Did You Know? 5 Frankie Laine Facts

by Lara on April 26th, 2008

Okay, first things first, you might recognize Frankie Laine’s voice best if you have ever seen or remember “Rawhide”. Yes, that’s Frankie Lane. “RawwwwHIIIIIIIDE!”

He was born Francesco Paolo LoVecchio (Chicago, March 30, 1913 – San Diego, February 6, 2007), and was a successful American musician, singer and songwriter.
His career spanned over 75 years.
He sang well-known theme songs of notable movie soundtracks such as (the original) 3:10 To Yuma, The Hanging Tree, Gunfight at the OK Corral, and “Blazing Saddles”, although he was not a Country & Western singer.
Often called the first of the blue-eyed soul singers, Laine’s style cleared the way for many artists who arose in the late 40s and early 50s, including Kay Starr, Tony Bennett, Johnnie Ray and Elvis Presley (who was initially described by critics as “a cross between Johnnie Ray and Frankie Laine”). Weird that I just called him a bad Elvis impersonator, eh?
Along with opening the door for many R&B performers, Laine played a significant role in the civil rights movements of the 1950s and ’60s. When Nat King Cole’s television show was unable to get a sponsor, Laine crossed the color line, becoming the first white artist to appear as a guest (foregoing his usual salary of $10,000.00 as Cole’s show only paid scale).