Tag Archives: Dean Martin

25 Days Of Christmas Music 2025: Day 2

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Hello, everyone. Welcome back to the countdown.

A sweet vintage Christmas card image from Pinterest. (Image found online.  Original source unknown.)

My mother introduced me to Elvis, but her mother introduced us both to the man Elvis wanted to be: Dino Paul Crocetti. That is Dean Martin, to those of you who did not grow up in a house where he was considered a saint (yes, I am Italian). A member of The Rat Pack who earned the nickname “The King Of Cool” thanks to his suave demeanor, handsome good looks and inimitable charm, Martin did it all-he was a singer, an actor, a stage entertainer, a TV host and the emcee for his legendary celebrity roasts.

Yet, his Christmas album remains my favorite of all his contributions because his voice & those songs continue to connect me to my childhood & the gift of family who passed their love for this man on to me like a cherished family heirloom. That is a priceless legacy.

Dean Martin circa 1960. (Image found online.  Original source unknown.)

(Image found online.  Original source unknown.)

Dean Martin: “Let It Snow! Let It Snow! Let It Snow!” (1966, written by Sammy Cahn and Jule Styne).

What are some of your favorite Christmas songs?

Until next time, happy listening!!!

25 Days Of Christmas Music 2024: Day 18

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Hello, everyone. Welcome back to the countdown.

Day 18 EDIT

A sweet vintage Christmas card image from Pinterest. (Image found online.  Original source unknown.)

As an Italian Catholic girl, I grew up hearing plenty of stories about the saints. The top two in my house were Frank Sinatra and Dean Martin. Their music was on repeat all year long and that only intensified around the holidays. They were the voices of Christmas, a tradition I continue to honor every year.

On Day 12 we heard from Sinatra so today it is all about Martin. He was recognized as The King Of Cool by even Elvis so that is saying something right there. Martin’s smooth, suave debonair style came through on every song he performed. Add that to his timeless sound, his movie star looks and his genuine ease in front of the camera for his TV shows & specials and you have the quintessential entertainer. He brought charisma, charm and class to everything he did. Santa may be the main guy of the season but for me, Christmas does not truly exist without Dino Paul Crocetti.

DeanMartinChristmasAlbum

Dean Martin’s 1966 holiday album. (Image found online.  Original source unknown.)

Dean Martin: “Jingle Bells” (1966, written by James Lord Pierpont).

Dean Martin: “Let It Snow! Let It Snow! Let It Snow! (1966, written by Sammy Cahn and Jule Styne).

Dean Martin: “It’s a Marshmallow World” (1966, written by Carl Sigman and Peter DeRose).

What are some of your favorite Christmas songs?

Until next time, happy listening!!!

Music Monday: March 4, 2024

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Hi, everyone. Welcome to another edition of Music Monday.

Blog image for 2024

(Image found online.  Original source unknown.)

I have been in a deep dive of Chris Isaak’s music lately after finding a few live clips of some shows he did last year. That has me missing his quirky, cool & unbelievably funny self-titled Showtime show which has yet to be made available on DVD or for streaming despite the fact that it ended its three season run 20 years ago.

Today’s song, which was featured in S2 E12 as a fabulous duet with country artist Allison Moorer, is from his 1998 album, Speak Of The Devil. It was the follow up to his sixth album, The Baja Sessions where he put an acoustic spin on some of his previously released songs along with his own takes of Dean Martin’s “Return To Me” and Roy Orbison’s “Only The Lonely”. It is hard to believe that Isaak’s debut album came out almost 40 years ago in 1985. But his voice, his lyrics and his sound are evocative and timeless which are the main reasons why I cannot get enough of his music after all these years.

“Cause I still dream of you
And I will call your name
And I will wait
Till you come back again“.

Chris

(Image found online.  Original source unknown.)

Chris Isaak: “Walk Slow” (1998, written by Chris Isaak).

Stay safe & well.

25 Days Of Christmas Music 2023: Day 19

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Hello, everyone. Welcome back to the countdown.

Blog day 19

A lovely vintage Christmas card image found on Pinterest. (Image found online. Original source unknown.)

It is time for another his & her take on a holiday tune. Today’s song was published in 1945. Frank Sinatra recorded his version five years later. It reached #45 on the Holiday 100 chart. In 1959, his fellow Rat Pack buddy Dean Martin recorded his cover and it hit #6 on that chart plus it went to #8 on the mainstream Hot 100 singles chart. It appears to be the best selling version of this song. And as of today’s date (12/19/23), 64 years after its initial release, it is at the #10 spot in the country. Just one more reason why Martin was known as The King Of Cool. 

