He and Jerry Lewis formed the immensely popular comedy duo Martin and Lewis, with Martin serving as the straight man to Lewis' slapstick hijinks. Martin went on to become a star of concert stages, nightclubs, audio recordings, motion pictures, and television, and was also a member of the "Rat Pack". Martin was the host of the television variety programs The Dean Martin Show and The Dean Martin Celebrity Roasts. His relaxed, warbling, crooning voice earned him dozens of hit singles, including his signature songs "Memories Are Made of This", "That's Amore", "Everybody Loves Somebody", "You're Nobody Till Somebody Loves You", "Sway", "Volare", and "Ain't That a Kick in the Head?"
Martin was born on June 7, 1917, in Steubenville, Ohio, to an Italian father, Gaetano Alfonso Crocetti (1894โ1967), and an Italian-American mother, Angela Crocetti (nรฉe Barra; 1899โ1966). They were married in 1914. His father, who was a barber, was originally from Montesilvano, in Abruzzo, and his maternal grandparents' origins are believed to be also from Abruzzo, although they are not clearly known. Martin had an older brother named William Alfonso Crocetti (1916โ1968). Martin's first language was Abruzzese, a dialect of Neapolitan, and he did not speak English until he started school at the age of five. He attended Grant Elementary School in Steubenville, where he was bullied for his broken English. He later took up the drums as a hobby as a teenager. Martin then dropped out of Steubenville High School in the 10th grade because he thought he was smarter than his teachers. He bootlegged liquor, served as a speakeasy croupier, was a blackjack dealer, worked in a steel mill, and boxed as a welterweight.
As Martin's solo career grew, he and Frank Sinatra became friends. In the late 1950s and early 1960s, Martin and Sinatra, along with friends Joey Bishop, Peter Lawford, and Sammy Davis, Jr. formed the Rat Pack, so-called after an earlier group of social friends, the Holmby Hills Rat Pack centered on Humphrey Bogart and Lauren Bacall, of which Sinatra had been a member (The Martin-Sinatra-Davis-Lawford-Bishop group referred to themselves as "The Summit" or "The Clan" and never as "The Rat Pack", although this has remained their identity in popular imagination). The men made films together, formed part of the Hollywood social scene, and were politically influential (through Lawford's marriage to Patricia Kennedy, sister of President John F. Kennedy).
The Rat Pack was legendary for its Las Vegas Strip performances. For example, the marquee at the Sands Hotel might read DEAN MARTINโMAYBE FRANKโMAYBE SAMMY. Their appearances were valuable because the city would flood with wealthy gamblers. Their act (always in tuxedo) consisted of each singing individual numbers, duets and trios, along with seemingly improvised slapstick and chatter. In the socially charged 1960s, their jokes revolved around adult themes, such as Sinatra's womanizing and Martin's drinking, as well as Davis's race and religion. Sinatra and Martin supported the civil rights movement and refused to perform in clubs that would not allow African-American or Jewish performers. Posthumously, the Rat Pack has experienced a popular revival, inspiring the George Clooney/Brad Pitt "Ocean's Trilogy."
Martin returned to films briefly with appearances in the star-laden, critically panned but commercially successful The Cannonball Run and its sequel Cannonball Run II. He also had a minor hit single with "Since I Met You Baby" and made his first music video, which appeared on MTV. The video was created by Martin's youngest son, Ricci. On March 21, 1987, Martin's son, actor Dean Paul Martin (formerly Dino of the 1960s "teeny-bopper" rock group Dino, Desi & Billy), died when his F-4 Phantom II jet fighter crashed while flying with the California Air National Guard. Martin's grief over his son's death left him depressed and demoralized. Later, a tour with Davis and Sinatra in 1988, undertaken in part to help Martin recover, sputtered.
