Frankie Laine

Frankie Laine, born Francesco Paolo LoVecchio, was a successful American musician, singer and songwriter whose career spanned 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, Mr Steel Tonsils, and Old Man Jazz. His hits included "That's My Desire", "That Lucky Old Sun", "Mule Train", "Cry of the Wild Goose", "Jezebel", "High Noon", "I Believe", "Hey Joe!", "The Kid's Last Fight", "Cool Water", "Moonlight Gambler", "Love is a Golden Ring", "Rawhide", and "Lord, You Gave Me a Mountain". He sang well-known theme songs of notable movie soundtracks such as 3:10 To Yuma, Gunfight at the O.K. Corral, and Blazing Saddles, although he was not a country & western singer. He was a singer's singer who sang an eclectic number of songs, stretching from big band crooning to pop to western-themed songs to jazz and blues, all bent around his inimitable singing style. He did not sing the soundtrack song for High Noon, which was sung by Tex Ritter, but his own version was released and became a hit.