“Memories Are Made of This” by Dean Martin
As its title suggests, “Memories Are Made of This” is a song is nostalgic in nature. And what the singer is reflecting on is fond recollections of his own nuclear family life.
It would appear that he and his wife first hooked up in a kind of random fashion. But either way, their first night together proved to be very magical. In fact it set the stage for what eventually culminated in a fruitful marriage, despite the fact that there has been “some grief” as well as “joy” along the way.
And the highlight of the marriage is not only the two of them lovingly co-residing but more so producing three children to edify their union. And by the time all is said and done, this song can very much be deemed an advocacy of monogamy.
But more to the point is that the singer really relishes his personal family life, even considering it to be a God-sent ‘blessing from above’.
In fact according to the daughter of Terry Gilkyson, one of the writers of this song, he fashioned the lyrics based on meeting his own wife as well as fathering children with her. So perhaps one of the reasons “Memories Are Made of This” has proven so popular is because it is verily based on a man’s personal love of his family. For as said offspring also expounded, Gilkyson was the type of songwriter who wasn’t cool with the idea of people searching “for hidden meanings” in the songs he composed. So despite usage of a couple of colorful language here and there, what we’re dealing with are lyrics that read exactly how they are meant to be interpreted.
Dean Martin
Dean Martin (1917-1995) was the one of the very-top entertainers in the industry circa mid-20th century America. On top of being a singer he was also a comedian/actor. But all successes considered, he was known more for the latter than anything else. Indeed back in those days it was like many, if not most, lead Hollywood actors were required to sing anyway.
But as far as his music career goes, “Memories Are Made of This” is the most-successful song he ever came out with. It reached the very top of the Billboard Hot 100 (staying there for 5 weeks). It also topped the UK Singles Chart, Cashbox Top 100 and Kent Music Chart.
Did Dean Martin write “Memories Are Made of This”?
No. This song was written by a trio of musicians who collectively were known as The Easy Riders. And as individually credited they were:
- Richard Dehr (1913-1989)
- Terry Gilkyson (1916-1999)
- Frank Miller (1918-2015)
And The Easy Riders also backed Dean Martin in rendering this song.
More Facts about “Memories Are Made of This”
Other artists have also charted with their own renditions of “Memories Are Made of This”. For instance Mindy Carson came out with a version prior to Dean Martin which did so.
And other musicians on the list include the late Gale Storm, also in 1955, as well as departed actor Dave King in 1956 and The Drifters in 1966.
Also an Austrian singer by the name of Freddy Quinn came out with a German-language rendering in 1956 which not only proved ultra-successful in Deutschland but also, in terms of record sales, has outperformed Martin’s rendition.
This tune even had a political significance across the Atlantic, as Hungarian nationalists adopted it as their theme song during the 1956 revolution in their country. And said Hungarian version is entitled Honvágy-dal, which Wikipedia states translates to “The Song of Homesickness”.
Dean Martin’s daughter, Deana Martin, came out with her own album entitled “Memories Are Made of This” in 2006 which included a cover of the titular tune. And in 2005 she also released a book with the same main title, called in its entirety “Memories Are Made of This: Dean Martin Through His Daughter’s Eyes”.
Dean Martin’s version of this song was certified RIAA gold, at a time when accomplishing this feat meant a song sold in excess of 1,000,000 copies.
Moreover Freddy Quinn’s German cover has sold more than 8,000,000 copies. So between the two of them alone, this classic has sold about 10,000,000 copies, thus ranking it amongst the top-selling songs in history.
