Francesco Paolo LoVecchio was born on March 30, 1913 in Chicago.
Influenced by famed tenor Enrico Caruso Frankie Laine began
singing as a teenager but it was not until 1946 that his big break
finally arrived when he was signed to a recording contract
by Mercury Records.

With an unmistakable voice and style, his first gold record, “That’s
My Desire” established Frankie Laine as a star. It was followed by
“Mam’sell,” “Shine,” “On The Sunny Side of the Street,” “That Lucky
Old Sun,” “Mule Train, ”Dream A Little Dream of Me,” “All of Me,”
“Nevertheless,” “The Cry of the Wild Goose” and “Music Maestro Please”
before Frankie followed Mercury’s A&R director,
Mitch Miller to Columbia Records.

In 1951 Frankie Laine continued to top the charts with his very first
Columbia recording, “Jezebel” backed with “Rose, Rose, I Love
You,” followed by “Jealousy,” “High Noon,” “I Believe”,
“Your Cheatin’ Heart,” "Tell Me A Story", "Hey Joe", “Grenada”,
“Moonlight Gambler”, "Love Is A Golden Ring" and after
moving to ABC Records, "You Gave Me A Mountain" in 1969.

In 30 years, Frankie landed a total of 70 times on the Hit Parade
with his Greatest Hits album released in 1957 a perennial
best seller that continues to sell fifty years later.
With more than 20 gold records to his credit, he sold more
than 100 million recordings during his career.

Always exceedingly popular in the UK, he broke attendance records
at the London Palladium in 1952 and gave a Command Performance
for Queen Elizabeth II in 1954.

Frankie Laine performed at three Academy Awards ceremonies.
In 1950 singing best song nominee, “Mule Train,” in 1960 "The
Hanging Tree," and 1975 performing "Blazing Saddles.”

In 1996, he was presented with a Lifetime Achievement Award at the
27th Annual Songwriters’ Hall of Fame awards ceremony at the New
York Sheraton. On his 80th birthday, the United States Congress
declared him to be a national treasure.

Frankie Laine lived in semi-retirement in the Point Loma
area of San Diego, California until his death of heart failure
at 93 years of age on February 6, 2007.

Visit the Frankie Laine website here