Frankie Laine, 93, a big voice
Frankie Laine, 93, the singer with the booming voice who hit it big with such songs as "That Lucky Old Sun," "Mule Train," "Cool Water," "I Believe," "Granada" and "Moonlight Gambler," died yesterday at Mercy Hospital in San Diego.
Frankie Laine, 93, the singer with the booming voice who hit it big with such songs as "That Lucky Old Sun," "Mule Train," "Cool Water," "I Believe," "Granada" and "Moonlight Gambler," died yesterday at Mercy Hospital in San Diego.
Mr. Laine entered the hospital over the weekend for hip-replacement surgery but suffered complications from the operation, said his friend A.C. Lyles, the longtime producer at Paramount Pictures who announced Mr. Laine's death.
In all, he sold well more than 100 million records and was hugely popular not only in the United States but also in Britain and Australia. Even after his popularity crested after the rise of rock, Mr. Laine was heard for many years singing the theme to the TV series Rawhide.
Mr. Laine started out in jazz but was sidetracked by arranger Mitch Miller, who fashioned him into the pop artist he is best remembered as. Miller produced most of Mr. Laine's hits in the 1940s and '50s, including "Mule Train" and "That Lucky Old Sun."
Francesco Paolo LoVecchio was born March 30, 1913, the eldest of eight children of Sicilian immigrants who settled in Chicago. His father was a barber whose customers included Al Capone; his maternal grandfather was the victim of a mob hit. Mr. Laine said he came from a "big and poor but happy" family.
At 18, with the Depression under way and his father out of work, Mr. Laine hit the road as a dance marathoner.
In the mid-'30s, he got an audition at WINS radio, and a $5-a-week job singing on a live half-hour show. It was the program director at WINS who changed Mr. Laine's name from Frank LoVecchio to Frankie Lane. (Mr. Laine added the "i" to avoid confusion with another singer.)
"Desire" was the song that proved the breakthrough for Mr. Laine, although it took almost a year. First it hit the so-called "Harlem" pop charts, which recorded sales to black record buyers.
Mr. Laine was married to Nan Grey, a 1930s film star, who died in 1993. Survivors include his second wife, Marcia; a brother; and two daughters.