Of the rat pack members, I always liked Dean Martin the most. Frank had the voice (he was The Voice after all), and Sam just came off so happy all the time, but Dean had a great combination of singing, swagger, wit. There is a reason why he was known as the king of cool, after all. He was also the best fake drunk around, a comic tradition that seems to have unfortunately gone by the wayside.
He was born on June 7, 1917. (Ok, so happy belated birthday.) That would make him 101 if he were still alive. The world is a worse place without him, but at least YouTube makes all his songs, videos, and TV performances easy to find.
Here he is singing King of the Road, one of my favorites. The song wasn't originally his, but it was one of his favorites too and he performed it many times, singing it better than anyone else IHMO. I often sing this to my kid when putting him to bed. An odd naptime song, maybe, but it does the job.
Ain't the a kick in the head. A great swing jazz tune that has since become one of his most well-known songs. It was featured in Ocean's 11 (the original).
He could even dance well (this is a great number with Jerry Lewis). (skip to about 5 minutes in if you want to get straight to the tap dancing)
Happy birthday, Dino, wherever you are.
 | David LaSpina is an American photographer lost in Japan, trying to capture the beauty of this country one photo at a time. More? |