Frankie Laine Passes

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LOS ANGELES, Feb. 6, 2007

Frankie Laine, the big-voiced singer whose string of hits made him one of the most popular entertainers of the 1950s, died Tuesday. He was 93.

Laine died of heart failure at Mercy Hospital in San Diego, Jimmy Marino, Laine's producer of more than a dozen years, told The Associated Press.

"He was one of the greatest singers around," Marino said. "He was one of the last Italian crooners type."

With songs such as "That's My Desire," "Mule Train," "Jezebel," "I Believe" and "That Lucky Old Sun," Laine was a regular feature of the Top Ten in the years just before rock 'n' roll ushered in a new era of popular music.

Somewhat younger listeners may remember him best for singing the theme to the television show "Rawhide," which ran from 1959 to 1966, and the theme for the 1974 movie "Blazing Saddles."

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