Switching it up a bit this weekend and diving into Pop Culture of the 1950s – this informal interview with Dean Martin via telephone on the Howard Miller program for CBS Radio on April 25, 1957.
One of the most popular entertainers of the mid-20th century, he was nicknamed “The King of Cool”. Dean Martin gained his career breakthrough together with comedian Jerry Lewis, billed as Martin and Lewis, in 1946. They performed in nightclubs and later had numerous appearances on radio and television and in films.
Following an acrimonious ending of the partnership in 1956, Dean Martin pursued a solo career as a performer and actor. He established himself as a singer, recording numerous contemporary songs as well as standards from the Great American Songbook. Martin became one of the most popular acts in Las Vegas and was known for his friendship with fellow artists Frank Sinatra and Sammy Davis Jr., who together with several others formed the Rat Pack.
This interview coincides with the opening night of a very successful stint at the Moulin Rouge in Hollywood in April 1957. After the split from Lewis, it took very little time for Dean Martin to become established as one of the major forces in Pop music at the time. Bear in mind, Rock n’ Roll was gathering traction, but The Great American Songbook and the solid voices that went along with it were very much an imbedded element in the fabric of America, if not the rest of the world.
Even after Rock gained prominence, it was singers like Dean Martin who still had major popularity, a lot owing to a stretch into film, the legendary Vegas stints and numerous successful TV shows. Dean Martin was very much a cornerstone in American Popular Culture.
If you aren’t familiar you’re missing out. His work and his presence were timeless. And that’s what the epitome of Showmanship is all about.
Have a listen – if you are familiar, you stopped reading this after the first sentence and are already diving in.
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