Around the world, entertainment superstar Dean Martin has the market cornered on charisma, easygoing charm, playful wit, and gracious humility, all of which combine to make him infinitely cool. To honor Martin’s broad appeal and countless contributions to modern entertainment via his legendary music, stage, film and television career, many of the world’s top artists have recorded new collaborative tracks with him for a new album titled Dean Martin: Forever Cool. To be released worldwide in CD and deluxe CD/DVD packages and digitally on Tuesday, August 14 by Capitol/EMI, Forever Cool’s 14 tracks pair Martin’s original vocals with new arrangements and an all-star group of collaborators in a salute to the unparalleled talent and charisma of the man known around the world as Dino.
Forever Cool’s inspired new recordings, woven together with several rare and previously unreleased clips of Martin’s witty studio banter, feature Grammy winner Joss Stone, country music star Martina McBride, two-time Oscar® winner Kevin Spacey, international superstar Robbie Williams, French entertainment icon Charles Aznavour, saxophonist Dave Koz, Grammy winner Shelby Lynne, trumpeter Chris Botti, “American Idol” finalist Paris Bennett, Italian chart-topper Tiziano Ferro and other music greats. The new album swings, swaggers, rocks, rolls and whispers, gently closing with a previously unreleased a cappella version of “Lullaby” sung by Martin.
More than anyone else ever has, Dean Martin personifies masculine cool. Never was an icon so relatable, never such a velvet-voiced, affable guy so Olympian. With Forever Cool, Martin’s brilliant knack for collaboration is renewed, fresh and fun all over again, bringing him together with many of the world’s top performers in an exuberant celebration. “It’s like a cocktail party on a record,” says Forever Cool executive producer Jane Ventom, “where all sorts of wonderful, unique guests get up and make music with the host.”
That the Forever Cool recording party roared in Capitol’s legendary Studio A in Hollywood, where almost every classic Dean Martin recording was put to tape, lent the proceedings a thrilling and electric ambiance. Song by song, spiritual and musical harmony ensued and fully enveloped each recording session. During a break in his vocal sessions, Kevin Spacey was heard to giddily mutter, “Holy ba-joley! He’s in the room… He’s definitely in the room…” Sax virtuoso Dave Koz politely asked the engineers to temporarily hold off the recording: “Could you just let Dean and I jam for awhile? By ourselves?”
“There was nobody cooler,” said Spacey. “The thing about Dean that’s always been astounding is that it just seems like it’s effortless. I think some people are just born entertainers. They recognize how to relate to an audience, how to engage an audience. I also think that one of the great things Dean had was that he could relate and engage with other performers. It’s a thrill to feel a link to someone like Dean Martin.”
“There is that undeniable force that you can’t put a name on,” said Robbie Williams. “I just want to be like him in real life. Offstage, I want to be like Dean Martin – funny, handsome, charming… I’ve got it nailed (laughs).”
“Dean had a swagger about him we all wish we had as entertainers,” said Shelby Lynne. “He’s got one of the greatest, most recognizable and smooth voices of all time. I’m not gonna lie. I’d love to be Dean Martin.” Added Scotty Morris of Big Bad Voodoo Daddy, “When you hear Dean Martin, he gives you a feeling. It’s a special gift. I love him and I want to do him justice, and I’d like to think that he’d be proud of me.”
Forever Cool’s production team includes EMI Music Marketing vice president of A&R Jane Ventom and Dean Martin’s business manager Laura Lizer as executive producers and Rob Christie as producer, with recording and mixing by co-producer and 15-time Grammy winner Al Schmitt (Norah Jones, Ray Charles, Diana Krall, Quincy Jones, etc.). Select tracks were produced by 12-time Grammy winning producer Phil Ramone (Tony Bennett, Paul Simon, Ray Charles, etc.), Grammy-winning producer, arranger and conductor Patrick Williams (Frank Sinatra, B.B. King, Barbra Streisand) and Bobby Colomby (Chris Botti). The album’s tracks were recorded and mixed at Capitol Studios in Hollywood.
