Laine left Carlone's band to go solo in the early 1940s, and was initially employed as house vocalist with a New York radio station. In 1944 he teamed up with pianist Carl Fischer, who was to become a close musical associate over the next decade. (Together they wrote several songs, including the hit “We'll Be Together Again.
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In 1946 the legendary songwriter Hoagy Carmichael spotted Laine singing in a Hollywood club and helped him get signed for...