Frankie Laine (born Francesco Paolo LoVecchio; March 30, 1913 – February 6, 2007) was an American singer, songwriter, and actor whose career spanned 75 years, from his first concerts in 1930 with a marathon dance company to his final performance of "That's My Desire" in 2005. He sang well-known theme songs for many movie Western soundtracks, including 3:10 To Yuma, Gunfight at the O.K. Corral, and Blazing Saddles, although he was not a country & western singer. 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.
Links To Peel
Frankie Laine was described by Peel in Peeling Back The Years as his first big hero and in Margrave Of The Marshes, he mentioned his experience in seeing him perform at the Liverpool Empire in 1954:
"Mother had taken me to see him at the Liverpool Empire, and where I had been expecting a faintly ruffianly figure in appropriately ruffianly clothing, I got a slightly plump chap in a shot-silk suit who must have been nearing thirty. Frankie still sounded good though and I dutifully waited outside the stage door for his autograph, which I didn't get."
Peel nominated Frankie Laine's The Kid's Last Fight as his favourite song of the artist in Peeling Back The Years and nominated it as one of his all-time favourites in a feature he wrote for Let It Rock magazine in 1974. He also included Answer Me for his Peelenium 1953 and nominated several of his songs for the Pig's Big 78. After his death, Peel was discovered to have three of Frankie Laine's records in his Record Collection.
Peelenium
- Peelenium 1953: Answer Me
Shows Played
- Peeling Back The Years: The Kid's Last Fight
- 1988
- 27 April 1988: Blowing Wild (The Ballad Of Black Gold)
- 1993
- 17 July 1993: High Noon / The Rock Of Gibraltar
- 1999
- 23 September 1999: Answer Me Peelenium 1953
- 29 August 2000: 'Rain Rain Rain' (10" LP) Philips (starts record at the wrong speed and snaps Oh come on, Frankie, don't mess me about!)
- 19 October 2000: The Gandy Dancers' Ball (LP - Command Performance) Columbia (Pig's Big 78)
- 2001
- 04 September 2001: Jezebel (Pig's Big 78)
- 2003
- 05 February 2003: Rain Rain Rain
- 12 February 2003: Sugarbush (10") Columbia (Pig's Big 78)
- February 2003 (FSK): Rain Rain Rain