Frankie Laine was an American singer, songwriter, and actor 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".
"Because" is a song with music and lyrics by Guy d'Hardelot and English lyrics by Edward Teschemacher, originally published in 1902.
"Answer Me" is a popular song, originally titled "Mütterlein", with German lyrics by Gerhard Winkler and Fred Rauch. "Mütterlein" was published on 19 April 1952. English lyrics were written by Carl Sigman, and the song was published as "Answer Me" in New York on October 13, 1953. Contemporary recordings of the English lyric by Frankie Laine and David Whitfield both topped the UK Singles Chart in 1953.
"Wheel of Fortune" is a popular song written by Bennie Benjamin and George David Weiss and published in 1951. It is best remembered in the 1952 hit version by Kay Starr.
"Blues in the Night" is a popular blues song which has become a pop standard and is generally considered to be part of the Great American Songbook. The music was written by Harold Arlen, the lyrics by Johnny Mercer, for a 1941 film begun with the working title Hot Nocturne, but finally released as Blues in the Night. The song is sung in the film by William Gillespie.
"Confess" is a popular song written by Bennie Benjamin and George David Weiss.
"I Believe" is a popular song written by Ervin Drake, Irvin Graham, Jimmy Shirl and Al Stillman in 1953. The most popular version was recorded by Italian-American singer Frankie Laine, and spent eighteen weeks at No. 1 on the UK Singles Chart.
"Love Me or Leave Me" is a popular song written in 1928 by Walter Donaldson with lyrics by Gus Kahn. The song was introduced in the Broadway musical comedy Whoopee!, which opened in December 1928. Ruth Etting's performance of the song was so popular that she was also given the song to sing in the play Simple Simon, which opened in February 1930.
"Side by Side" is a popular song by Harry M. Woods written in 1927, and is now considered a standard.
"Jezebel" is a 1951 popular song written by American songwriter Wayne Shanklin. It was recorded by Frankie Laine with the Norman Luboff Choir and Mitch Miller and his orchestra on April 4, 1951 and released by Columbia Records as catalog number 39367. The record reached number 2 on the Billboard chart and was a million seller. The B-side, "Rose, Rose, I Love You", was a hit too and reached number 3.
"Rose, Rose, I Love You" is a 1940 Mandarin popular song composed by Chen Gexin and first recorded by Yao Lee. An English-language version whose lyrics have little in common with the original Mandarin was first recorded by Frankie Laine in 1951. The song was brought back to England by broadcaster Wilfrid Thomas in 1951 after doing commentary on the war in Malaya. When he played it on his BBC program he received a barrage of requests for a repeat and he played it again in several more programs. The song is also known under the titles "Shanghai Rose" and "China Rose."
"Mule Train" is a popular song written by Johnny Lange, Hy Heath, Ramblin' Tommy Scott and Fred Glickman. It is a cowboy song, with the singer filling the role of an Old West wagon driver, spurring on his team of mules pulling a delivery wagon. As he goes about his work, the driver mentions the various mail-order goods he is delivering to far-flung customers. "Mule Train" was originally recorded by Ellis "Buz" Butler Jr. in 1947. Butler was the original writer of the song along with Fred Glickman. The original recording was released by Buz Butler on Decca Records.
"Nevertheless I'm in Love with You" is a popular song written by Harry Ruby with lyrics by Bert Kalmar, first published in 1931. The song was a hit for Jack Denny in 1931, and was revisited in 1950 by The Mills Brothers, Paul Weston, Ray Anthony, Ralph Flanagan, Frankie Laine and Frank Sinatra, with perhaps the most compelling version being that of the McGuire Sisters.
"Sometimes I'm Happy" is a popular song. The music was written by Vincent Youmans, the lyrics by Irving Caesar. The song was originally published in 1923 under the title "Come On And Pet Me," with lyrics by Oscar Hammerstein II and William Cary Duncan.
"I Get Along Without You Very Well" is a popular song composed by Hoagy Carmichael in 1939, with lyrics based on a poem written by Jane Brown Thompson, and the main melodic theme on the Fantaisie-Impromptu in C sharp minor, Op 66, by Frédéric Chopin. Thompson's identity as the author of the poem was for many years unknown; she died the night before the song was introduced on radio by Dick Powell.
"Hey Joe!" is a 1953 popular song written by Boudleaux Bryant. It was recorded by Carl Smith for Columbia Records on 19 May 1953 and spent eight weeks at No. 1 on the US country music chart, marking Bryant's first no. 1 record. He later wrote songs with his wife Felice for The Everly Brothers. The song was first published in New York on July 17, 1953 as "Hey, Joe".
"More Than You Know" is a popular song, composed by Vincent Youmans with lyrics by Billy Rose and Edward Eliscu. The song was published in 1929.
"That's My Desire" is a 1931 popular song with music by Helmy Kresa and lyrics by Carroll Loveday.
"Cool Water" is a song written in 1936 by Bob Nolan. It is about a parched man and his mule traveling a wasteland tormented by mirages. Members of the Western Writers of America chose it as No. 3 on the Top 100 Western songs of all time.
"Don't Make My Baby Blue" is a song by Frankie Laine, released as a single in March 1963. It peaked at number 51 on Billboard Hot 100. It was later covered by the Shadows, who had a hit with it in the UK.
