Dean Martin

Dean Martin

• Ceremony was on February 8, 1960

Motion Pictures Star for Dean Martin

Location: 6519 Hollywood Boulevard
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Dean Martin

• Ceremony was on February 8, 1960

Television Star for Dean Martin

Location: 6651 Hollywood Boulevard
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Dean Martin

• Ceremony was on February 8, 1960

Recording Star for Dean Martin

Location: 1617 Vine Street
https://www.google.com/maps/place/1617+Vine+Street

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The Door Is Still Open to My Heart

Once again, Dean Martin demonstrates - if it must be demonstrated again - that his is one of the most enduring singing styles in the world. Accompanied by a large and varied choral and orchestral background, Dean eases through an even dozen of hit-sounding songs, all of them perfectly suited to the effortless Martin style. Led by one of Dean's largest hits - "The Door Is Still Open To My Heart" -this album features a "mainstream sound," one that should be wearing out all ages of dancing shoes, ranging from size 4 oxfords to size 16 orthopedic Keds.

With his characteristically smooth baritone style, Martin essays nothing but the happiest of songs in this album. There is a consistent verve about the album. The sound of Summer, the tang of Autumn, and the fun of Spring are here... but, by George, no discontent of Winter allowed in these grooves!

When his "Everybody Loves Somebody" rendition broke into national prominence a while back, and sold over two million copies world-wide, Martin proved, once again, that he's still one of the most agreeable sounding singers anywhere. In a way, it's not surprising that the singing side of Dino can sometimes go overlooked. Dean is one of the most hustle-bustle personalities in the entertainment world: as a genuine wit; as film star ("Toys in the Attic"; "Robin and the 7 Hoods"); as long time nightclub star (particularly at Las Vegas' Sands hotel); as expert golfer; as television performer... no wonder Dean's recording activities sometimes slip into the background of the public awareness.

Still, through every phase of his personal and performing lives, one strong characteristic pervades: Dean's winning style. His easy nonchalance is so much identified with him that it's impossible to conceive of a panicky, speechless Dean Martin. Not many people in this world would look funny running; Dean Martin, running, is (would be) funny.

Thus, this album moves along at a casual trot, effortlessly making some of the most melodious, moving, sing-along-feeling sounds ever to ease their way up out of the grooves and through your speakers.

Side One

• The Door Is Still Open to My Heart
• We'll Sing in The Sunshine
• I'm Gonna Change Everything
• The Middle of The Night Is My Cryin' Time
• Every Minute Every Hour
• Clinging Vine

• The Misty Moonlight
• Always Together
• My Sugar's Gone
• You're Nobody 'Til Somebody Loves You
• Take Me
• So Long Baby

Dean Martin Hits Again

The atmosphere at his recording sessions has changed. Before he hit with "Everybody Loves Somebody" and then "The Door Is Still Open to My Heart" Dean Martin's sessions were hopeful. Now, hits later, they're confident. You don't need to listen at the sessions to tell that. You can tell just by looking. Confidence everywhere. In everyone, IN ERNIE FREEMAN, the arranger and conductor. He's a lot busier these weeks. He's a hot talent. Everybody's after him to do for their boys what he did for Martin. "Ernie, what we want is... well, you know Everybody Loves Somebody..."

At the session, Ernie's all attention. Before him, seventeen yards of score paper to become hit-or-miss records in three hours. A trombone asks, "Bar 59... E flat?" Freeman, under a battered cap that looks a if two cabbies once wrestled for it across 76th Street, flips through his score to Bar 59. His shirt tail hangs down two inches below his jacket. He was up all night worrying out the brass lines. The horns are an added element tonight, something different from the previous hit sessions. Why tamper? Freeman's confident. He shows off the callus on his scoring hand. "Busy? Whew."

IN KEN LANE, Dean's accompanist. Pink headed from the sun, chewing gum, a snappy smile. Used to sharing ad libs with Dean about his thinning white hair. He wrote the music to "Everybody Loves Somebody" and is feeling confident. No runs in his alpaca sweater either.

IN JIMMY BOWEN, the producer. He's as aware as anybody that what happens to these seventeen yard of score can mean the difference between a million dollars and a busted golden egg. He recorded his own hits a few years back - "ex-teenage idol." he calls himself - then got into producing. His Southern accent gets business-like: "Kindly lemme hear the rhythm section only from letter F." In the control booth the rhythm blasts through three suspended-in-air hundred-pound speakers. It's loud enough to flatten the visitors against the back wall. "A wee bit more piano, says the producer. The engineer twists a dial. "Better" says the producer. It doesn't sound any different. The visitors nod knowingly. Better, they agree.

