I was reading about Frankie Laine today and didn’t realise that he was very politically active especially in the civil rights movement. In a time of segregation Laine crossed the color line when Nat King Cole’s television show was unable to get a sponsor, becoming the first white artist to appear as a guest, foregoing any salary. Many other top white singers then followed suit, including Tony Bennett and Rosemary Clooney.

In the following decade, Frankie Laine joined several African American artists who gave a free concert for Martin Luther King’s supporters during their Selma to Montgomery marches on Washington, D.C.

I have admiration for anyone who stands up and to be counted for something they believe is right, as it’s easy for the rich and famous to throw money at things. The race issue at the time in America meant Laine’s actions are even more worthy.