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 (1894–1967), and an Italian-American mother, Angela Crocetti (née Barra; 1899–1966). 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 (1916–1968). 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 MARTIN—MAYBE FRANK—MAYBE 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 – 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 – 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 – 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 – August 24, 2016), a former Orange Bowl queen from Coral Gables, Florida. Their marriage lasted 24 years (1949–1973) and produced three children: Dean Paul Martin (November 17, 1951 – March 21, 1987), Ricci Martin (September 20, 1953 – 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.
Walkin' My Baby Back Home
Dean Martin Lyrics
Jump to: Overall Meaning ↴ Line by Line Meaning ↴
Walking my baby back home
Arm and arm over meadow and farm
Walking my baby back home
We go along harmonizing a song
Or I'm reciting a poem
Owls go by and they give me the eye
Walking my baby back home
Snuggles her head to my chest
We started to pet and that's when I get
Her talcum all over my vest
After I kind of straighten my tie
She has to borrow my comb
One kiss then I continue again
Walking my baby back home
La la la dee la la la dee
Know she's afraid of the dark
So I have to park
Right outside the door 'til it's light
She says if I try to kiss her she'll cry
So I dry her tears off all through the night
La la la dee la la la dee
We stop for awhile she gives me a smile
Snuggles her head to my chest
We started to pet and that's when I get
Her talcum all over my vest
After I kind of straighten my tie
She has to borrow my comb
One kiss then I continue again
Walking my baby back home
Walking my baby back home
Dean Martin's Walkin' My Baby Back Home is a tender love song that captures the joy of simply walking home with one's partner after a beautiful night out. The song describes the singer's experience of walking his lover back home, arm in arm, through fields and farms, while humming a tune or reciting a poem. Owls watch them with curiosity while they enjoy each other's company. They pause for a while, and she gives him a smile, snuggling her head to his chest. The mood turns intimate, with the two petting each other, and in the process, she ends up dusting his jacket with talcum powder. As they walk, he straightens his tie, and she borrows his comb to tidy up her own hair. Finally, they stop at her door, where he gives her a kiss before continuing on his own.
The lyrics are filled with tender and endearing moments that depict the joys of young love. The song is a tribute to the simplicity and purity of walking someone you love back home, an activity that has become lost in our modern, fast-paced world. The song encourages listeners to slow down and appreciate the small joys in life, like spending time with a loved one without distractions. In conclusion, Walkin' My Baby Back Home is a song that reminds us to cherish our relationships and enjoy the simple pleasures in life.
Line by Line Meaning
Gee but it's great after being out late
It's really nice to walk back home with my baby after a long night out.
Walking my baby back home
I'm enjoying the company of my girlfriend as we walk back home together.
Arm and arm over meadow and farm
We walk side by side through the fields and countryside, holding each other's arm.
We go along harmonizing a song
We sing together as we walk, in perfect harmony.
Or I'm reciting a poem
Sometimes I'll share a poetic verse with my girlfriend as we stroll together.
Owls go by and they give me the eye
Even the night creatures, like the owls, seem to notice how happy we are together.
Walking my baby back home
I love walking with my girlfriend, there's nothing like it.
We stop for awhile she gives me a smile
Sometimes we stop and my girlfriend smiles at me, which makes me feel so happy.
Snuggles her head to my chest
She cuddles up to me and rests her head on my chest, which is a really intimate moment.
We started to pet and that's when I get
We start to pet and play with each other, and that's when I usually end up with her talcum powder all over my clothes.
Her talcum all over my vest
My girlfriend's talcum powder gets all over me when we're snuggling and playing around.
After I kind of straighten my tie
I clean myself up a bit after the petting and fix my tie, since we're still walking home.
She has to borrow my comb
My girlfriend needs to borrow my comb to tidy up her hair since we've been playing around a bit.
One kiss then I continue again
We share a kiss and then continue walking together, happy and content.
Walking my baby back home
I love nothing more than walking back home with my girlfriend.
Lyrics © Sony/ATV Music Publishing LLC, Bluewater Music Corp., Songtrust Ave, Peermusic Publishing, Warner Chappell Music, Inc.
Written by: Fred E. Ahlert, Roy Turk
Lyrics Licensed & Provided by LyricFind
xdominick97
I love when he hits these high notes at the end of songs
Paul Nonatus E. Bautista
It must have been awesome to watch him perform live!!
fedoragibson
It seems every show had a live orchestra in those days. there must have been a lot of work for musicians.
Lori Esquibel
Dino, The all time greatest crooner in my opinion! Could listen to him every day!
Shelley Wantiez
My all time favorite singer. He was the best of the best
magicsenna34
Chaque fois que j'entends cette chanson, je ne peux pas m'empêcher de penser à Janet Leigh dans l'épisode n⁰ 1 de la 5ème saison de Columbo et c'est même mon épisode préféré... 👍👏🇺🇸
Myint Ye
I love this song thanks 💕
Margot Poulin
Beautiful song. I like Nat King Cole but Martin is good too. Sooo coooool, man! 💞
Lyall G
Both phenomenal versions.
Have a Barry Nice Day
I love dean so much,such a beautiful voice he had and he was so handsome l love him so ❤️🇨🇮