Bowen, no tie, sleepy-eyed, in a metal shiny off-color suit, tends his sound with eare, "Ohmygosh," he says, over and over, in Texan, He shoos away a kid standing by one of the playback speakers. "You're blocking my triplets" he says, He's the envy of every producer in town.

IN EDDIE BRACKET, the engineer. He fondles the rows of dials on the console in front of him, urging the monitor speakers up toward the threshold of pain. He's the only engineer in the business who controls the crucial takes standing up, eyes so intent on the VU meters you'd think they were windows in a starlet's dressing room.

IN THE ORCHESTRA. Always looking bored, an if they'd really rather be home watching "Mister Ed" re-runs. The arranger asks the trumpets if they can blow into their stands to get more of an organ sound on "Chapel." The third trumpet replies, in a tone like you'd hear from Wrigley if you'd asked him it he could spare a stick of gum, "I think so." Like a convention of movie extras, they seem to be practicing some sort of East Indian unbugability. When Martin pretends to sprinkle a little J&B on his hair as tonic, a few of them chuckle. The bystanders, they really laugh.

IN DEAN MARTIN, Black suede loafers and white sweat socks, A rugged, great face that looks expressive even when it's blank. Always smoking. Sitting down whenever possible. He's shaved tonight; a photographer is there, hoping to squeeze in the next cover shot. The producer suggests that Martin delay a phrase at one point. "You're the boss." Dean ваув. His muscular hands toss up a cigarette, he catches it in his lips, and looks over at the photographer, "You get that?" The photographer hopes so.

Dean's casual again, He radiates confidence, But sweat is beginning to make rings on his polo shirt. It's not all casual. As a matter of fact, it's a special kind of hell they're all going through, making these songs for you.
STAN CORNYN

Side A

• You're Nobody 'Til Somebody Loves You
• I'll Hold You in My Heart
• Have a Heart
• My Heart is an Open Book
• You'll Always be the one I Love

• Send Me The Pillow You Dream On
• In The Chapel in The Moonlight
• Send Me Some Lovin'
• Wedding Bells
• I'll Be Seeing You

Somewhere There's a Someone

"NOTHIN' TO IT, FOLK."
Dean Martin, a man with talents yet to be explored, acts, sings, and lights short size cigarettes... all with more aplomb than a Riviera Cat Burglar. In this album: another epic example of Mr. Martin's singing, which is so relaxed this record almost sags between your fingers. Mr. Martin sings here his major-sized hit, "Somewhere There's a Someone." He also sings a sizable number of other relaxed songs, most of them with the soft and loamy scent of the country running through them. The musical sound is big and full, and for an album of down-to-earth good home singing (by a simple country lad from Steubenville, Ohio) you couldn't rightly ask for much more. So settle back. See how easy it sounds when sung by Mister Number One.

Side One

• Somewhere There's a Someone
• Any Time
• Blue Blue Day
• I'm So Lonesome I Could Cry
• Candy Kisses
• I Can't Help It

• That Old Clock on the Wall
• Bouquet of Roses
• I Walk the Line
• Just a Little Lovin'
• Room Full of Roses
• Second Hand Rose (Second Hand Heart)

Welcome to My World

There aren't many singers in captivity who can perform "In the Chapel in the Moonlight" and then follow it with the confession, "Little Ole Wine Drinker, Me." But Dean Martin can. And does. With conviction, charm, and his usual high spirits.

Martin, as a matter of fact, is rapidly becoming the nation's number one you-name-it-l'll-sing-it kind of guy. He used to be strictly the ballad man. Then he unleashed a lot of vocal Dixie, his southern comfort period. And more recently, of course, he has hit the country trails, racking up a whole series of hits that were born in Nashville and reborn in Hollywood.

One thing about the Dean, he's not up tight about beginning a song. If he's the one who finds it, jolly good, up and away we go. But just because Elvis held a first mortgage on the chapel didn't mean that Dean was about to pass it by. Nor was he going to let big Tom Jones be the only one to tromp around on "The Green, Green Grass of Home." No, Dean picks 'em as he likes 'em, and by the time he gets through singing 'em you don't much care about anyone else.

Nor are Mr. Martin's talents limited to picking and singing. He likes to be smack dab in the middle of all the pretty sounds. Hence his all-star lineup of arrangers - Billy Strange, Bill Justis, H. B. Barnum, and Ernie Freeman. And it's Ernie Freeman conducting the sessions, as he has done in the past, solid and sympathetic.

