Nurmi was born in Turku, Finland, to carpenter Johan Fredrik Nurmi and his wife Matilda Wilhelmiina Laine.

George Vital " Papa Jack " Laine ( September 21, 1873 – June 1, 1966 ) was a pioneering band leader in New Orleans in the years from the Spanish-American War to World War I.

Laine was a drummer, but was more noted for his skills at arranging and booking bands.

Laine retired from the music booking business by 1920, but he was interviewed a number of times, providing first hand accounts of the early days of the development of New Orleans jazz.

* Cleo Laine, a jazz singer and actress, was born in Southall in 1927 and brought up in Clarence Street.

In 1956 Frankie Lymon and The Teenagers appeared on the Frankie Laine show in New York, which was televised nationally, performing their hit " Why Do Fools Fall in Love ?".

Frank Sinatra continued his legendary career, and was joined by Mario Lanza, Perry Como, Dean Martin ( Dino Crocetti ), Tony Bennett ( Benedetto ), Frankie Laine ( Francesco LoVecchio ), Vic Damone ( Vito Farinola ), Don Cornell ( Luigi Varlaro ), Bobby Darin ( Walden Cassotto ), Johnny Desmond ( Giovanni De Simone ), Bobby Rydell ( Ridarelli ), Julius La Rosa, Connie Francis ( Concetta Franconero ), Joanie James ( Giovanna Babbo ), Madonna and a host of others.

Denny Laine quit in late 1966, and a final ' Mark One ' Moodies single, Pinder-Laine's " Life's Not Life ", was scheduled for release in January 1967 ( Decca F 12543 ) c / w " He Can Win ".

While not considered as one of the most virtuosic or creative of the Laine players, he was well regarded for playing a solid lead with a strong lip which allowed him to play long parades without let up or to play several gigs in a row on the same day.

Stanshall was often drunk and / or depressed during production, which took place on The Searchlight, a house boat he bought from Moody Blues and Wings ' Denny Laine and moored between Shepperton and Chertsey on the River Thames.

The lineup consisted of 3 / 4 of Blind Faith ( without Clapton, who was replaced by Denny Laine ), 2 / 3 of Traffic ( Winwood and Chris Wood, minus Jim Capaldi ), plus musicians who interacted with Baker in his early days, including Phil Seamen, Harold McNair, John Blood and Graham Bond.

The album was originally intended as a two-record set, and two songs on the final album (" Get On the Right Thing " and " Little Lamb Dragonfly ") had been recorded during the Ram sessions, prior to the formation of Wings ; Laine added backing vocals to one of these songs, but McCullough was not on either song.

It also included " Let Me Roll It ", which was seen as an affectionate impersonation of John Lennon's vocal style, and " No Words ", the first song released by Wings that was co-written by Laine ( all Wings releases to this time were either Paul and Linda compositions or cover versions ).

Wings reconvened in January 1981 to work on the Cold Cuts album of previously unreleased songs, and Denny Laine continued to participate in the Tug of War recording sessions in Montserrat in February, but on 27 April 1981, Laine announced he was leaving Wings due to McCartney's reluctance to tour in the wake of John Lennon's murder.

Paul McCartney was unquestionably Wings ' leader and star, but Denny Laine, Jimmy McCulloch, Laurence Juber, and Linda McCartney all wrote songs for the group, and Laine, McCulloch, English, and Linda McCartney all performed lead vocals.

Denny Laine's 1977 solo album, Holly Days, was actually a joint effort by Laine with Paul and Linda McCartney, the same trio who – as Wings – had recorded Band on the Run.

Many with memories of the time say that the most important figure in the formation of the music was Papa Jack Laine who enlisted hundreds of musicians from all of the cities diverse ethnic groups and social status.

In 1956 the theme song was released on Parlophone records by Dick James with Stephen James and his chums and Ron Goodwin's Orchestra and reached number 14 in the UK charts ( 78rpm single: R. 4117 / 45rpm single: MSP6199 ), and by PYE records as a 78rpm single by Gary Miller with Tony Osbourne orchestra and the Beryl Stott chorus ( PYE N. 15020 ) and reached number 10 on the UK charts, versions by Frankie Laine ( CBS Coronet ), Nelson Riddle and his Orchestra ( Capitol ), Alan Dale ( Coral ), Joe Reisman's orchestra and chorus ( RCA Victor ) and Ronnie Ronaldo ( Colombia ) were also issued.

He was popular in the United Kingdom, breaking the record at the London Palladium formerly set by Frankie Laine.

Burton played bass with yet another Birmingham group, The Steve Gibbons Band, was one-third of the short-lived band Balls ( with Denny Laine and Alan White ), and later fronted his own blues group as lead guitarist.

* Frankie Laine sets the all-time United Kingdom record for weeks at Number One in a given year on the UK Singles Chart, when his hit singles " Answer Me ," " Hey Joe!

