Frankie Laine Promotes His Latest LP and Singles

In early 1951 Columbia Records was able to wrest the dynamic singer Frankie Laine away from Mercury. This was mainly because Columbia had recruited Laine's producer, the prodigious hitmaker Mitch Miller. The bigger label's marketing prowess also might have been a factor.

In only a few months, Frankie and Mitch were churning out hits ("Jezebel," et al) and also a 10-inch LP that didn't include Laine's singles of the time, and that had him singing if not subtly at least at a lower volume than his single releases generally displayed.

To plug both the LP and singles, Columbia had the vocalist and producer tape a two-sided promotional record that is the subject of today's post - which is a companion to a post on the main blog about Frankie's One for My Baby LP.  For the two programs below, I've added appropriate songs from Laine's Columbia output as a DJ might have done some 70 years ago.

A Frankie Laine - Mitch Miller Program

The first side of the promo record contains the voice tracks for a 15-minute show with Laine and Miller introducing three songs from the singer's new Columbia album - "Tomorrow Mountain," "To Be Worthy of You" and "One for My Baby."

As those things generally were, the scripted banter is stiff, but it does reveal that Frankie relied on Mitch to help select the songs and that they tried to make the material diverse. At that they succeeded, with only the title tune and "When It's Sleepy Time Down South" being standards.

Beyond that, Frankie gives kudos to bandleader Paul Weston and pianist Carl Fischer - and their work is predictably polished and professional throughout the album.

The download includes the three songs from the LP along with their intros.

Frankie Laine and Mitch Miller

Greetings from Frankie Laine

The second side of the promotional single has Frankie delivering four record introductions, two "singing salutes" and one spot offering an autographed photo.

These spots were designed to be used whenever the DJ had an appropriate record - presumably Laine's - ready to air. They are generic - no specific cut is mentioned, although one does make reference to Christmas.

I've turned the spots into a second program lasting about 17 minutes by sequencing the salutes and intros with Laine's singles of the time. The result demonstrates the diverse materials he was recording - both the blockbusters like "Jezebel" and the delightful duets with Jo Stafford.

For some reason, Columbia had Frankie begin all his intros in the same way - "Hiya DAD! This is Frankie Laine." Hiya DAD" must have been a Laine catchphrase - Mitch refers to him as Dad in the program above. Even so, it's annoying.

The "singing salutes" that begin and end the program both include a snatch of Laine's theme song, his  first big hit, "That's My Desire."

Cash Box, April 21, 1951

Now for the song selections.

"Jezebel" was a huge hit for Laine right off the bat, as well as the first success for songwriter Wayne Shanklin, who later was to pen "Chanson d'Amour" and "The Big Hurt." This was Frankie at his most unbridled, and the public wanted more.

In response, Laine, Miller and Columbia came out with "Jealousy," a similar tale of temperament, using Jacob Gade's 1925 tango melody and a 1930 set of lyrics by Vera Bloom.

Billboard, November 3, 1951

The two duets with Jo Stafford provide a welcome contrast. One is the light-hearted and deftly sung "In the Cool, Cool, Cool of the Evening" - the Johnny Mercer-Hoagy Carmichael tune introduced by Bing and Jane Wyman in Here Comes the Groom. Frankie and Jo sing somewhat different lyrics than Bing and Jane. It's not clear where this special material came from, but it is a welcome addition to one of my favorite songs of the era.

The second duet is "Christmas Roses," an enjoyable uptempo song done beautifully by the pair. It was from the team of Hy Zaret, Joan Whitney and Alex Kramer, who earlier wrote the wonderful "It All Comes Back to Me Now." Unlike the rest of the songs in this set, this was a 1952 release.

The final number is "Snow in Lover's Lane," an obscure song by Al De Vita, Jerry Ball, Fred Kelly and Jerry Kanner. I believe Frankie may have introduced it - his face is on the sheet music, at least.

It makes for an entertaining program - "Hiya DAD" aside - in vivid sound. All tracks were refurbished from originals found on Internet Archive.