Country star Martina McBride’s version was on her 1998 album, White Christmas. I have always been taken by the beauty and the power of her voice but on today’s song, it is just pure fun. A perfect mood for the season. 

dean
Martina

(Images found online. Original sources unknown.)

Dean Martin: ”Let It Snow! Let It Snow! Let It Snow!” (1959, written by Sammy Cahn and Jule Styne). 

Martina McBride: ”Let It Snow! Let It Snow! Let It Snow!” ( 1998, written by Sammy Cahn and Jule Styne).

What are some of your favorite Christmas songs?

Until next time, happy listening!!!

25 Days Of Christmas Music 2022: Day 17

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Hello, everyone. Welcome back to the countdown.

Day 17 2022

A sweet vintage Christmas card image found on Pinterest. (Original source unknown.)

Crooner extraordinaire Dino Paul Crocetti, better known as Dean Martin, recorded many Christmas songs and performed them throughout his career, most notably during the nine seasons of his self-titled television show & then his holiday specials.

I know & love so many of his seasonal tracks but today’s is in my top five. It is a relatively short song, but all 115 seconds are sheer and utter bliss, especially to girls like me who grew up watching their grandmother swoon to every move and sound this man made.

“The fire is slowly dying
And my dear we’re still goodbying
But as long as you’d love me so
Let it snow! Let it snow and snow!“.

Dean

Dean Martin circa 1964. (Image found online. Original source unknown.)

Dean Martin: “Let It Snow! Let It Snow! Let It Snow!” (1959, written by Sammy Cahn and composer Jule Styne).

What are some of your favorite Christmas songs?

Until next time, happy listening!!!

25 Days Of Christmas Music 2022: Day 12

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Hello, everyone. Welcome back to the countdown.

Day 12 2022

A picture of an adorable vintage Christmas figurine found on Pinterest. (Image found online. Original source unknown.)

Today we honor the legendary entertainer who put New Jersey on the world’s musical map nearly 60 years before Bruce Springsteen’s “Greetings From Asbury Park, N.J.” reaffirmed the state’s place of honor. Francis Albert Sinatra was born December 12, 1915 in Hoboken, NJ. His career as a vocalist began when he was a teenager but his first album was not released until 1946. Five years earlier he made his film debut as a big band singer in 1941’s Las Vegas Nights. He went from being the heart’s desire of bobby soxers across the country to becoming a member of The Rat Pack, “The Chairman Of The Board” and “Ol’ Blue Eyes” in a career that spanned over five decades before his death in 1998.

For my maternal grandmother Sinatra was all those things and the definition of Christmas. Every December of my young childhood, his Christmas music began the festive season. It was as comforting to me as the smell of the real tree she had in her apartment every year. She listened to other Italian singers each holiday season as well (most notably fellow Rat Packer Dean Martin), but Frank was the one who started all the fun. My grandmother’s collection incliuded his first holiday album, “Christmas Songs by Sinatra” from 1946, his second one, “A Jolly Christmas from Frank Sinatra” from 1957 and the one he made with his three children, “The Sinatra Family Wish You a Merry Christmas” from 1968.

Today’s song is from his second holiday record and has been one of my favorites for as long as I can remember. Sinatra helped write this track as well and it is one of the few songs that is not played to death each December. On the contrary, it is not played nearly enough.

“Then comes that big night
Giving the tree the trim
You’ll hear voices by starlight
Singing a yuletide hymn“.

Sinatra album

Sinatra studio

Top: Sinatra’s 1957 Christmas album. Bottom: The Chairman Of The Board in the recording studio circa 1960. (Images found online. Original sources unknown.)

Frank Sinatra: “Mistletoe and Holly” (1957, written by Hank Sanicola, Frank Sinatra and Dok Stanford).

What are some of your favorite Christmas songs?

Until next time, happy listening!!!

25 Days Of Christmas Music 2021: Day 14

Posted in Christmas, Holidays, Music by

Hello, everyone. Welcome back to the countdown.

14

(Image found online.  Original source unknown.)

Classic crooners get me every time. Today’s singer is one of my favorites, not to mention a staple from my childhood holiday seasons. Growing up in an Italian-American household made this man’s music mandatory. And I am eternally grateful for that.

“When we finally kiss goodnight
How I’ll hate going out in the storm
But if you’ll really hold me tight
All the way home I’ll be warm”.

Dean

(Image found online.  Original source unknown.)

Dean Martin: “Let It Snow! Let It Snow! Let Is Snow!” (1966, written by Sammy Cahn and Jule Styne).

I do not own the rights to anything.  I am just sharing some things that I love with you  What are some of your favorite Christmas songs?

