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 (1894β1967), and an Italian-American mother, Angela Crocetti (nΓ©e Barra; 1899β1966). 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 (1916β1968). 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 MARTINβMAYBE FRANKβMAYBE 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 β 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 β 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 β 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 β August 24, 2016), a former Orange Bowl queen from Coral Gables, Florida. Their marriage lasted 24 years (1949β1973) and produced three children: Dean Paul Martin (November 17, 1951 β March 21, 1987), Ricci Martin (September 20, 1953 β 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.
From the Bottom of My Heart
Dean Martin Lyrics
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I love you
Even though you broke my heart
I still love you
What more can I say
Since you went away
I just couldn't hide my pride
Truly dear, oh how I cried
From the bottom of my heart, Dear
I miss you
I would give my very soul
Just to kiss you
Please come back to me
Hold me tenderly
Take me in your heart again
Be mine my love, forever
Dammi, dammi, dammi tanto amore
Fammi, fammi, fammi questo favore
Dolce come tu ΠΈ la gioventΡ
Primavera sei per me
Vieni su fammi saper
Dammi, dammi solo un pΡ di speranza
Un bacin da te per me ΠΈ bastanza
Ma se nel tuo cor' puoi trovar ancor
Un pΡ piu d'amor, amor,
Be mine, my love forever.
(From the bottom of my heart)
The lyrics of Dean Martin's "From the Bottom of My Heart" express the deep love and longing of the singer for a former lover. Despite being hurt and heartbroken by their separation, Martin declares his love for this person and his desire to have them back in his life. The opening line immediately establishes the emotional intensity of the song as Martin sings, "From the bottom of my heart, Dear, I love you." He acknowledges the pain caused by their breakup, but conveys that his love for this person transcends that hurt.
In the second verse, Martin expresses his strong desire to be reunited with his lover, saying that he would give his very soul just to kiss them again. The pleading tone of the lyrics, as he asks the person to come back to him and hold him tenderly, emphasizes his deep longing and vulnerability. The Italian lyrics that are interspersed intermittently throughout the song add to the romantic ambiance and heighten the sense of longing and yearning.
Overall, the song is a testament to the enduring power of love, even in the face of heartbreak and separation. It speaks to the idea that true love can never truly die, and that even the deepest wounds can be healed by the power of love.
Line by Line Meaning
From the bottom of my heart, Dear
I am expressing my deepest emotions to you, my dear.
I love you
Despite the hurt you caused me, my feelings for you remain unchanged, and I still love you deeply.
Even though you broke my heart
You may have hurt me, but that has not diminished my love for you.
I still love you
My love and devotion for you has not withered away, even in the face of your betrayal.
What more can I say
I have expressed everything I feel to you, but my love for you is beyond words.
Since you went away
Ever since you left me, my heart longs for you every moment of every day.
I just couldn't hide my pride
My pride and hurt feelings may have made me act as if I was not affected by your actions, but my love for you was always there and remained strong.
Truly dear, oh how I cried
Your departure and the pain you caused me left me in tears, my darling.
I miss you
Your absence from my life is felt deeply, and I long to have you by my side again.
I would give my very soul
I am willing to give up everything just to have you back in my life, my love.
Just to kiss you
The thought of feeling your lips on mine is enough to make me want to do anything to have you back in my arms again.
Please come back to me
My heart and soul yearn for your return, my dear. Please come back to me soon.
Hold me tenderly
Let me feel your warm embrace and the comfort of your tender touch, my love.
Take me in your heart again
Allow me to be a part of your life once more and rekindle the love we once shared, my darling.
Be mine my love, forever
Promise me that you'll always be by my side, my love, for now and forevermore.
Lyrics Β© Warner Chappell Music, Inc.
Written by: RAY RIVERA, MURRAY SHAKTER
Lyrics Licensed & Provided by LyricFind