The reason why very few people suspect that America's national beverage, the Martini, was named after Dean Martin is because it wasn't. In spite of that oversight, however, Dean manages to fill the air with a singing sound that is, indeed, tasty, relaxing, and a bit intoxicating. Maybe that's why when he sings "Welcome to My World" so many of us go right in. Let's face it. It's one of today's better worlds.

Side A

• In The Chapel in The Moonlight
• Release Me (and Let Me Love Again)
• I Can't Help Remembering You
• Turn to Me
• Wallpaper Roses

• Little Ole Wine Drinker Me
• The Green
• Green Grass of Home
• A Place in The Shade
• Pride
• Welcome to My World

All-Time Greatest Hits

Born Dino Crocetti on June 7. 1917 in Steubenville, Ohio, Dean Martin made his way to California at the young age of twenty. He bounced around performing in local clubs until the early 40's when he headed back East. In Atlantic City, New Jersey, in 1946, Dean hooked up with a young, skinny comic named Jerry Lewis in what was to become one of the hottest and most successful duos of all time! After starring in clubs, where they received critical acclaim, they were sent for by film producer Hal Wallis at Paramount for a featured role in "My Friend Irma" which starred Marie Wilson, John Lund, Diana Lynn, and Don DeFore. Little did producer Wallis know that in this little 1949 comedy they were uncapping a box office oil well for Paramount in the name of Martin and Lewis! This oil well was to keep gushing for a solid eight years of a soaring box office run for the dynamic duo! After their last film as a team, "Hollywood Or Bust" in 1957, Dean and Jerry chose to go their separate ways, but remained at Paramount for another eight years, where Dean starred in many films, some at other studios, right into the 80's! Among the most notable and outstanding performances of Dean's fifty-five films were "The Young Lions," "Some Came Running," "Rio Bravo," "Bells Are Ringing," " Toys In The Attic," and "Airport 1971."

In the recording field, Dean had been signed to a long-term recording contract in the late 40's to Capital Records. He proceeded to hit with his first half dozen releases, and then came his first chart-topping million seller, "That's Amore," which he introduced in the 1953 Martin and Lewis film, "The Caddy!" Hit after hit followed: "You Belong To Me," "Sway," "Memories Are Made Of This," "Innamorata," "Return To Me," "Volare," and more, which are all included in the exceptional collection of Dean's all-time greatest hits of the 40's and 50's.

From 1965 to 1974, Dean starred in the highly rated, much acclaimed, and popular "Dean Martin Show" on NBC television network. Today, Dean remains a mainstay at Bally's Hotel in Las Vegas, and makes rare concert appearances.

Side A

• That's Amore
• Sway
• You Belong to Me
• Memories are made of This
• Return to Me
• Volare (Nel Blu Dipinto Di Blu)

• Standing on the Corner
• Innamorata
• On An Evening in Roma
• You're Nobody Until Somebody Loves You
• Non Dimenticar
• Come Back to Sorrento

The Platinum Collection

Dean Martin was a real showbiz animal. Adept as a singer, comedian and actor he was probably most at home in the night spots of Las Vegas, along with his fellow Rat Pack members, Frank Sinatra, Sammy Davis Jr., Peter Lawford and Joey Bishop. Enjoying life to the full, it is surprising that Dino's personal goals originally lay in a totally different direction. As a youngster he had wanted to be a boxer, but a few painful drubbings persuaded him that his future lay in a different direction. Pugilism's loss was entertainment's gain and after more than one false start, Dino built a worldwide popularity which shows absolutely no sign of diminishing to this day, several years after his death.

Our hero was born Dino Crocetti in 1917. After he had abandoned his boxing ambitions, the young man be came a croupier. Not that he had any burning desire to become involved in the world of gambling, it was really that he had nothing else to do; the opportunity presented itself so he took it. He worked in several different casinos in various parts of the United States and as he shuffled and dealt the cards, the handsome young Italian was prone to burst into song. The combination of his mellow voice, good looks and charismatic personality proved such an attraction to female patrons he began to think that a career in show business might prove a good way to earn his living. It would certainly be more demanding than his current employment. He snapped up the chance to hone his vocal talent by singing with the band at a local cafe on an impromptu basis. When offered a more regular engagement at a salary of fifty dollars per week he complained that the somewhat meager amount was less than he stole from the gamblers at the casino. He eventually accepted despite a less than ideal financial package.