Martin, who responded best to a club audience, felt lost in the huge stadiums they were performing in at Sinatra's insistence, and he was not interested in drinking until dawn after performances. His final Vegas shows were at Bally's Hotel in 1990. There he had his final reunion with Lewis on his 72nd birthday. Martin's last two TV appearances involved tributes to his former Rat Pack members. On December 8, 1989, he joined stars in Sammy Davis Jr's 60th anniversary celebration, which aired a few weeks before Davis died from throat cancer. In December 1990, he congratulated Sinatra on his 75th birthday special.
Martin, a heavy smoker, was diagnosed with lung cancer at Cedars Sinai Medical Center in September 1993, and was told that he would require surgery to prolong his life, but he rejected it. He retired from public life in early 1995 and died of acute respiratory failure resulting from emphysema at his Beverly Hills home on Christmas Day, 1995 at the age of 78. The lights of the Las Vegas Strip were dimmed in his honor. Martin's body was interred at the Westwood Village Memorial Park Cemetery in Los Angeles. The crypt features the epitaph "Everybody Loves Somebody Sometime", the title of his signature song.
In 1996, Ohio Route 7 through Steubenville was rededicated as Dean Martin Boulevard. Road signs bearing an Al Hirschfeld caricature of Martin's likeness designate the stretch with a historical marker bearing a small picture and brief biography in the Gazebo Park at Route 7 and North Fourth Street. An annual Dean Martin Festival celebration is held in Steubenville. Impersonators, friends and family, and entertainers, many of Italian ancestry, appear. In 2005, Clark County, Nevada, renamed a portion of Industrial Road as Dean Martin Drive. A similarly named street was dedicated in 2008 in Rancho Mirage, California. Martin's family was presented a gold record in 2004 for Dino: The Essential Dean Martin, his fastest-selling album, which also hit the iTunes Top 10, and in 2006 it was certified "Platinum".
For the week ending December 23, 2006, the Dean Martin and Martina McBride duet of "Baby, It's Cold Outside" reached No. 7 on the R&R AC chart. It also went to No. 36 on the R&R Country chart โ the last time Martin had a song this high in the charts was in 1965, with the song "I Will," which reached No. 10 on the Pop chart. An album of duets, Forever Cool, was released by Capitol/EMI in 2007. It features Martin's voice with Kevin Spacey, Shelby Lynne, Joss Stone, Big Bad Voodoo Daddy, Robbie Williams, McBride and others. His footprints were immortalized at Grauman's Chinese Theatre in 1964. Martin has three stars on the Hollywood Walk of Fame: one at 6519 Hollywood Boulevard for movies; the second at 1617 Vine for recordings; and a third at 6651 Hollywood Boulevard for television. In February 2009, Martin was honored with a posthumous Grammy Lifetime Achievement Award. Four of his surviving children, Gail, Deana, Ricci and Gina accepted it on his behalf. In 2010, Martin received a posthumous star on the Italian Walk of Fame in Toronto, Ontario, Canada.
Martin was married three times. His first wife was Elizabeth Anne "Betty" McDonald, (July 14, 1922 โ July 11, 1989) of Ridley Park, Pennsylvania. Martin and McDonald married in 1941 and had four children: Craig Martin (born 1942), Claudia Martin (March 16, 1944 โ February 16, 2001), Gail Martin (born 1945); and Deana Martin (born 1948). Martin and McDonald divorced in 1949 and Dean gained custody of their children. Betty lived out her life in relative obscurity in San Francisco, California.
Martin's second wife was Dorothy Jean "Jeanne" Biegger (March 27, 1927 โ August 24, 2016), a former Orange Bowl queen from Coral Gables, Florida. Their marriage lasted 24 years (1949โ1973) and produced three children: Dean Paul Martin (November 17, 1951 โ March 21, 1987), Ricci Martin (September 20, 1953 โ August 3, 2016)[15] and Gina Martin (born 1956).
Martin's third marriage, to Catherine Hawn, lasted three years before Martin initiated divorce proceedings. They had no biological children of their own but Martin adopted Hawn's daughter, Sasha.
Martin's uncle was Leonard Barr, who appeared in several of his shows. In the 1960s and early 1970s, he lived at 363 Copa De Oro Road in Bel Air, Los Angeles, before selling it to Tom Jones for $500,000 in June 1976.
