THE 1000 BEST SONGS IN THE WORLD EVER.

354-Frankie Laine-That Lucky Old Sun (Just Rolls Around Heaven All Day.)

1949-Has never charted in the UK. There was no UK chart until 1952.

Best Bit-At 2.25. Eat your heart out Adams, eat your heart out Whitney, eat your heart out Drake, this guy still holds the record of 18 weeks at Number 1.

Frankie Laine was born Francesco Paolo LoVecchio on March 30th, 1913, in Chicago, Illinois, United States, he died from heart failure on February 6th, 2007, at the age of 93. Frankie Laine was a singer, songwriter, and actor, he was definitely not an overnight sensation, having performed in public from his early teens, it would be 1945 before he recorded his first song for a major label, eventually achieving his first hit with ‘That’s My Desire’ in 1946, when it reached Number 4 in America. In total Laine recorded 30 studio Albums between 1954-2007, and 164 singles between 1945-1999. In the UK Frankie Laine achieved four Number 1 singles, all of which were in the 1950’s. In 1953 his recording of ‘I Believe’ spent 18 non consecutive weeks at Number 1 which remains a record to this day. Laine also holds the record in the UK of spending 27 weeks at Number 1 in a calendar year, in 1953. Although not acknowledged by all music critics, Laine is considered by many as helping to pave the way for vocalists, helping to bridge the gap between the ‘crooners’ of the pre Rock era, and those that came after, such as Elvis Presley, James Brown, and Ray Charles.

‘That Lucky Old Sun (Just Rolls Around Heaven All Day’) was written in 1949 by the songwriting team of Beasley Smith, (1901-1968) (music) and Haven Gillespie (1888-1975) (lyrics.) Other notable lyrics written by Gillespie include the song ‘You Go to My Head,’ and the Christmas classic,’Santa Claus is Coming to Town.’

As with many songs from that period, there could be several versions competing against each other at the same time. In 1949 Frankie Laine’s recording was the most successful when reaching Number 1 in America. A recording by Vaughn Monroe & His Orchestra made Number 9, a version by Louis Armstrong reached Number 24, and Frank Sinatra took his rendition to Number 16.

‘That Lucky Old Sun (Just Rolls Around Heaven All Day’) has been likened in it’s subject matter to the 1927 song ‘Ol’ Man River,’ (see also best songs 82) which has lyrics by Oscar Hammerstein (see also best songs 842.) The song tells of the very hard labour performed, and the intense hardship suffered by the songs narrator while the natural world around him just goes about it’s everyday business. The narrator prays to his God to either take him immediately to heaven, or free him from his tortuous work.

‘Send down the cloud with a silver lining, lift me to paradise. Show me that river, take me across, wash all my troubles away. Like that lucky old sun, give me nothing to do but roll around heaven all day.’