“It’s a thrill to hear such a talented and diverse array of artists collaborate with Dean and celebrate his music,” said Dean Martin’s business manager Laura Lizer. “All of the artists have brought unique talents, inspiration and vibrant energy to the songs, complementing Dean with their own great styles and with a lot of love and respect for him. Forever Cool is a high-spirited, brilliant new entry in Dean’s recorded canon, and we’re proud to share it with his fans around the world. He would get a real kick out of this.”
Said Martin’s daughter, Gail Martin, “It gives me a warm glow to know that everybody – all ages, all generations – just seem to adore him and want more of him. That’s exciting, and it doesn’t surprise me.”
Of his first encounter with Martin, Jerry Lewis recalled, “That’s what I want to be like, you think. Maybe if I hang around with him, some of that’ll rub off on me.” In recent years Martin’s star has shone ever more brightly. In a 2004 Playboy magazine feature, writer Bill Zehme crowned Martin “the coolest man who ever lived.” More than 40 years after knocking the Beatles’ “A Hard Day’s Night” out of the #1 chart position with “Everybody Loves Somebody” in 1964, he continues to enthrall music fans around the world. Said Phil Ramone, “I think Dean’s whole re-birth, so to speak, is that young people have realized how cool he is and how funny he is… and he could sing.”
“He made music that’s going to stand the test of time and be around forever,” said Spacey. “People will always be listening to Dean Martin.”
“When he sings, you believe it,” said Martina McBride. “He had a great personality that just came across and made you feel like you knew him. I feel humbled and honored and proud to be a part of this project.” Echoed Lynne, “Some people are just naturally cool, and he was definitely naturally cool. It’s quite an honor to be a part of this.”
Martin’s effortless vocalizing has become a modern shorthand for cool, as evidenced by the use of his songs in films like Goodfellas, Casino, Swingers, Out of Sight, L.A. Confidential, A Bronx Tale and Payback, as well as top-rated television programs, including “The Sopranos,” “Ugly Betty” and ”Dancing With The Stars.” Martin’s music has also been featured in major brand TV advertising for Nissan, Microsoft, Marriott Hotels, Carl’s Jr., Heineken, this year’s Superbowl-premiered Budweiser commercial with “Ain’t That a Kick In the Head,” and many others.
The phenomenal sales of The Very Best Of Dean Martin and Dino: The Essential Dean Martin, provide a strongest signal of Dino’s continued prominence in the pop-music firmament. Both are just shy of Platinum in Canada. As Zehme observed in Playboy, “Dean provides smooth, winking succor to generations anew.”
“No matter what age you’re at, you kind of want to be cool,” said Spacey. “And there was nobody cooler at what he did.” Dean Martin’s approach to life with an easy smile, a graceful melody and an aura of unflappable cool is a style that was made to last forever.
For more information, please visit Dean Martin’s official Website: www.deanmartin.com.
DEAN MARTIN: FOREVER COOL (CD & Digital Album)
1. Who’s Got The Action – Featuring Big Bad Voodoo Daddy (3:02)
2. Ain’t That A Kick In The Head – Featuring Kevin Spacey (2:38)
3. I’ve Grown Accustomed To Her Face – Featuring Chris Botti (3:15)
4. Baby-O – Featuring Paris Bennett (3:09)
5. Who Was That Lady? – Featuring The Capitol Studios Orchestra (2:27)
6. Please Don’t Talk About Me When I’m Gone – Featuring Robbie Williams (2:27)
7. I Can’t Believe That You’re In Love With Me – Featuring Joss Stone (2:29)
8. Just In Time – Featuring Dave Koz (2:36)
9. Baby, It’s Cold Outside – Featuring Martina McBride (3:01)
10. King Of The Road – Featuring Kevin Spacey (2:28)
11. You’re Nobody ‘Til Somebody Loves You – Featuring Big Bad Voodoo Daddy & Shelby Lynne (3:09)
12. Arrivederci Roma – Featuring Tiziano Ferro (2:45)
13. Everybody Loves Somebody – Featuring Charles Aznavour (3:16)
14. Brahm’s Lullaby A Capella – Dean Martin (2:05)
DEAN MARTIN: FOREVER COOL (Deluxe Edition CD/DVD)
(DVD contents)
Making Of Forever Cool
Classic Dean Martin film clips (details to be announced)
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