Dino wanted to earn his living by singing, but the post-war world was a difficult environment for an aspiring vocalist. Bing Crosby, Tony Martin and Dick Haymes were already well-established, while Frank Sinatra was at the peak of his bobby-soxer popularity. He was doing none too well when, in 1946, the manager of the 500 Club in Atlantic City, in an inspired move, teamed him up with Jerry Lewis, a young comic who was already playing the venue. Being part of a comedy team was very far from what Dino envisaged for his future, but his impecunious circumstances forced him to go along with it. In the event the pairing worked like a dream with Martin's urbane, laid-back style complemented by Lewis's loud, brash comedy, just as Dino's warm singing voice contrasted perfectly with Jerry's glass-shattering tones. Almost accidental it may have been, but the formation of the Martin-Lewis duo was just what both artists needed, as they were achieving little as solo acts.

Dino and Jerry's partnership was a surprising success. Its popularity built up on television, was cemented by a long-term contract with Paramount which produced seventeen movies between 1949 and 1956. It also gave Dean a chance to air his singing voice, leading to a deal with Capitol Records - many of his hits for the label are featured on this 3LP set. He later recorded for Frank Sinatra's own label 'Reprise'.

In 1956 Dean celebrated his number one single, 'Memories Are Made Of This', but split up with Jerry Lewis. He had long felt that his partner was claiming the lion's share of the limelight and to escape from the feeling of resentment which was building up inside him, decided to pursue a solo career. It was a gamble, as he had no idea how a public which adored Jerry and he appearing together would react to him on his own. Early signs were none too encouraging. What had seemed and unstoppable run of hit records dried up totally, just as his big screen popularity began to plummet. Dean accepted a few cabaret bookings, as much to keep his hand in anything else, and through them found the answer to his professional problems.

Underneath the relaxed, confident exterior Dean Martin was a shy man, happiest on stage when playing a role. With the help of lyric writer Sammy Cahn he developed the character of the amiable drunk which he was to use to such effect in live appearances for the rest of his life. It helped him conquer his nerves and revitalized a flagging career. He became a headlining regular in Las Vegas, as well as rediscovering his Midas touch on screen and on record. He added another string to his bow with his television series The Dean Martin Show which became the top-rated program in the United States.

Dean's last few years where marred by ill-health, three failed marriages and the demise of a son. Since his death on Christmas Day 1995 interest in his work has, if anything, actually increased. This collection of his greatest recordings from the fifties demonstrates just why Dean Martin was (and is) so popular. Enjoy!
Sleeve notes by Tony Watts

LP1 Side One

• That's Amore
• Volare (Nel Blu Dipinto Di Blu)
• Buona Sera
• You're Nobody 'til Somebody Loves You
• Return to Me (Ritorna a Me)
• Rio Bravo
• Promise Her Anything (But Give Her Love)
• Kiss

• Memories are made of This
• On An Evening in Roma (sotter Celo De Roma)
• Sleepy Time Gal
• Pretty Baby
• The Object of My Affection
• Let Me Go Lover
• Dinah
• Forgetting You

• When You're Smiling
• Ain't That a Kick in The Head
• Write to Me from Naples
• The Man Who Plays The Mandolino
• You've Got Me Crying Again
• For You
• The Look
• Georgia on My Mind

• Mambo Italiano
• In Napoli
• Only Forever
• Maybe
• Nevertheless (I'm in Love with You)
• Once in a Wille
• Way Down Yonder in New Orleans
• Innamorata (Sweetheart)

• I Can't Give You Anything But Love
• How D'ya Like Your Eggs in The Morning?
• Angel Baby
• Besame Mucho
• Vieni Su (Say You Love Me Too)
• It's Easy to Remember
• Bonne Nuit
• Oh Marie

• Sway
• Come Back to Sorrento
• (Ma Come Bali) Bella Bimba
• Two Sleepy People
• The Tricche Tracche (the Tree-Kay Trah-Kay)
• Simpatico
• Belle from Barcelona
• Let It Snow, Let It Snow, Let It Snow

Italian Love Songs

If you're looking for the influence of Italy on popular music it's interesting to compare the careers of two great Italian-American singers, Frank Sinatra and Dean Martin. While Ol' Blue Eyes steered clear of recording much Italian-based music, his pal was happy to embrace his cultural heritage.

Multitalented Dean found fame not once but twice - the first time as part of a double act in the Fifties with comedian Jerry Lewis. But his relaxed singing style had caught the ear even earlier when he followed Frank Sinatra into New York's Riobamba Room in 1943. And the Sinatra connection would later give him yet another claim to fame.

He, Sinatra and Sammy Davis Jr. would together lead the Rat Pack, a selection of entertainers completed by actors Peter Lawford and Shirley MacLaine and comedian Joey Bishop which hobnobbed with presidents and starred on record, screen and stage in various combinations in the early Sixties.

