(The Hit Hammer is where I'm reviewing each #1 song on the Billboard Hot 100. Starting from when the chart started in 1958 and eventually working my way to the present. To see my inspiration and more information about this blog, please refer to the "Poor Little Fool" post)
Dean Martin - "Everybody Loves Somebody"
Hit Number 1: August 15, 1964
Stay at Number 1: 1 Week
Well, this is certainly an interesting one. In the midst of the Beatles ruling the country, and a real cultural shift in America's taste in music, a song by Dean Martin hit #1 on the Hot 100. In case you weren't aware, this is the same Dean Martin who was a famed comedian and actor as well. He was basically one of those rare ultimate entertainers who did a little bit of everything that could be classified as entertainment. So of course, he would even score a #1 song to boot. And he did it with a song that was nearly 20 years old by the time he recorded his hit version.
The first known version of "Everybody Loves Somebody" was recorded in the late 40s by Frank Sinatra, but his version didn't have much success. (Sinatra will eventually appear in this blog) In fact, there had been around 20 versions of this song that were previously recorded, but none of them went anywhere. While one of the credited songwriters, pianist Ken Lane, was playing for Martin while Martin was recording his "Dream with Dean" album, he decided to ask Martin if he wanted to take a shot at the song. With there still being about an hour left of studio time, Martin agreed to do so. Apparently he liked it a lot, cause he immediately recorded another version for his next album, with this version including a full orchestra.
As I said earlier, it was really tough to envision just how Martin's song was able to reach #1 status in the midst of the British Invasion. It had been 6 years since Martin had a top 40 hit, and his kind of music was not the kind of music the public desired anymore. Or so they thought. But Martin was not a fan of the new rock and roll sound, and that caused some conflict with Martin and his young son, who was obsessed with the Beatles like many other young people at the time. But Martin assured his son this: "I'm gonna' knock your pallies off the charts". Well he certainly called that, cause when "Everybody Loves Somebody" hit #1, it knocked the Beatles' "A Hard Day's Night" off the top spot in the process. So not only was Martin a singer, an actor, and a comedian; but he could tell the future too.
If I had to make some sort of assumption as to how this song made it to the top, I think I would have to say that it had something to do with kids' parents' music having a positive effect on them. Even though most, like Martin's son, were all up in the Beatles and the new wave of British rock music, they could at least respect some of the old music that they likely grew up listening to, cause their parents liked it. It should be noted, that Martin's singing career dates all the way back to the 40s, and his version of "Everybody Loves Somebody" sounds like something you'd hear out of that time period rather than the mid-60s. I've never heard another version of this song besides Martin's, but I have a hard time imagining that he did much to change the song, cause it still sounds like a 40s song. I mean, there is nothing truly outstanding or amazing about this song, but obviously America liked it. They liked it a lot.
Even though this song blows right over my head when I hear it, there are a couple good things that jump out at me. The first is that Martin does have a sense of swagger in his voice, making him sound like a guy with a great deal of confidence. The other is that the instrumentation is pretty solid, with the string section taking over everything, but without you even realizing it. Martin is accompanied by a female vocal group singing backup on the track, and they are a nice touch, but its nothing that WOWS me or anything like that. All in all, "Everybody Loves Somebody" is the true definition of a song that is just there to me. It's not bad, but it's not great. It did become Martin's signature song though, so good for him in that regard.
GRADE: 6/10
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