[Harp-L] Re: Frankie Laine Dies at age 93

[BassHarp <bassharp@xxxxxxxxxxxxx>]

I found Elizabeth's post on the recent death of Frankie Laine very
close to my thoughts and feelings for him.

Frankie recorded "That’s My Desire" in 1947, same year as The 
Harmonicats' recording of "Peg O' My Heart."

***
From the 1948 Britannica Yearbook:

The three leading tunes of 1947 were probably "Near You", "That's My 
Desire" and "Peg O' My Heart," and each of them won the attention of
the public through a single phonograph record of comparatively obscure 
origin.

"Near You," which headed radio's Hit Parade six times, made its first 
impression in a band recording conducted by its composer Francis Craig 
whose name, like that of the lyricist Kermit Goell, was about as 
unfamiliar as that of the record-maker, "Bullet" or the publisher, 
"Supreme."

"That’s My Desire," by Carroll Loveday and Helmy Kresna, had been 
obscurely published 16 years before, with the copyright later assigned 
to Mills Music, Inc. A Mercury record by Frankie Laine catapulted it
to a prosperity, which was shared by Laine and the manufacturer.

The real "old-timer" of the top trio, however, was "Peg O' My Heart," 
which was first heard in 1913 when Alfred Bryan's words and Fred 
Fisher’s music capitalized on Hartley Manners' play of the same name.
It was a Vitacoustic record by the Harmonicats (three harmonicas and a 
guitar) that brought back this charmingly unpretentious ballad of the
past. The song was on the Hit Parade for 20 weeks, 10 times at the top.

Top ranking bands were those conducted by Ted Weems, Eddy Howard and 
Francis Craig; smaller combinations such as the Harmonicats, the Three 
Suns and the King Cole Trio were also prominent.

Ref: 1948 Britannica Book Of The Year - A Record of the March of Events 
of 1947 - Published by Encyclopedia Britannica, Inc, pages 509, 510.
***

In March 1997, The New World Harmonica Trio - Ron Kalina - chromatic, 
Michael Burton - chord, and myself - bass, were privileged to play four 
shows with Mr Laine. Booked to play 2 shows at Cal State Northridge 
Performing Arts Center in Northridge, CA on 3/2/97, and at Leisure World 
Clubhouse in Laguna Hills, CA on 3/7/97, with the Benny Holman Orchestra 
backing us, it was pure pleasure for us.

The second pleasure, after first meeting Mr Laine, was our planned 
rehearsal with the orchestra.  The orchestra members were not excited 
about meeting and backing us, and some actually did not show up for the 
initial rehearsal - it was obviously thin, and they were not excited 
about backing a harmonica group!  They were scheduled to play only
our opener, next to closer, and closer - 3 charts in all.  These of 
course would be the same for all four scheduled shows.

However, when Ron started passing out the charts, and explaining what
we expected of them, they suddenly realized that Ron might just know 
what he was talking about!  To see the change come over them was 
exhilarating to us, to say the least.  Came time for the second 
rehearsal, we had the full group, and they were asking why they were
not expected to play for every selection!

Then after Mr Laine witnessed our first show, he was reminded of working 
 with the Harmonicats many years earlier, and was also very friendly to 
us.  Prior to arrival at the second date, 5 days later, I purchased a CD 
copy of his album, "Frankie Laine's Greatest Hits," and he graciously 
autographed it for me.  Just talking and reminiscing with him in our 
dressing rooms backstage was absolute delight for me.

He was just short of 83 at that time - his birthdate was March 30, 1913 
and he celebrated his 84th birthday with a big party in San Diego, CA 
that year.

In October of 2005, at the age of 92, he sang "That's My Desire" on 
stage for the annual PBS show "Moments To Remember" for their fund 
raiser, which was then shown in the Spring of 2006.  He sounded great, 
of course, though he needed a little help to walk forward to the mic.
I recorded his segment directly to DVD.

He was nearly 94 when he died on February 6, 2007.  Rest in peace, Mr Laine.

--
BassHarp
PO Box 5061
Hudson, FL 34674-5061
http://www.bassharp.com/bh_itin.htm