This is a compilation of well-loved Italian love songs - second nature to a man who, like Sinatra, was the proud product of Italian immigrant parents. He was born Dino Paul Crocetti in Ohio in 1917 and, it's said, spoke exclusively Italian for the first five years of his life. The result is a happy hour (and more) in the company of an acknowledged master.

The north may have Venice, Milan and the leaning tower of Pisa, but songsmiths have tended to focus on Southern Italy, also known as Il Mezzogiorno. This begins somewhere between Rome and Naples and is one of the most economically depressed areas of Europe. The people of southern Italy speak with the lilt of the Mediterranean, the dialect sounding almost Arabic in some places. But they are certainly not poor in either spirit or song.

This set of classic Italian love ballads kicks off with one of Dean Martin's most famous - Volare, which reached Number 12 in the Billboard chart and Number 2 in Britain in the summer of 1958. It's followed by That's Amore, penned by Harry Warren and lyricist Jack Brooks. This classic not only featured in the Martin and Lewis movie The Caddy but was revived for 1987's Moonstruck. Innamorata, a transatlantic Top 30 entry from 1956, similarly came from the Martin/Lewis movie Artists And Models.

Many of the great songs in our collection relate to or mention Naples or Rome. Arrivederci, Roma and On An Evening In Roma (Sotter Celo de Roma) sing the praises of Italy's capital, while Write To Me From Naples, Napoli and In Napoli capture the essence of the cily that is the beating heart of the Italian south.

Naples is the third most populated city in Italy with more than one million inhabitants. It sits on the northern edge of the Bay of Naples, one of the most beautiful in the country. The vitality of Neapolitan popular music from the late 19th Century has made its songs world famous. O Sole Mio, a Neapolitan standard Dean Martin tackles here, was so famous that it was even sung in place of the Italian national anthem at the 1920 Olympic Games in Antwerp, Belgium, after the conductor of the band failed to find the appropriate music!

Many of the songs featured here first appeared on 1962's Italian Love Songs, Dean's penultimate release for Capitol Records before he left for Sinatra's Reprise label. The long-player consisted of twelve songs with distinct Italian themes and the orchestra was conducted and arranged by Gus Levene.

With the jet airliner bringing foreign travel into millions of holidaymakers lives, the Fifties was an era of musical tourism. Frank Sinatra embraced it with Come Fly With Me, an album in which each song referred to a different destination, and Dean Martin, as ever, was not far behind. He recorded a number of Spanish and Latin tracks which have been added to our collection as welcome extras.

These bonus tracks include Sway, a UK Number 6 hit from 1954 that showed its timeless appeal when it was covered 45 years later by dance act Shaft and made Number 2 in the same UK chart. Mambo Italiano was written in 1954 by Bob Merrill, the arrangement based on an Italian folk song. It was not only a hit for Dean, who took it to the UK Top 20, but also for Alma Cogan, Bette Midler and Rosemary Clooney (aunt of film-star George).

Dean Martin may not have approached Frank Sinatra as a technical song stylist, but his personality and charm shines through on this selection of songs from his ancestral homeland. As one critic put it, "Unless one happens to be a hardfaced cynic it's difficult not to like Dean Martin." We can't translate that into Italian, but we do know that the combination of the country's greatest music and a dash of American fizz makes an ideal musical cocktail. Ciao Dino!
Sleeve notes by Joseph Adair

LP 1 Side 1

• Volare (Nel Blu Dipinto Di Blu)
• That's Amore
• Tu Sei Bella
• Signorina
• on An Evening in Roma (Sott'er Celo De Roma)
• Buona Sera
• Just Say I Love Her (Dicitencello Vuie)

• Mambo Italiano
• Just Close Your Eyes
• The Man Who Plays The Mandolino
• Non Dimenticar (Don't Forget)
• Napoli
• You're Breaking My Heart (Mattinata)

• Innamorata (Sweetheart)
• Write to Me from Naples
• From The Bottom of My Heart (dammi, Dammi, Dammi)
• The Tricche Tracche (The Tree-Kay Trah-Kay)
• Sogni D'Oro
• Vieni Su (Say You Love Me Too)

• Come Back to Sorrento (Torna a Surriento)
• Oh Marie
• Senza Fine
• Bella
• Bella
• Bambina
• Arrivederci
• Roma
• I Have But One Heart (O Marenariello)

• In Napoli
• Simpatico
• Return to Me (Ritorna a Me)
• There's No Tomorrow (O Sole Mio)
• Dame Su Amor
• (Ma Come Bali) Bella Bimba

• Sway
• Pardon (Perdoname)
• Giuggiola
• Belle from Barcelona
• Cha Cha Cha D'amour (Melodie D'amour)
• La Paloma

This Time I'm Swingin'!

