"Everybody Loves Somebody"is a great song that I can still remember the words to today, sung by legendary singer and actor Dean Martin. He was one of the few singers that everybody in the family liked to listen to. He had a rather unique and interesting life. I think that his story will help explain his vast appeal to so many people of all age groups.

Dean Martin,born Dino Paul Crocetti, June 7, 1917 was an American singer, film actor, and comedian. He was one of the most famous music artists in the 1950s and 1960s. His hit singles included the songs "Memories Are Made Of This", "That's Amore", "Every- body Loves Somebody", "Mambo Italiano", "Sway", "Volare" and "Ain't That a Kick in the Head". He was the only star to be a major hit in all four major areas of show business: concert stage, recordings, motion pictures, and television.

Martin dropped out of school in the tenth grade He delivered bootleg liquor, served as a speakeasy croupier, wrote crafty anecdotes and was a blackjack dealer, worked in a steel mill and boxed as welterweight. At the age of 15, he was a boxer who billed himself as "Kid Crocett" (Kro-Shey). From his prizefighting years, Martin earned a broken nose (later fixed), a permanently split lip, and many sets of broken knuckles He only won 1 of his 12 bouts [ For a while he with Sonny King, who like Martin, was just starting out in show biz and had little money. Martin and King held bare knuckle matches in their apartment, fighting until one of them was knocked out. People paid to watch the sight.

After serving in the Army for one year he started singing in night clubs on a regular basics. It was rumored that he had help from the mob bosses in Chicago who owned saloons. There was even a rumor that one of the bosses wanted to put out a contract on him.

Martin then met Jerry Lewis at the glass hat club in New York and they both teamed up at the 500 club in Atlantic city in 1946where eventually were successful. After a series of engagements up and down the east coast.In 1949 they were signed by Paramount producer Ha, Wallis as a comedy relief for the film My Friend Irma.

They eventually moved to California and together they were the hottest act in America during the 1950's, but eventually the pressure of show business and the never ending bashing of the critics, led to their breakup exactly 10 years after their first official teaming.

Afterwords, Martin went into acting and his first sole film was a bomb. His appearance in the 1957 film The Young Lions was his major comeback as an actor.

Meanwhile he copied the styles of Bing Crosby and Perry Como and began his own singing style. He recorded more than 100 albums and 600 songs. One of his greatest hits "Everybody Loves Somebody" even knocked the Beatles "A Hard Days Night' out of first place in 1964. He said that he was heavily influenced by country music and a lot of his songs during the sixties were composed of popular country and western songs. Who could ever forget "Welcome To My World" and "Gentle On My Mind"

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