Reflecting With a new year upon us, many of us find ourselves pondering our lives. As I reflected on my life, I was reminded of the 1947 Mercury recording by Frankie Laine called “But Beautiful.” I adore the opening lyrics: Love is funny, or it’s sad; or it’s quiet, or it’s mad; It’s a good […]
A Christmas Recording With the anniversary of the beginning of World War II, I began to ponder a special song Frankie Laine recorded pertaining to another war—the Korean War. That first Christmas in 1950, after the conflict had begun, there was a special concern for the children of the war regions. Frankie recorded “Merry Christmas […]
Mementos November always reminds me of the first time I met Frankie Laine in person on November 20, 1985. This was a magical day for me. In my last two writings, I had described our rather unfortunate Labor Day water misadventure and the subsequent removal of my beloved collection of Frankie Laine items to higher […]
Three Years This post marks the third year I’ve been writing these blogs for Team Frankie Laine. I consider myself both blessed and humbled since having been asked to be part of this fine organization dedicated to our “Legend of Song.” Each month I find myself wondering whether I can think of anything else to […]
Labor Day Woes It’s strange how an unfortunate event can sometimes cause one to ponder the more enjoyable aspects of life. Because of a recent incident, I rediscovered my coveted Frankie Laine collection. Iowa, along with much of the Midwest, received torrential rains during the weekend before and days after Labor Day. My wife, Marlene, […]
This July, we Iowans lost our beloved former governor, Robert Ray. Ray was governor from 1969 to 1983. He was very popular among the people of Iowa. I work at the Iowa State Capitol in Des Moines. Almost 20 years ago, I was fortunate enough to be able to meet and be photographed with this […]
It is no secret that I love the music of Frankie Laine. I also had a wonderful friendship with him. I always surmised that Frankie thought I was kind of special because he seemed always a bit amused by the fact that this young kid idolized him. Whatever his feelings were regarding me, he was […]
As I sit here, I wonder what more I can write about the great Frankie Laine. It seems I have written everything I know about him. I have included snippets from my book, Reaching for a Star, and my own personal recollections about the times I have spent with Frankie. I have detailed my vast […]
1986 The year 1986 was a dreadful year for me. My youngest brother, Scott, was killed in an auto accident in June. Then our mother, Helen, died of cancer in October. Scott was only 25, and Mom was just 50. During this time, I was playing in a band that was working seven nights a […]
“I know that man is capable of great deeds. But if he isn’t capable of great emotion, well, he leaves me cold.” ― Albert Camus, philosopher, author, playwright Writing about Frankie Laine’s singing style, including his emotional conveyance of a song, is nothing new for me. This feeling and intensity that Frankie displayed in every […]