Day 171. Dino: The Essential Dean Martin

When it comes to cool, there aren’t many cats that come much cooler than Dean Martin. This singer, TV and movie star was a member of the Rat Pack from the MCM era that included Frank Sinatra and Sammy Davis Jr. I already had his Christmas album, and I had been hearing a lot of his songs recently on the Siriusly Sinatra channel, so I decided to expand my collection. Dino: The Essential Dean Martin is a great compilation disc featuring 30 timeless tunes. This cornucopia of cool makes me happy. Ciao, Dino.

 

[Chicago Jake]

Ah, Dino, one of my all time favorites! Love his attitude as well as his singing. You can hear it in his voice that nothing is going to bother him, he's just here to have some fun! I have one album where you can hear him bantering with the recording engineer between songs, having a great time.

For a Tiki connection, I have heard Don Ho described as "The Hawaiian Dean Martin," and I think it is accurate; he has that same "just here for the party" subtext to his performances. Ain't that a kick in the head!

 

[andypanda]

You know, I wasn’t necessarily thinking of a Tiki connection, but that’s a great one with Don Ho! I just consider lounge music one of the five pillars of Tiki music, along with Exotica, Surf, Polynesian, and Space-Age Bachelor Pad. It’s a small step from the Rat Pack to the Martini Kings, which then puts you next door to SHAG. Kevin Bacon must land here some where too!