Frankie Laine 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".
The Crew Cuts were a Canadian vocal and doowop quartet, that made a number of popular records that charted in the United States and worldwide. They named themselves after the then popular crew cut haircut, one of the first connections made between pop music and hairstyle. They were most famous for their recording of The Chords' hit record, "Sh-Boom".
"Istanbul (Not Constantinople)" is a 1953 novelty song, with lyrics by Jimmy Kennedy and music by Nat Simon. It was written on the 500th anniversary of the fall of Constantinople to the Ottomans. The lyrics humorously refer to the official renaming of the city of Constantinople to Istanbul. The song's original release, performed by The Four Lads, was certified as a gold record. Numerous cover versions have been recorded over the years, most famously a 1990 rock version by They Might Be Giants.
Frankie Carle was an American pianist and bandleader. As a very popular bandleader in the 1940s and 1950s, Carle was nicknamed "The Wizard of the Keyboard". "Sunrise Serenade" was Carle's best-known composition, rising to No. 1 in the US in 1938 and selling more than one million copies.
"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 13 October 1953. Contemporary recordings of the English lyric by Frankie Laine and David Whitfield both topped the UK Singles Chart in 1953.
"In the Cool, Cool, Cool of the Evening" is a popular song with music by Hoagy Carmichael and lyrics by Johnny Mercer. It was originally planned to feature it in a Paramount film written for Betty Hutton that never took off, which was to be called The Mack Sennett Girl. The song was buried in Paramount's files until it was rediscovered and then used in the 1951 film Here Comes the Groom and won the Academy Award for Best Original Song.
"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.
"I Believe" is a popular song written by Ervin Drake, Irvin Abraham, Jack Mendelsohn 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.
"Moments to Remember" is a 1955 popular song about nostalgia recorded by Canadian quartet The Four Lads. The song was originally written by Robert Allen and Al Stillman for Perry Como but was turned down by Como's management.
"Mam'selle" is a bittersweet song about a rendez-vous with a "mam'selle" (mademoiselle) in a small café. The music was written by Edmund Goulding, the lyrics by Mack Gordon.
"The Mocking Bird" is a popular song. It was recorded twice by The Four Lads. The song was written by D. Jordan. The B-side was "I May Hate Myself In The Morning".
"I'll Get By (As Long as I Have You)" is a popular song with music by Fred E. Ahlert and lyrics by Roy Turk that was published in 1928. Versions by Nick Lucas, Aileen Stanley and, most successfully, Ruth Etting, all charted in America in 1929.
"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".
"That's My Desire" is a 1931 popular song with music by Helmy Kresa and lyrics by Carroll Loveday.
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).
George Greeley was an Italian-American pianist, conductor, composer, arranger, recording artist and record producer who is known for his extensive work across the spectrum of the entertainment industry. Starting as an arranger and pianist with several notable big bands in the 1940s, he segued into the Hollywood radio scene, working on several nationally broadcast variety programs. After conducting an Army Air Force Band during World War II, he was hired by Columbia Pictures as a staff pianist and orchestrator. He worked as pianist on several hundred motion pictures, worked with many famous composers orchestrating their soundtrack compositions, and created original compositions of his own in several dozen movies. It was Greeley's hands that performed the piano parts that Tyrone Power mimed in The Eddy Duchin Story. Concurrent with his work at Columbia Pictures, George Greeley also worked at Capitol Records as music director, pianist, and conductor for many artists such as Gordon MacRae, Jane Powell, Jo Stafford, Frankie Laine, and Doris Day. He was hired in the late 1950s by the newly established Warner Brothers Records. George Greeley arranged, orchestrated and performed as primary artist for a series of hit recordings entitled "Popular Piano Concertos." As music tastes changed in the late 1960s, Greeley had already moved into television, composing themes and music for popular TV series like My Favorite Martian,The Ghost and Mrs. Muir,Nanny and the Professor, and Small Wonder. He performed as featured piano soloist and as guest conductor in concert appearances around the world. He died from emphysema at age 89 in Los Angeles, California.
"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. Laine also recorded the song in Spanish, Italian and German.
Frankie Laine and the Four Lads is an album recorded by Frankie Laine together with the group the Four Lads. It was released by Columbia Records sometime in the first half of 1956 when the Four Lads were flying high on the U.S. singles charts.
