- Included among the Record Descriptions of Favorite Albums (Part 1).
- Dean Martin’s Greatest Hits, Volume 1 includes his hit song that arrived in June 1964 at the height of Beatlemania, “Everybody Loves Somebody”.
Dean Martin – Dean Martin’s Greatest Hits, Volume 1 (1968): Dean Martin began his show business career in an unlikely 10-year partnership with Jerry Lewis; after their acrimonious split in 1956, Martin established himself as a top vocalist and became one of the most popular acts in Las Vegas. Dean Martin always sounded to me like he had had a drink or two when he sang. Having the nickname “The King of Cool”, Dean Martin became fast friends with Frank Sinatra and Sammy Davis Jr., with the three forming a loose association of Hollywood A-listers known as “the Rat Pack”. Another member of the Rat Pack (at least in the early years) was Peter Lawford, the brother-in-law of President John F. Kennedy – with that political connection as the clincher, no other show biz group before or since could match the Rat Pack for sheer star power.
Dean Martin had a television show called The Dean Martin Show beginning in 1965 and is still well known for hosting Dean Martin Celebrity Roast from 1974 to 1984. Dean Martin’s Greatest Hits, Volume 1 includes Dean Martin’s hit song that arrived in June 1964 at the height of Beatlemania, “Everybody Loves Somebody”. While Dean Martin hadn’t had a Top 40 song since 1958, “Everybody Loves Somebody” zoomed to the top of the charts, knocking the Beatles’ “A Hard Day’s Night” from Number One. Over the course of his career, Dean Martin scored hits with contemporary songs and also selections from the Great American Song Book. “You’re Nobody ’Til Somebody Loves You” is the other song on this album that I remember well; other familiar songs on Dean Martin’s Greatest Hits, Volume 1 include “(Remember Me) I’m the One Who Loves You”, “Every Minute, Every Hour”, and “The Birds and the Bees”.