Martin's son-in-law was the Beach Boys' Carl Wilson, who married Martin's daughter Gina. Figure skater Dorothy Hamill and actress Olivia Hussey were his daughters-in-law during their marriages to Martin's son, Dean Paul Martin.
Detroit City
Dean Martin Lyrics
Jump to: Overall Meaning ↴ Line by Line Meaning ↴
Oh, how I want to go home!
Last night I went to sleep in Detroit City,
And I dreamed about those cotton fields at home.
I dreamed about my mother,
Dear old Papa, Sister and brother,
I dreamed about that girl
I want to go home, I want to go home,
Oh, how I want to go home!
Home, folks think I'm big in Detroit City.
From the letters that I write, they think I'm fine.
But by day, I make the cars,
And by night I make the bars,
If only they could read between the lines!
[Spoken]
You know,
I rode a freight train north to Detroit City.
After all these years,
I find that I've just been wastin' my time.
So I just think I'll take my foolish pride,
Put on a south bound freight and ride,
Goin' back to the love ones,
The ones I left waitin' so far behind.
I want to go home, I want to go home,
Oh, how I want to go home.
The song "Detroit City" by Dean Martin tells the story of a man who feels homesick, lonely and disconnected in Detroit, despite the fact that he is doing well for himself, with a job making cars and a reputation that makes his family back home think he's important. Despite these things, he yearns for the simple life he once had in the South, where he had loved ones and a real sense of belonging. He sings about dreaming of his family, his old home, and a girl who's been waiting for him, and expresses his desire to leave behind his life in Detroit and return home.
The lyrics paint a picture of a man who has lost touch with his roots and longs for the sense of community and love that he left behind. Through his dreaming, he realizes that he has been living a shallow and unfulfilling life in Detroit, and decides to take the risk of leaving it all behind and returning to the ones he loves. The song is a powerful reminder of the importance of family, community and living a life that is true to oneself, rather than chasing after empty dreams.
Line by Line Meaning
I want to go home, I want to go home,
The singer expresses his strong desire to return to his hometown.
Oh, how I want to go home!
The singer emphasizes the intensity of his desire to go back home.
Last night I went to sleep in Detroit City,
The singer indicates that he is temporarily residing in Detroit City but he finds it difficult to adapt to this new place.
And I dreamed about those cotton fields at home.
The singer dreams about the comfort of his hometown where he enjoys the natural landscape.
I dreamed about my mother,
The singer's mother is an important figure in his dreams, signifying the safety and warmth of his family.
Dear old Papa, Sister and brother,
The singer's father and siblings play important roles in his life and are dearly missed.
I dreamed about that girl
The singer's lover is absent from his life and he longs to be reunited with her in his hometown.
Who's been waiting for so long.
The girl is patiently waiting for the singer's return, indicating a strong love for him.
Home, folks think I'm big in Detroit City.
The singer's family believes that he is successful in Detroit City and has made a name for himself.
From the letters that I write, they think I'm fine.
The singer's letters to his family describe his life in a positive way, leading them to think he is doing well.
But by day, I make the cars,
The singer works in the automotive industry in Detroit City.
And by night I make the bars,
The singer spends his free time in bars, signifying his lack of purpose and direction in this new city.
If only they could read between the lines!
The singer wishes his family could understand the true nature of his struggles in Detroit City.
You know,
The singer is about to reveal a personal story or insight.
I rode a freight train north to Detroit City.
The singer arrived in Detroit City using unconventional means, illustrating his desire to change his life.
After all these years,
The singer has been living in Detroit City for an extended period of time.
I find that I've just been wastin' my time.
The singer has come to the realization that his life in Detroit City is unfulfilling and unproductive.
So I just think I'll take my foolish pride,
The singer acknowledges that he has made mistakes and decides to correct them by leaving.
Put on a south bound freight and ride,
The singer decides to leave Detroit City and head towards his hometown by using a freight train.
Goin' back to the love ones,
The singer is returning to the people and places he loves in his hometown.
