Dean Martin and Elvis Presley were contemporaries of singing and acting in the mid-20th century, and one day in 1960, the two stars met at a movie studio, where the singer was being visited by his daughter, Deana Martin, who followed the footsteps of his father as a singer. Years later, he told the story of their interaction.
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Deana: “…Elvis was doing ‘Café Europa’ (G.I. Blues) at Paramount and my dad was doing ‘Once Upon a Time in Hollywood’ (All In A Night’s Work) with Shirley McLaine; I went to visit dad in the studio and we were standing outside his dressing room.
In those days, you were riding your bike around the studio, and Elvis Presley comes riding his bike, he gets off when he sees my dad… and he says ‘…hello‘.
And dad introduces him to me, saying, “…Deana, this is Elvis Presley, and Elvis, this is my daughter Deana.‘”
Martin’s daughter continued: “And [Elvis] leans over to me and says, ‘Deana, they call me ‘the King of Rock’n’Roll, but your dad is ‘the King of Cool.’
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And I thought, oh my god. It must be true…
Elvis Presley said it!“
Elvis idolized Dean and was influenced by Martin’s vocals, style, and phrasing.
More than that, many of Elvis’s song arrangements, especially early and late in his career, were heavily inspired by Dean Martin’s song arrangements.
In 1955 Elvis recorded “I Don’t Care If The Sun Don’t Shine“, a song that Dean Martin had sung in the 1953 film “Scared Stiff“.
Years later, in 1970, Elvis was performing at the International Hotel in Las Vegas and, knowing that Dean Martin was in the audience, he asked the band to play “Everybody Loves Somebody“, Dean Martin’s signature song, and gave it to him. he sang to his idol.
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Photos: Taken at Paramount Pictures celebrating Dino’s birthday, Shirley McLaine and Hal Wallis were present.
Sources: several commemorating a new anniversary of the death of Dino Croccetti
Dean Martin
Steubenville, OH, June 7, 1917
Beverly Hills, CA, December 25, 1995
Information provided by Elvis Shop Argentina
https://www.facebook.com/elvis.shop.argentina
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