Until next time, happy listening!!!

Let’s Take A Moment Day 454

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Hi everyone.  Hope you are all well and continue to stay that way during this global health crisis we are facing.  But in addition to protecting your physical wellness, what are you doing to stay mentally healthy today?

June 2021 blog

(Image found online.  Original source unknown.)

I know we are still facing a serious situation but a new year gives us hope for the new days, seasons, opportunities & moments ahead. Still, music is something that will never change for me. It is my refuge, the most comforting part of my life & the one thing I consistently count on. So until a more normal semblance of life returns, I am going to share a song I listen to that helps me escape the current state of things, if only for a few minutes each day. And if this helps anyone else, even better.

I have a soft spot in my heart for crooners and today’s singer is the reason why. No one did it like Dino Paul Crocetti, who was born on June 7, 1917 in Ohio. Whether he sang in Italian or English, whether he performed alone or with the other members of The Rat Pack or whether I watched him in his TV specials or on the big screen in movies like “Rio Bravo”, “Birds Do It” or “Airport”, Dean Martin was an entertainer in every sense of the word.

Today’s song, originally titled “T’ho voluto bene” (“I love you so much”) was one of my Grandma Mary’s favorite songs. Thanks to her, I grew up with this man’s voice in my life. And what an immeasurable gift that was.

“Please do not forget that our lips have met
And I held you tight dear
Was it dreams ago?
My heart felt this glow only just tonight dear”.

Dean

“The King Of Cool” Dean Martin circa 1960. (Image found online.  Original source unknown.)

Dean Martin: “Non Dimenticar” (1962, music by P. G. Redi a.k.a. Luigi Pulci, Italian lyrics by Michele Galdieri and English lyrics by Shelley Dobbins).

I do not own the rights to anything.  I am just sharing what I love and how I am coping with you.

Stay well.

Let’s Take A Moment Day 282

Posted in Holidays, Music by

Hi everyone.  Hope you are all well and continue to stay that way during this global health crisis we are facing.  But in addition to protecting your physical wellness, what are you doing to stay mentally healthy today?

Dec 23

(Image found online.  Original source unknown.)

I know we are in a serious situation, but I need a break from the gloom, doom and bullying by way of hoarding. Music has always been my refuge and watching those beautiful Italians singing to each other from their balconies reaffirmed my belief that music is the answer. So until the old normal returns, I am going to share a song I listen to that helps me escape the current state of things, if only for a few minutes each day.  And if this helps anyone else, even better.

Elvis Presley is The King, but even he had his own definition of cool. You know what, rather who, that was? Dean Martin. Perhaps that is how he earned the name “The King Of Cool”. His charm, charisma, swoon worthy handsome face and gregarious personality helped him earn this title but as a fellow Italian I can’t help but think his ancestry had a lot to do with it as well. His suave, dreamy persona came through in every song he sang, including today’s holiday pick.

“Hear the snow crunch
See the kids bunch
This is Santa’s big scene
And above all
This bustle you’ll hear“.

Dean

Dean Martin circa 1958. (Image found online.  Original source unknown.)

Dean Martin: “Silver Bells” (1966, written by Jay Livingston and Ray Evans).

I do not own the rights to anything.  I am just sharing what I love and how I am coping with you.

Stay well.

Let’s Take A Moment Day 83

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Hi everyone.  Hope you are all well and continue to stay that way during this global health crisis we are facing.  But in addition to protecting your physical wellness, what are you doing to stay mentally healthy today?

Kerouac

(Image found online.  Original source unknown.)

I know we are in a serious situation, but I need a break from the gloom, doom and bullying by way of hoarding. Music has always been my refuge and watching those beautiful Italians singing to each other from their balconies reaffirmed my belief that music is the answer. So until the old normal returns, I am going to share a song I listen to that helps me escape the current state of things, if only for a few minutes each day.  And if this helps anyone else, even better.

Today marks the 103rd birth anniversary of Dino Paul Crocetti, known to his friends as Dean Martin.  And the world could always use a little more Dean, am I right?  Today’s song went to number one on August 15, 1964.  What song did it replace?  “A Hard Day’s Night” by The Beatles, which held that spot for the first two weeks of that month.  I love The Beatles, but my Italian pride kind of loves this little fact  🙂

Happy birthday, Dino!!!

dean-martin-88

Dean Martin circa 1955.  (Image found online.  Original source unknown.)

Dean Martin:  “Everybody Loves Somebody” (1964, written by Sam Coslow, Irving Taylor & Ken Lane).

I do not own the rights to anything.  I am just sharing what I love and how I am coping with you.

Stay well.