One of the most popular and enduring American entertainers of the mid-20th Century, Dean Martin (1917-1995) was nicknamed the "King of Cool" due to his seemingly effortless charisma and self-assuredness. A member of the "Rat Pack" with Frank Sinatra and Sammy Davis Jr., Martin was a major star in four areas of show business: concert stage/night clubs, recordings, motion pictures, and television.

Dean's career picked up towards the beginning of 1946. He was working regularly in better clubs and earning around $750 a week. He would also begin singing on the popular New York radio station WNEW soon after. However, it was still a far cry from mainstream success. And then in July of 1946 the young comic Jerry Lewis convinced the owner of the Atlantic City's 500 Club, Paul "Skinny" D'Amato to hire Martin to replace the singer on the bill saying that he and Dean were fantastic together and had great comic interplay on stage. However, Martin and Lewis had only met a few months prior to the engagement and had never worked together. Their first performance was a disaster. Dean sang a few songs and Jerry did his lip-sync act to less than mediocre effect. With great pressure from Skinny, Martin and Lewis decided to ad lib their next show, leading to a 3-hour performance! While Dean sang, Lewis, dressed up as a busboy, ran around the audience causing pandemonium - breaking dishes, eating the audience members' food, etc. They were an instant hit! They were soon playing the biggest venues in the country and in 1948 they made television appearances on Ed Sullivan's Toast of the Town and Milton Berle's Texaco Star Theater.

It was at this point that they were also first signed to a major record label, making their debut together with readings of "The Money Song" and "That Certain Party", the latter charting at #22. The duo had their own radio show and signed a long-term motion picture deal with Paramount Pictures, while they continued to storm the country with their nightclub act. Martin's solo recording career was much slower in taking off. Despite his prolific output his songs didn't have much success on the charts until his legendary August 13, 1953 date accompanied by Dick Stabile and his orchestra. At first, the session appeared to be a wash; the orchestra recorded the tracks "I Want You" and "I'd Cry Like a Baby" but there were problems with Nelson Riddle's charts and they would have to be recorded again at a later date (the latter track was finally recorded on December 24, 1953). This was followed by two songs that were set to appear in Martin & Lewis' Paramount film titled The Caddy: "You're the Right One" and "That's Amore", which was written by Harry Warren and Jack Brooks especially for the film. Dean didn't think much of the light Italian number but decided to record it anyway. It earned him his first gold record and launched to #2 in the charts. It would be the first of many Italian-related performances to follow, many of which hit the charts ("Innamorata" rose to number #27, for instance).

Martin was at the apex of his success when things took a dramatic turn for the worse in July 1956. Exactly 10 years after his partnership with Jerry Lewis began, the duo broke up. Most critics felt that Lewis was the real genius of the duo and that Martin would flounder on his own. Martin wanted to establish himself as a dramatic actor and the formulaic simplicity of the Martin & Lewis movies were grating on him. This led Martin to give less energy to his work, which led to escalating tension with Lewis. At one point Martin told Lewis that "[you mean] nothing to me but a dollar sign". The initial separation was harder on Martin. Lewis had immediate success with the 1957 Paramount film The Delicate Delinquent. Martin's first solo film Ten Thousand Bedrooms tanked at the box office, and his next album, Swingin' Down Yonder, and subsequent singles failed to gain critical or popular acclaim. Dean Martin waited two years following Swingin' Down Yonder before recording his second full-length LP, Pretty Baby (though, of course, he recorded singles, EPs, and film soundtrack material in the interim). This Time I'm Swingin'! was made by Dean Martin for Capitol Records during the course of three different sessions in May 1960 and released on October 3rd of that year. While thirteen tracks were recorded at the dates, only twelve of them made it onto the album when it was released. "Ain't That a Kick in the Head" was taped during those sessions but was never issued. The backing orchestra was conducted and arranged by Nelson Riddle. The original album consisted of twelve songs, many with prominent brass arrangements.

Side A

• I Can't Believe That You're in Love with Me
• True Love
• You're Nobody Till Somebody Loves You
• on The Street Where You Live
• Imagination
• Until The Real Thing Comes Along
• You and Your Beautiful Eyes
• Choo'n Gum

• Please Don't Talk About Me When I'm Gone
• I've Grown Accustomed to Her Face
• Someday (you'll Want Me to Want You)
• Mean to Me
• Heaven Can Wait
• Just in Time
• My Own My Only My All
• Bonne Nuit (goodnight)

Dean Martin & Frank Sinatra

In 1944, director George Sidney ran a screen test on Dean Martin whom he thought might be a possibility to slot into the cast of Till The Clouds Roll By, a film that was set to include Frank Sinatra. Sidney filmed Dino singing San Fernando Valley, a song associated with Roy Rogers, then king of the Hollywood cowboys. Dino didn't make it into the picture, but the incident set up some-thing of a link between Martin, Sinatra and westerns that arguably culminated in the whole Rat Pack hitting the trail for Sergeants 3, in 1962.

