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".
Ned Washington was an American lyricist born in Scranton, Pennsylvania.
"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.
"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.
"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."
"On the Sunny Side of the Street" is a 1930 song composed by Jimmy McHugh with lyrics by Dorothy Fields. Some authors say that Fats Waller was the composer, but he sold the rights to the song. It was introduced in the Broadway musical Lew Leslie's International Revue starring Harry Richman and Gertrude Lawrence.
"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.
"Too Marvelous for Words" is a popular song written in 1937. Johnny Mercer wrote the lyrics for music composed by Richard Whiting. It was introduced by Wini Shaw and Ross Alexander in the 1937 Warner Brothers film Ready, Willing and Able, as well as used for a production number in a musical revue on Broadway. The song has become a pop and jazz standard and has been recorded by many artists.
"I'll Get By " is a popular song with music by Fred E. Ahlert and lyrics by Roy Turk. The song was published in 1928. Versions by Nick Lucas, Aileen Stanley and, most successfully, Ruth Etting, all charted in America in 1929.
Frankie Laine was Frankie Laine's first Mercury Records 12" long-play album, recorded in 1949 and originally planned for release in 1950. However, it came out sooner in 1949, and they were able to include the Frankie Laine hit, "Cry of the Wild Goose."
"A Woman in Love" is a popular song. It was written by Frank Loesser and published in 1955. It was introduced in Samuel Goldwyn's 1955 cinematic adaptation of the Broadway musical Guys and Dolls, for which Loesser contributed three new songs – including "A Woman in Love" – which had not been in the original stage production. In the film, it was sung as a duet between Marlon Brando and Jean Simmons. The cover version by Frankie Laine reached number 1 in the UK Singles Chart in 1956.
"Basin Street Blues" is a song often performed by Dixieland jazz bands, written by Spencer Williams in 1928 and recorded that year by Louis Armstrong. The verse with the lyric "Won't you come along with me / To the Mississippi..." was later added by Glenn Miller and Jack Teagarden.
"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".
The Easy Riders were an American folk music band, that operated from 1956 to 1959, consisting of Terry Gilkyson, Richard Dehr, and Frank Miller. Their career was guided by Mitch Miller, who had them under contract for Columbia Records.
"Rockin' Chair is a 1929 popular song with lyrics and music composed by Hoagy Carmichael. Musically it is unconventional, as after the B section when most popular songs return to A, this song has an A-B-C-A1 structure. Carmichael recorded the song in 1929, 1930, and 1956. Mildred Bailey made it famous by using it as her theme song. Like other 1920s standards, "Rockin' Chair" relied on the stereotypes of minstrelsy, citing "Aunt Harriet" from the anti-Uncle Tom song "Aunt Harriet Becha Stowe" (1853).
"Laura " is a song co-written and recorded by American country music singer Leon Ashley. Recorded in 1967 and released on his own Ashley Records label, the song was his only No. 1 single that September. Frankie Laine and Brook Benton took cover versions to the pop and Adult Contemporary charts that year, while Claude King, Marty Robbins and Kenny Rogers charted their own versions on the country charts.
"Cow Cow Boogie (Cuma-Ti-Yi-Yi-Ay)" is a "country-boogie"-style blues song, with music was written by Don Raye, and lyrics were written by Benny Carter and Gene De Paul. The song was written for the 1942 Abbott & Costello film Ride 'Em Cowboy, which included Ella Fitzgerald as a cast member.
"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.
