Frankie Laine: Mostlly forgotten, down here on Earth

Frankie Laine: Mostly forgotten, down here on Earth

Frankie Laine, let’s hope they remember him up yonder, because only a hand full of folks remember him down here, perhaps hard core Frankie Laine groupies (from the 40s and 50s). Every time I hear of a movie star, or General, or record recording singer or writer dying, the media of course picks up on it as they should, and the ones that love him tell the world, what they think, and they think he will live on forever in the eyes of the world. Not sure where they got that idea but that is not even reality.
“He (Frankie Lain) will forever be remembered,” someone said (he died at 93—today, Tuesday). I asked my wife who is 12-years younger than I, if she ever remembered Frankie (I can call him Frankie because I remember him, I’m 59-years old, and he was going out when Elvis was coming in, and that was long ago). Anyhow, my wife said, “No, who was he?”
My mother, who now has passed on, some three years ago (at age 83), would have remembered him quite well I suppose, not sure if she enjoyed his music (not everyone enjoys every singer out there, and there are a lot out of them out there), but perhaps, Americans (I didn’t care for his music all that much to be honest), anyhow, old Americans will remember him, and I’m an American. He was just before the hamburger culture and rock and roll culture came into the spot light. Of course Frankie, was not a rock and roll person, he was perhaps a little rhythm and blues, with a touch of Nat King Cole, if I remember right, a few spicy songs to boot.
“No,” I’m afraid not, he will be lost in the shuffle of some aging encyclopedia, (American most likely) historical pages, with a little burp (a few lines perhaps, maybe), that says something like this: ‘He was a person from 40s and 50s who was a popular singer in the United States; and then, like most singers 99.9% of t hem, faded out.’ But of course, the main thing is, let’s all hope he anyway, he will be remembered up yonder, where it counts, where I hope I will be remembered myself. But let’s say he had his day, under the sun: Frankie Laine. Here is a poem (Haiku) for him:

Haiku for: Frankie Laine?

Who was Frankie Laine?
Let us simply say, he had his day
Under the sun…!

#1684 2-7-2007