The ones I left waitin' so far behind.
The people he left behind in his hometown are eagerly awaiting his return.
I want to go home, I want to go home,
The singer repeats his desire to go back to his hometown as a way to emphasize his longing and determination to return.
Oh, how I want to go home!
The singer repeats the line to emphasize the importance of his desire to go back home.
Lyrics ยฉ Universal Music Publishing Group
Written by: DANNY DILL, MEL TILLIS
Lyrics Licensed & Provided by LyricFind
Peace World
I want to go home, I want to go home,
Oh, how I want to go home!
Last night I went to sleep in Detroit City,
And I dreamed about those cotton fields at home.
I dreamed about my mother,
Dear old Papa, Sister and brother,
I dreamed about that girl
Who's been waiting for so long.
I want to go home, I want to go home,
Oh, how I want to go home!
Home, folks think I'm big in Detroit City.
From the letters that I write, they think I'm fine.
But by day, I make the cars,
And by night I make the bars,
If only they could read between the lines!
You know,
I rode a freight train north to Detroit City.
After all these years,
I find that I've just been wastin' my time.
So I just think I'll take my foolish pride,
Put on a south bound freight and ride,
Goin' back to the love ones,
The ones I left waitin' so far behind.
I want to go home, I want to go home,
Oh, how I want to go home.
Stefan Sprincean
want to go home, I want to go home,
Oh, how I want to go home!
Last night I went to sleep in Detroit City,
And I dreamed about those cotton fields at home.
I dreamed about my mother,
Dear old Papa, Sister and brother,
I dreamed about that girl
Who's been waiting for so long.
I want to go home, I want to go home,
Oh, how I want to go home!
Home, folks think I'm big in Detroit City.
From the letters that I write, they think I'm fine.
But by day, I make the cars,
And by night I make the bars,
If only they could read between the lines!
You know,
I rode a freight train north to Detroit City.
After all these years,
I find that I've just been wastin' my time.
So I just think I'll take my foolish pride,
Put on a south bound freight and ride,
Goin' back to the love ones,
The ones I left waitin' so far behind.
I want to go home, I want to go home,
Oh, how I want to go home.
garfield5788
Love Dean, thank you for another amazing clip with just the best song ever. Appreciate all your work :)
Succourtash
I'm still in love with this great man. There will never be anyone like him ever.
Zaren Cachia
Lovely voice from the legend
Maria Diva
๐๐๐ถ Que emoรงรฃo ouvir estas canรงรฃes com ๐๐ถDean Martin,รก faz lenbrr o tempo de fazenda ,todos em volta dรก fogueira e ovindo os cantadores .eu vivi estes momentos lindos ,sรณ nรฃo tinha ๐ท Dean Martin nem ๐๐Elvis mais rea bom โฆ..๐ถ๐๐
Frank Insense
dean made all our family happy, mum would swoon a bit, dad would sing like dean, we would all laugh and enjoy an hour of great music and comedy....
Marlene Ful
oh my god so true he was the king our parents were so happy when he sang
Hope Lines
Never met him but he's like family to me. Love you Dean!
Olaf Groรpietsch
Dean for ever.Love this Song.
memphis JOHNSON
funky. Song Love. This Melody..
Peace World
I want to go home, I want to go home,
Oh, how I want to go home!
Last night I went to sleep in Detroit City,
And I dreamed about those cotton fields at home.
I dreamed about my mother,
Dear old Papa, Sister and brother,
I dreamed about that girl
Who's been waiting for so long.
I want to go home, I want to go home,
Oh, how I want to go home!
Home, folks think I'm big in Detroit City.
From the letters that I write, they think I'm fine.
But by day, I make the cars,
And by night I make the bars,
If only they could read between the lines!
You know,
I rode a freight train north to Detroit City.
After all these years,
I find that I've just been wastin' my time.
So I just think I'll take my foolish pride,
Put on a south bound freight and ride,
Goin' back to the love ones,
The ones I left waitin' so far behind.
I want to go home, I want to go home,
Oh, how I want to go home.