Moonlight Gambler

In 1953, Laine's stirring rendition of "I Believe" topped the British charts and stayed number one for eighteen weeks, an unbeaten performance that even the Beatles never matched. His renown continued to grow as he went to England for a record-breaking engagement at the London Palladium.

Laine's magical appeal, however, far transcends mere nostalgia. His recording of "You Gave Me a Mountain," a song written especially for Laine by his good friend, Marty Robbins, went gold in the early 1970's a time by which many of his contemporaries had long since quieted down. Laine continues to record exciting new material while maintaining a healthy respect for the songs, like "Mule Train," "That Lucky Old Sun," "I Believe," and "Jezebel," which all his longtime admirers know by heart. Many of these tunes were collected into an album entitled:" The World of Frankie Laine," that toped the charts in England in 1982. Since then, this album has been issued in 43 different countries. Recently, a crowd of 50,000 came to see and to cheer Frankie Laine. Not too shabby for a humble Sicilian kid, born to immigrant parents in Chicago's Little Italy on March 30, 1913.

His hit records were followed by starring roles in several motion pictures, guest appearance on numerous major radio and television shows, and his own television variety program on CBS. Laine became the first and most successful of the singers to be identified with title songs.

He has performed the title songs for seven motion pictures, including Mel Brooks Western farce, "Blazing Saddles." Laine's featured recording of "Rawhide" has become one of the most popular theme songs of all time.

On June 12, 1996, Laine was presented with a Lifetime Achievement Award at the 27th Annual Songwriter's Hall of Fame awards at a ceremony at the New York Sheraton.