The lyrics are some of the most familiar in the history of Westerns: 'Rollin' rollin' rollin'/Keep them doggies rollin'!' Could it be anything other than the classic 'Rawhide'? Could its singer be anybody other than Frankie Laine?

      In the days when country and western was more of one breath than it is today, Laine, who died Feb. 6 at 93 and sold 250 million records in a six-decade career, was a shining star of the Western music soundtrack.

      And 'Rawhide,' the theme for the hallowed television Wild West series that first aired from 1959 to 1966, is the centerpiece of that star, which also includes Laine hits such as 'Mule Train.'

      Though Tex Ritter made the soundtrack recording of 'High Noon,' Laine's version of the title track from the legendary movie was the hit. Then he was called to do 'Gunfight At The OK Corral,' followed by the music for the Gunslinger TV show. That led to the invitation to do 'Rawhide.'

      'Rawhide' shot to No. 1 on the record charts before the show was even aired. 'They couldn't get a sponsor for the show in spite of that. And the record started coming down the charts,' Laine says.

      The show eventually landed a sponsor and began airing in mid-year of 1959. 'Now they had a sponsor and now the song wasn't on the charts,' Laine explained, laughing. 'They re-released the song as a new release and it went back to No. 1.'

      It took about four months for the show to catch on, he says, and the song kept the interest there. 'Then the show kept the song up there,' he says.

      Laine credited 'Rawhide' with pulling him through the rock and roll era. He had a hit with 'Moonlight Gambler' preceding that. His landmark 'I Believe' hit big in 1953.

      In the late 1990s he taped a PBS special paying tribute to Westerns, performing 'Rawhide,' 'Gunfight At The OK Corral,' 'North To Alaska,' 'Mule Train,' 'Navaho Trail,' 'High Noon' and a nod to 'Blazing Saddles.'

      The day before the taping, Laine received the Golden Boot Award, a Western tribute previously received by such legends as Gary Cooper, John Wayne and others.

      Laine recorded a country album, A Country Laine, in the mid-1980s, and another, Take Me Back To Laine Country, in 1968.

      It's the lyrics that he most appreciated about country. 'It's very simple melodically, and mostly very simple in chord structure," he said. "It's the simplicity of the music. Hank Williams was a genius at that. He could make a country song scare those guys with the pseudo-sophisticated approach, who thought music had to be multi-chorded or very complex.'

      Laine had a hit with 'You Gave Me a Mountain' in 1968, a song that his good friend, the late Marty Robbins, wrote for him.

      'Marty had a lot of the qualities I sense people think I have,' he once remarked. 'He was really dedicated to the music, really honest to the performance. His 'El Paso' really blew me away.' Earlier, Laine had recorded another Robbins song, 'Story Of My Life.' Laine also covered Tom T. Hall's 'Old Dogs, Children and Watermelon Wine.'

      Nashville legend Owen Bradley called 'That Lucky Old Sun,' which Laine recorded in 1949, the greatest song ever recorded. It was a favorite of Hank Snow's, too.

      Laine called music his foundation. 'I always felt when I was onstage that people believe that I believe what I'm doing. I'm not just performing. I do it the way I feel it. Music has been everything in my life. If there was nobody out there I would still be singing.'

      Rex Rutkoski is a veteran national and international music, entertainment and features writer who also has a bio-writing service for unsigned, new and established musicians in all genres. He can be reached at RRJR@peoplepc.com.