A Winter Romance
1959 studio album by Dean Martin
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A Winter Romance is a 1959 long playing album by Dean Martin, accompanied by an orchestra arranged and conducted by Gus Levene. While not exclusively a Christmas album, it features several songs associated with Christmas as part of its larger winter theme. It was Martin's only Christmas themed album for Capitol Records. Martin later recorded The Dean Martin Christmas Album for Reprise Records in 1966.
| A Winter Romance | ||||
|---|---|---|---|---|
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| Studio album by | ||||
| Released | November 16, 1959 | |||
| Recorded | July 29 – August 6, 1959 | |||
| Studio | Capitol (Hollywood) | |||
| Genre | Christmas | |||
| Length | 33:34 | |||
| Label | Capitol | |||
| Producer | Lee Gillette | |||
| Dean Martin chronology | ||||
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| Singles from A Winter Romance | ||||
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The original artwork featured a picture of Martin embracing a fetching young woman. At the same time, he is throwing a passing flirt at a second, attractive woman.
Reception
The initial Billboard magazine review from November 30, 1959, chose the album as one of its "Spotlight Winners of the Week" and commented that "The tunes are all one the winter kick ... Martin sings them with his usual ease and nonchalance ... A potent waxing for the holiday season".[1]
Track listing
Original LP
Capitol (S)[2] T-1285
Side A
| Track | Song title | Written by | Recording date | Session information | Time |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1. | "A Winter Romance" | Sammy Cahn and Ken Lane | August 4, 1959 | Session 7875S; Master 32161; Take 10 | 2:57 |
| 2. | "Let It Snow! Let It Snow! Let It Snow!" | Jule Styne and Sammy Cahn | August 6, 1959 | Session 7882; Master 32194; Take 15 | 1:55 |
| 3. | "The Things We Did Last Summer" | Jule Styne and Sammy Cahn | July 29, 1959 | Session 7851; Master 32147; Take 8 | 3:37 |
| 4. | "I've Got My Love to Keep Me Warm" | Irving Berlin | August 4, 1959 | Session 7875S; Master 32164; Take 8 | 2:43 |
| 5. | "June in January" | Leo Robin and Ralph Rainger | August 4, 1959 | Session 7875S; Master 32162; Take 6 | 2:46 |
| 6. | "Canadian Sunset" | Eddie Heywood and Norman Gimbel | July 29, 1959 | Session 7851; Master 32150; Take 4 | 3:18 |
Side B
| Track | Song title | Written by | Recording date | Session information | Time |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1. | "Winter Wonderland" | Felix Bernard and Dick Smith | July 29, 1959 | Session 7851; Master 32148; Take 7 | 1:51 |
| 2. | "Out in the Cold Again" | Rube Bloom and Ted Koehler | August 6, 1959 | Session 7882; Master 32191; Take 12 | 3:34 |
| 3. | "Baby, It's Cold Outside" | Frank Loesser | August 6, 1959 | Session 7882; Master 32192; Take 15 | 2:23 |
| 4. | "Rudolph the Red-Nosed Reindeer" | Johnny Marks | August 6, 1959 | Session 7882; Master 32193; Take 4 | 2:15 |
| 5. | "White Christmas" | Berlin | July 29, 1959 | Session 7851; Master 32149; Take 7 | 2:28 |
| 6. | "It Won't Cool Off" | Cahn and Lane | August 4, 1959 | Session 7875S; Master 32163; Take 7 | 2:27 |
Reissues
The LP was reissued in 1965 as Holiday Cheer (Capitol STT-2343) as well as on the cassette tape, with different cover art and the song "A Winter Romance" omitted. This version charted for 11 weeks peaking at #12 on Billboard's Best Bets For Christmas album chart December 14, 1968.[3]
The 1989 Capitol CD reissue added a thirteenth bonus track following to the original album.
| Track | Song title | Written by | Recording date | Session information | Time |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1. | "The Christmas Blues" | David Holt and Cahn | October 5, 1953 | Session 3176; Master 11943–8; Take 8 | 2:54 |
The 2005 Collectors' Choice Music CD reissue added four (non-Christmas) bonus tracks to the original album.
