/n84145390
Wikidata: Frankie Laine - http://www.wikidata.org/entity/Q342774
VIAF: http://viaf.org/viaf/4001149296278180670005
MusicBrainz: Frankie Laine - https://musicbrainz.org/artist/bb56bf3b-053d-470a-945e-fb6943c03214
Fast: http://id.worldcat.org/fast/1463465 - http://id.worldcat.org/fast/1463465
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