The two stars, both superb singers who moved on to become award-winning actors, first worked together on a telethon in 1952, while Dino was still half of the Martin and Lewis comedy duo. Their friendship developed in the late 50s despite their widely differing personalities - Dino developing an ever-increasingly laid-back approach, while Sinatra proved to be sharp and frequently tempestuous. The two also bonded over their Italian heritage.

Wait for Me, a yearning ballad based on a theme Nelson Riddle penned for the 1956 film Johnny Concho, musically represents Frank Sinatra's first tilt at the western genre. But fans gave the thumbs-down to Frank's role as a cowardly gunslinger and the film flopped. Dean Martin fared better when, in 1959, he appeared alongside John Wayne in the classic Rio Bravo. "I play a sodden, drunken bum" he once reported. But it worked for him, winning over the critics and audiences. Heard here is the title song, along with My Rifle, My Pony And Me, which stems from the same film where it featured as a duet with then teen idol Ricky Nelson.

Ghost Riders In The Sky - performed live by both Sinatra and Dean Martin on this compilation - is a cowboy song penned by actor Stan Jones in 1948. It took off the following year when four singers - Vaughan Monroe, Peggy Lee, Bing Crosby and Burl Ives - all logged major hits with their versions. Gene Autry provided the song with a more genuine country status by performing it in the 1953 film Goldtown Ghost Riders, while Johnny Cash revived it in 1979, gaining a No.2 country hit that remained in the chart for 16 weeks.

They Came To Cordura wasn't a hit of any kind, merely a Sinatra B-side. Sammy Cahn and Jimmy Van Heusen penned the song as a tie-in to the 1959 western of the same name, starring Gary Cooper and Rita Hayworth. Draped in Nelson Riddle's arrangement, it's delivered in appealing manner by Sinatra, as is Face In The Crowd, which Dino included on his first album of country music. Written by Texas-born songwriter Mitchell Torok and his wife Gail Redd, it's one of scores of great songs the duo penned for such artists as Jim Reeves, Hank Snow, Willie Nelson and others. Ain't Gonna Try Anymore appeared on the same album, and was penned by yet another Texan, Clint Ballard Jr. For those who dote on western swing, Dino's Night Train To Memphis will prove a delight. Recorded in 1951, it features a typically ease-along vocal set against a backdrop of great West Coast picking on a song that Roy Acuff performed in the 1943 film Cowboy Canteen.

Not that Night Train To Memphis seems aged when compared to Home On The Range, which started life as a poem way back in 1872. A much-loved song, which has been hailed as "the unofficial anthem of the American West", it receives a definitive reading from Frank Sinatra here.

Over the years Frank Sinatra would continue to perform material that was sometimes country related, while Dean Martin embraced the genre wholeheartedly, one of his final projects being an album on which Merle Haggard and Conway Twitty guested. Filmwise too Dino continued to appear in western-themed releases such as The Sons Of Katie Elder 1965), Texas Across The River (1966), Bandolero 1968) and Five Card Stud (1968). Sinatra meanwhile starred in what some perceived as "an anti-western" movie with Dirty Dingus Magee (1970), while both Dean Martin and Frank Sinatra saddled up together once more for Four For Texas in 1963. Not the greatest western venture - the inclusion of The Three Stooges in the cast, pointed to the fact that Oscars were unlikely to be in the reckoning. It nevertheless was deemed for presentation yet again at The Turin Film Festival in November 2006, 43 years after it's premiere!
Glenn Matthews

Side 1: Dean Martin

• My Rifle
• My Pony and Me
• Night Train to Memphis
• Ghost Riders in The Sky (Radio Broadcast)
• Face in a Crowd
• Ain't Gonna Try Anymore
• South of The Border
• The Story of Life (All This Is Mine)
• Rio Bravo

• Thye Came to Cordura
• Wait For Me (Johnny Concho Theme)
• That Lucky Old Sun
• Ghost Riders in The Sky (Radio Broadcast)
• Granada
• I'm An Old Cowhand (Radio Broadcast)
• Goodnight
• Irene
• Home on The Range

The Best of Dean Martin

Dean Martin was a real showbiz animal. Adept as a singer, comedian and actor, he was probably most at home in the night spots of Las Vegas, along with his fellow Rat Pack' members, Frank Sinatra, Sammy Davis Jnr, Peter Lawford and Joey Bishop. Enjoying life to the full, it is surprising that Dino's personal goals originally lay in a totally different direction. As a youngster he had wanted to be a boxer, but a few painful drubbings persuaded him that his future lay in a different direction. Pugilism's loss was entertainment's gain and after more than one false start, Dino built a worldwide popularity which shows absolutely no sign of diminishing to this day, several years after his death.

