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Two gifts of God: Woman and Al Martino
Al Martino: If God is love, he must like Italians best
Date published: 10/24/2009
YOU DID NOT have to be Mr. Martino, Philadelphia-born, was probably not in the first rank of these musical romantics, alongside Frank Sinatra, Dean Martin, Tony Bennett, and Perry Como. But even a fair-to-middling crooner--the word comes, oddly, from the old German for "growl"--beats a superstar of most genres, and Mr. Martino was much better than fair-to-middling. In his signature tunes--"Spanish Eyes," "Mary in the Morning," the love theme from "The Godfather"--Mr. Martino didn't drill to the core of your soul, take a portion of your anguish, then lift you up to glory the way Frank could do. He didn't send you smiling, off your stool with the cuts salved, for another round of lacerating, lovely life à la Dino. Rather, Mr. Martino's beautiful baritone sought the human heart, softly reminding it of its purpose lest, like any muscle, it grow weak from disuse. Consider "Spanish Eyes." The respectable husband must confess, from the perspective of maturity, to say nothing of fear of the frying pan, that the woman he truly loves best is his wife. But should his mind stray to women he loved second-best, in years past or climes distant, he will find no better ferryman to old feelings than Mr. Martino cherishing "blue Spanish eyes prettiest eyes in all of Mexico"--which may also be brown eyes in Seoul or green eyes in Dayton, Ohio, this transport making any requested stop in place or time. Or timelessness. Mr. Martino and his fraternity told an old story--the first story, really--of a man in painful longing who informed God that, with all due respect, He was not enough. So God provided Adam the gift of Eve, a present Adam's sons have been trying ever since to unwrap, one embodiment at a time.
Date published: 10/24/2009
Re: Here In My Heart
(posted by
leclare
, Oct. 24, 2009 6:50 pm)
Either in 1956 or 1958, I worked with the writer of Here In My Heart, in Winston Salem, NC, for Western Electric. We were both draftsmen for Lehigh Design at the Western Electric Facility, and unfortunately I don't remember the name of which of the 3 cowriters I worked with. But I do remember him showing me his gold record and, of course, I remember the song well, twas such a hit. Those singers were great, and I miss the likes of Guy Mitchell, too, and Frankie Laine, Vaughn Monroe, etc., even Russ Columbo.
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