Sweet home Alabama, where the skies are so blue, sweet home Alabama, Lord I'm...(four days) late again....
My introduction to this week's tune came when I first saw the movie Moonstruck, in which it is featured prominently. Seeing as how it was a romantic comedy, it's quite apropos that it was love at first listen....
Dean Martin, also known as the "King of Cool" (and what a, uh, cool nickname that would be), was one of America's greatest entertainers of the twentieth century, and his bio is a lot more than a single paragraph. Nevertheless, he got his start singing for big bands in the late thirties, teamed up with Jerry Lewis as a comedy/singing duo and became a star, went his separate way and became a recording star and an icon as a singer in Vegas (he was part of the infamous Rat Pack), had considerable success acting, segued into a successful television series, and eventually retired due to illness in 1995. For what it's worth, my father was a big fan of his music, and I was more than familiar with his best songs well before hearing this week's tune (I actually found one of his greatest hits on CD at a library book sale and spent several weeks last year enjoying the living shit out of listening to him). For his career, Martin released thirty-seven studio albums (with one top ten), twenty compilations (with one #2), and 108 singles (with four top five hits, including one number one). Martin was diagnosed with lung cancer in early 1995 and died on Christmas Day of that same year).
Fun Fact: Though my Dad was normally somewhat reserved, he did do a hell of an impression of Martin singing his signature tune, "Everybody Loves Somebody."
"That's Amore" was released as a single in 1953. A year later it was added to Martin's first studio LP (a 10"), the rather obviously named Dean Martin Sings and re-released as a 12" album. The single would reach #2 (with a bullet!), but the album did not chart in either size. It was nominated for an Academy Award from the Martin/Lewis comedy The Caddy but did not win.
"That's Amore" opens with a chorale performing a harmony before breaking into a whimsical look at the glory that is falling in love. The song makes liberal use of Italian lingo, features a teasing mandolin and a luscious violin, and characteristic of its musical era, makes prominent use of the aforementioned chorale. But, as you might expect from someone nicknamed the King of Cool, it's Martin's vocals that carry the song. He sings it with a genial demeanor, one part humor and the other wonder. His baritone just glides over the lyrics to make a syrupy sweet piece of classic pop music pie. For me, it has always been an utter joy to listen to and probably will be till the end of my days.
Lyric Sheet: "When you walk in a dream/But you know you're not dreaming, signore/Scusami, but you see/Back in old Napoli that's amore..."
Enjoy:
Fuck Donald Trump
Peace,
emaycee
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