NAMES IN THE NEWS : Ill Laine Turns 77 in Hospital

ST. LOUIS — Singer Frankie Laine, whose hits include “Jezebel” and “Mule Train,” observed his 77th birthday today in a hospital where he is undergoing testing to determine what caused his chest pains.

Laine was resting at St. Louis University Medical Center after undergoing tests, said hospital spokesman Dan Hope.

He was taken to the hospital after suffering chest pains before a performance Tuesday night at Powell Hall.

Laine underwent a quadruple-bypass heart operation at San Diego’s Mercy Hospital on Jan. 25, 1985, after an apparent heart attack at his seaside home on San Diego’s Point Loma Peninsula.

The singer was a howling success in the 1940s and ‘50s with 21 gold records and well over 100 million records sold of such hits as “Jezebel,” “My Heart Goes Where the Wild Goose Goes” and “Mule Train,” which was accompanied by a cracking whip. Among his other hit songs were “I Believe,” “Jealousy,” “Lucky Old Sun,” “Moonlight Gambler” and the theme for the “Rawhide” television series.