Dean Martin is quite
rightly viewed as one of the Christmas greats, as well as been the
king of cool and an integral part of the Rat Pack. Quite a lot to
juggle there but Martin's velvet tones meant his festive ditties
graced the season of goodwill without fail each year. Although
there have been a variety of reissues under different titles Martin
only ever recorded 2 solo Christmas albums. The first 'A Winter
Romance' came out in 1959 and its vinyl cover proudly pronounced
its 'full dimensional stereo'. It also had an amorous Martin locked
in an embrace with a young lady while he eyed up another who
happened to be passing by (could explain the 'It Won't Cool Off'
track that closed the album!). 'A Winter Romance' had 12 tracks in
all and included the classics 'Let It Snow! Let It Snow! Let It
Snow!', 'Baby, It's Cold Outside' and 'White Christmas'.
Dean Martin's other
Christmas album simply titled 'The Dean Martin Christmas Album' (or
'My Christmas Album') was released in 1966 and had crossover on
some tracks from his previous Christmas album. It is probably the
definitive Dean Martin festive record as each of its 10 tunes is
instantly recognisable.
Dean Martin died on
Christmas morning 1995.