* October 19 – Frankie Laine and Ruthie Smith set the all-time dance marathon record of 3, 501 hours ( 145 days ) at the Million Dollar Pier in Atlantic City, New Jersey

* Frankie Laine sings to an audience of 5, 000 at The Merry Garden Ballroom.

** Cleo Laine for Cleo at Carnegie-The 10th Anniversary Concert

However, McCullough and Seiwell left the band in August, at the end of rehearsals, leaving the McCartneys and Laine to cut what turned out to be Wings ' most successful album, Band on the Run, at EMI's primitive eight-track recording studio in Lagos, Nigeria.

In March 1997 Laine, Juber and Holley did an impromptu " Wings " reunion at a Beatlefest convention in East Rutherford, New Jersey.

However, ten years later, in July 2007, Laine, Juber and Seiwell reunited for one show at a Beatlefest ( now called " The Fest for Beatles Fans ") convention in Las Vegas.

Laine and Seiwell appeared again at The Fest for Beatles Fans in March 2010 in Secaucus, New Jersey, and were joined by Juber at The Fest in August 2010 in Chicago.

The light skinned Picou sometimes worked with white bands as well in his youth, including at least on occasion Papa Jack Laine.

Frankie Laine ( at piano ) and Patti Page, circa 1950. Patti Page kicked things off with what would become the decade's biggest hit, " Tennessee Waltz.

Originally a rhythm and blues influenced jazz singer, Laine excelled at virtually every music style, eventually expanding to such varied genres as popular standards, gospel, folk, country, western / Americana, rock ' n ' roll, and the occasional novelty number.

Reverend Joseph De Laine, the generally acknowledged leader of Summerton's African-Americans at the time, had his church burned and he moved to New York City in 1955 after surviving an attempted drive-by shooting.

Although women had studied theology at Tartu University in the 1920s and some had sought ordination as priests, it was not until 1967 that the first woman, Laine Villenthal, was ordained.

" The Gandy Dancers ' Ball " is a song recorded by Frankie Laine in 1951, but with gandy dancers as actual dancers at a railroad workers ' ball.

Prior to making her stage debut at the age of 19, Ruthie Henshall trained at Laine Theatre Arts in Epsom, Surrey.

Following entertainers such as Frank Sinatra, Tony Bennett, Peggy Lee, Frankie Laine, Johnnie Ray and Eddie Fisher with his own show, he performed at 90, 000 seat-plus venues such as Soldier Field, The Rubber Bowl, The Plantation, Red Rocks and others, in Chicago, Ohio, Colorado, Hawaii and Canada, along with hundreds of one-nighters on the road throughout the U. S., Canada, and England.

The common promotion gimmick of a brass band at the front entrance of these Dime Museums featured some of the earliest documented traditional jazz ; Robinson's riverboat museum also hired Papa Jack Laine.

He had some success as a solo artist, notably in 1972 with " Say You Don't Mind " ( peaked at number 15 in the UK chart and written by future Wings member Denny Laine ) and " I Don't Believe In Miracles " ( peaked at number 31 in the UK chart and written by Argent member Russ Ballard ), both with string arrangements by Christopher Gunning.

A known cover-version is by Frankie Laine who performed this song at the 32nd Academy Awards.

Evans studied musical theatre at The Cheshire School of Dance and Drama and moved down South in 1994 to study at Laine Theatre Arts in Epsom.

Successful Birmingham singer / songwriters and musicians include: Joan Armatrading, Steve Gibbons, Mike Kellie ( of Spooky Tooth ), Blaze Bayley ( former vocalist of Wolfsbane and Iron Maiden ), Keith Law ( of Velvett Fogg & Jardine ) Jeff Lynne, Phil Lynott, Carl Palmer ( of Emerson, Lake & Palmer ), Roy Wood, Jamelia, Kelli Dayton of The Sneaker Pimps, Juice Aleem ( from Big Dada Records ), Martin Barre ( guitarist with Jethro Tull ), Nick Mason ( of Pink Floyd ), Bev Bevan, Ali Campbell, Steve Cradock ( guitarist for Ocean Colour Scene and Paul Weller ), Stephen " Tin Tin " Duffy, Tony Iommi, Ozzy Osbourne, Denny Laine, Fritz Mcintyre ( keyboardist of Simply Red ), Christine Perfect ( of Fleetwood Mac ), Robert Plant ( born in West Brom and played in Brumbeat bands ), Nick Rhodes, Ranking Roger, John Henry Rostill ( bass guitarist / composer for The Shadows ), Matt Skinner, Dave Swarbrick ( of Fairport Convention ), John Taylor, Roger Taylor, Ruby Turner, Ted Turner ( guitar / vocals, Wishbone Ash ), Peter Overend Watts, Steve Winwood and Dave Mason.

Denny Laine ( born Brian Frederick Arthur Hines, 29 October 1944, Holcombe Road, Tyseley, Birmingham ) is an English songwriter and multi-instrumentalist, guitarist ; lead singer on The Moody Blues ' 1965 debut album The Magnificent Moodies ; and, later, best known for his role as co-founder ( with Paul and Linda McCartney ) of Wings.