| Track | Song title | Written by | Recording date | Session information | Time |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1. | "Meanderin" | Cy Coben and Charles Randolph Grean, George Botsford | September 15, 1951 | Session 2309; Master 9022–7 | 2:58 |
| 2. | "Sogni d'Oro" | Marilyn Keith, Lew Spence and Alan Bergman | May 13, 1959 | Session 7751; Master 31662–14 | 2:35 |
| 3. | "Go Go Go Go" | Jerry Livingston and Mack David | June 20, 1951 | Session 2092; Master 7256–7 | 2:22 |
| 4. | "Buttercup of Golden Hair" | Mitchell Tableporter | May 15, 1959 | Session 7757; Master 31694–3 | 2:18 |
Personnel
- Dean Martin – vocals
- Gus Levene – leader
- Hy Lesnick – contractor
- Joseph R. (Bobby) Gibbons – guitar
- George Sylvester 'Red' Callender – bass guitar
- Louis 'Lou' Singer – drums
- James Rowles – piano on sessions 7851 and 7882
- Ray I. Sherman – piano on session 7875S
- Edward Ross – accordion on session 7882
- Kurt Reher – cello
- Eleanor Aller Slatkin – cello
- Kathryn Julye – harp on sessions 7875S and 7882
- Donald Cole – viola
- Alvin Dinkin – viola on session 7875S
- Virginia Majewski – viola
- David H. Sterkin – viola on session 7851
- Israel Baker – violin on session 7882
- Victor Bay – violin
- John Peter DeVoogt – violin
- Nathan Kaproff – violin
- Joseph Livoti – violin
- Daniel 'Dan' Lube – violin
- Erno Neufeld – violin
- Jerome 'Jerry' Reisler – violin
- Ralph Schaeffer – violin on session 7875S
- Felix Slatkin – violin on sessions 7851 and 7882
- Gerald Vinci – violin on sessions 7851 and 7875S
- Arnold Koblentz – oboe on sessions 7851 and 7875S
- James Briggs – saxophone on session 7882
- Mahlon Clark – saxophone on sessions 7875S and 7882
- Arthur 'Skeets' Herfurt – saxophone on session 7875S
- Edward Kuczborski ('Eddie' Kusby) – saxophone on session 7875S
- Harry Klee – saxophone on session 7882
- Ronald Langinger – saxophone on session 7875S
- Theodore M. 'Ted' Nash – saxophone on session 7851
- Emanuel 'Mannie' Klein – trumpet on session 7875S
Charts
| Chart (2018–2025) | Peak position |
|---|---|
| Austrian Albums (Ö3 Austria)[4] | 11 |
| Danish Albums (Hitlisten)[5] | 8 |
| Dutch Albums (Album Top 100)[6] | 5 |
| Estonian Albums (Eesti Tipp-40)[7] | 22 |
| Finnish Albums (Suomen virallinen lista)[8] | 13 |
| German Albums (Offizielle Top 100)[9] | 4 |
| Hungarian Albums (MAHASZ)[10] | 5 |
| Icelandic Albums (Tónlistinn)[11] | 18 |
| Irish Albums (OCC)[12] | 31 |
| Italian Albums (FIMI)[13] | 27 |
| Latvian Albums (LaIPA)[14] | 8 |
| Lithuanian Albums (AGATA)[15] | 3 |
| Norwegian Albums (VG-lista)[16] | 10 |
| Polish Albums (ZPAV)[17] | 40 |
| Portuguese Albums (AFP)[18] | 125 |
| Swedish Albums (Sverigetopplistan)[19] | 9 |
| Swiss Albums (Schweizer Hitparade)[20] | 17 |
| US Billboard 200[21] | 61 |
Certifications
| Region | Certification | Certified units/sales |
|---|---|---|
| Denmark (IFPI Danmark)[22] | Gold | 10,000‡ |
| United Kingdom (BPI)[23] | Silver | 60,000^ |
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^ Shipments figures based on certification alone. | ||