Memories Are Made of This (1956)

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• Dean Martin - Memories Are Made of This (MP3)

By: Dean Martin (born Dino Paul Crocetti on June 7, 1917 in Steubenville, Ohio, died of respiratory failure December 25, 1995 in Beverly Hills, California.)

Though born in Ohio, Dean spoke only Italian until the age of five.

Dean Martin was part of the the Rat Pack, a group that featured Frank Sinatra, Martin, Sammy Davis, Jr., Peter Lawford, and Joey Bishop, all of whom appeared together on stage and in films in the early 1960s, including the original 1960 version of Ocean's Eleven.

The backing vocals belong to the song's writers Terry Gilkyson, Richard Dehr and Frank Miller, who called themselves the Easy Riders. They later had a #4 hit in 1957 with the folk song "Marianne".

The backing vocal lyrics are:

Sweet, sweet, the mem'ries you gave to me
You can't beat the mem'ries you gave to me
I was a rover, but now it's over
It was a happy day
When you came my way to tell me
Sweet, sweet, the mem'ries you gave to me
You can't beat the mem'ries you gave to me.

Chart position: #1 (US), #1 (UK).

It was #1 in the US for five weeks in January and February of 1956.

It was preceded at #1 by "Sixteen Tons" (Tennessee Ernie Ford) and succeeded by "The Great Pretender" (The Platters).

The Top Ten Songs: January 28, 1956 (US Billboard Top 100).

1. "Memories Are Made of This" (Dean Martin)
2. "Sixteen Tons" (Tennesee Ernie Ford)
3. "Great Pretender" (Platters)
4. "Rock and Roll Waltz" (Kay Starr)
5. "Lisbon Antigua" (Nelson Riddle)
6. "Band of Gold" (Don Cherry)
7. "It's Almost Tomorrow" (Dream Weavers)
8. "He" (Al Hibbler)
9. "Moments To Remember" (Four Lads)
10. "I Hear You Knockin'" (Gale Storm)

Written by: Terry Gilkyson, Richard Dehr, and Frank Miller.

Terry Gilkyson also wrote "The Cry Of the Wild Goose" (a hit for Frankie Laine) and "The Bare Necessities" (sung by Phil Harris and Bruce Reitherman in the 1967 Disney film The Jungle Book.)

Gilkyson's daughter, folk singer/songwriter Eliza Gilkyson said her father "hated people looking for hidden meanings in his songs . . . he did it as a job. He went to the office every day and often wrote about us. 'Memories Are Made of This' is about our family; it's him meeting my mother and having three kids."

Also by: Mario Lanza, in the 1958 film Seven Hills of Rome; Johnny Cash, on his 1996 album Unchained.

Download MP3s from Amazon.com:

• Dean Martin - Memories Are Made of This (MP3)

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