"Everybody Loves Somebody" is a song written in 1947 by Irving Taylor and pianist

Ken Lane Kermit "Ken" Lane (December 20, 1912 – November 23, 1996) was an American musician from Brooklyn, New York. He was best known to audiences as Dean Martin's pianist on ''The Dean Martin Show'' in the late 1960s and early 1970s, but was already ...

, and made famous by Dean Martin who recorded and released his version in 1964.

History

Although written almost 20 years earlier, by 1964 the song had already been recorded by several artists—including Frank Sinatra—but without much success. Lane was playing piano for Dean Martin on his '' Dream with Dean'' LP sessions, and with an hour or so of studio time left and one song short, Lane suggested that Martin take a run at his tune. Dean was agreeable, and the small combo of piano, guitar, drums, and bass performed a relatively quiet, laid-back version of the song (coincidentally, Martin had sung it almost 20 years earlier on

Bob Hope Leslie Townes "Bob" Hope (May 29, 1903 – July 27, 2003) was a British-American comedian, vaudevillian, actor, singer and dancer. With a career that spanned nearly 80 years, Hope appeared in Bob Hope filmography, more than 70 short and ...

's radio show in 1948, and also on

Martin and Lewis Martin and Lewis were an American comedy duo, comprising singer Dean Martin and comedian Jerry Lewis. They met in 1945 and debuted at Atlantic City's 500 Club on July 25, 1946; the team lasted ten years to the day. Before they teamed up, Martin ...

's NBC radio program at about the same time). Almost immediately Martin re-recorded the song for his next album, this time with a full

orchestra An orchestra (; ) is a large instrumental ensemble typical of classical music, which combines instruments from different families. There are typically four main sections of instruments: * bowed string instruments, such as the violin, viola, c ...

and chorus. His label, Reprise Records, was so enthusiastic about the hit potential of this version they titled the LP ''Everybody Loves Somebody'' to capitalize on it. Although still a major recording artist, Dean Martin had not had a

top 40 In the music industry, the Top 40 is the current, 40 most-popular songs in a particular genre. It is the best-selling or most frequently broadcast popular music. Record charts have traditionally consisted of a total of 40 songs. "Top 40" or "cont ...

hit since 1958. With the

British Invasion The British Invasion was a cultural phenomenon of the mid-1960s, when rock and pop music acts from the United Kingdom and other aspects of British culture became popular in the United States and significant to the rising "counterculture" on ...

ruling the U.S. charts, few had hopes that an

Italian Italian(s) may refer to: * Anything of, from, or related to the people of Italy over the centuries ** Italians, an ethnic group or simply a citizen of the Italian Republic or Italian Kingdom ** Italian language, a Romance language *** Regional Ita ...

crooner Crooner is a term used to describe primarily male singers who performed using a smooth style made possible by better microphones which picked up quieter sounds and a wider range of frequencies, allowing the singer to access a more dynamic range ...

who had been singing mainly standards for almost 20 years would sway many teenagers. Martin resented rock n' roll, and his attitude created conflict at home with his 12-year-old son

Dean Paul Martin Dean Paul Martin Jr. (born Dino Paul Crocetti Jr., November 17, 1951 – March 21, 1987) was an American pop singer and film and television actor. A member of the California Air National Guard, Martin died in a crash during a military training f ...

, who like many young people at the time worshipped pop groups like

the Beatles The Beatles were an English rock band, formed in Liverpool in 1960, that comprised John Lennon, Paul McCartney, George Harrison and Ringo Starr. They are regarded as the most influential band of all time and were integral to the developmen ...

. He told his son, "I'm gonna knock your pallies off the charts," and on August 15, 1964 he did just that: "Everybody Loves Somebody" knocked the Beatles' " A Hard Day's Night" off the No. 1 slot on ''Billboard'', going straight up to the top of both the ''Billboard'' Hot 100 and the Pop-Standard Singles chart,Pop-Standard Singles
, '' Billboard'', August 1, 1964. p. 43. Accessed September 21, 2016. the latter for eight weeks. It ultimately replaced " That's Amore" as Martin's signature song, and he sang it as the theme of his weekly television variety show from 1965 to 1974. The song has become so identified with Martin that later versions are invariably compared to his take. "Everybody Loves Somebody Sometime" appears on Martin's grave marker in Los Angeles.''Any last words?''
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Covers

Ray Gelato recorded a cover of the song inserted in the 2004 self-titled album ( T2, TWR0131-2), released in the UK.

Chart performance

;Frank Sinatra ;Dean Martin

References

;Notes ;Bibliography *''The Billboard Book of Top 40 Hits'', 6th Edition, 1996

External links

* * {{authority control 1947 songs 1964 singles Andy Williams songs Billboard Hot 100 number-one singles Cashbox number-one singles Dean Martin songs Frank Sinatra songs Grammy Hall of Fame Award recipients Guy Mitchell songs Number-one singles in New Zealand Pop ballads Reprise Records singles Song recordings produced by Jimmy Bowen Songs written by Irving Taylor (songwriter) Songs written by Sam Coslow