Our hero was born Dino Crocetti in 1917. After he had abandoned his boxing ambitions, the young man became a croupier. Not that he had any burning desire to become involved in the world of gambling, it was really that he had nothing else to do; the opportunity presented itself so he took it. He worked in several different casinos in various parts of the United States and as he shuffled and dealt the cards, the handsome young Italian was prone to burst into song. The combination of his mellow voice, good looks and charismatic personality proved such an attraction to female patrons he began to think that a career in show business might prove a good way to earn his living. It would certainly be more demanding than his current employment. He snapped up the chance to hone his vocal talent by singing with the band at a local cafe on an impromptu basis. When offered a more regular engagement at a salary of fifty dollars per week he complained that the somewhat meagre amount was less than he stole from the gamblers at the casino. He eventually accepted despite a less than ideal financial package.

Dino wanted to earn his living by singing, but the post-war world was a difficult environment for an aspiring vocalist. Bing Crosby, Tony Martin and Dick Haymes were already well-established, while Frank Sinatra was at the peak of his bobby-soxer popularity. He was doing none too well when, in 1946, the manager of the 500 Club in Atlantic City, in and inspired move, teamed him up with Jerry Lewis, a young comic who was already playing the venue. Being part of a comedy team was very far from what Dino envisaged for his future, but his impecunious circumstances forced him to go along with it. In the event the pairing worked like a dream with Martin's urbane, laid-back style complemented by Lewis's loud, brash comedy, just as Dino's warm singing voice contrasted perfectly with Jerry's glass-shattering tones. Almost accidental it may have been, but the formation of the Martin-Lewis duo was just what both artists needed, as they were achieving little as solo acts.

Dino and Jerry's partnership was a surprising success. Its popularity built up on television, was cemented by a long-term contract with Paramount which produced seventeen movies between 1949 and 1956. It also gave Dean a chance to air his singing voice, leading to a deal with Capitol Records - many of his hits for the label are featured on this LP. He later recorded for Frank Sinatra's own label Reprise'.

In 1956 Dean celebrated his number one single, 'Memories Are Made Of This', but split up with Jerry Lewis. He had long felt that his partner was claiming the lion's share of the limelight and to escape from the feeling of resentment which was building up inside him, decided to pursue a solo career. It was a gamble, as he had no idea how a public which adored Jerry and he appearing together would react to him on his own. Early signs were none too encouraging. What had seemed an unstoppable run of hit records dried up totally, just as his big screen popularity began to plummet. Dean accepted a few cabaret bookings, as much to keep his hand in anything else, and through them found the answer to his professional problems.

Underneath the relaxed, confident exterior Dean Martin was a shy man, happiest on stage when playing a role. With the help of lyric writer Sammy Cahn he developed the character of the amiable drunk which he was to use to such effect in live appearances for the rest of his life. It helped him conquer his nerves and revitalized a flagging career: He became a headlining regular in Las Vegas, as well as rediscovering his Midas touch on screen and on record. He added another string to his bow with his television series The Dean Martin Show which became the top-rated programme in the United States.

Dean's last few years where marred by ill-health, three failed marriages and the demise of a son. Since his death on Christmas Day 1995 interest in his work has, if anything, actually increased. This collection of his greatest recordings demonstrates just why Dean Martin was (and is) so popular. Enjoy!
Sleeve notes by Tony Watts

Side One

• That's Amore
• Volare
• You're Nobody 'til Somebody Loves You
• Sway
• Ain't That a Kick in The Head
• The Naughty Lady of Shady Lane
• Georgia on My Mind
• My Rifle
• My Pony and Me
• Buona Sera

• Memories are made of This
• I Can't Give You Anything But Love
• Mambo Italiano
• On An Evening in Roma (Sott'er Celo De Roma)
• C'est Si Bon
• Return to Me (Ritorna a Me)
• The Story of Life (All this is Mine)
• How D'ya Like Your Eggs in The Morning
• Rio Bravo

Dean Martin & Jerry Lewis

Portrait

Rio Bravo

The Rat Pack

Ocean's 11

Ocean's Eleven

Ocean's 11

Sergeants 3

Robin and the 7 Hoods

California Governor's Benefit