AL MARTINO – “Here In My Heart”
(#1, 14th November 1952)
Deep magic from the dawn of pop. Except it’s not really magical, and it wasn’t exactly the dawn, and nowadays this doesn’t even sound like pop. But you have to start somewhere, and the British singles charts started here: a device to sell newspapers that ended up conquering my world. I had never heard Al Martino’s record before I downloaded it on a whim yesterday. It was easy enough to find, easier than it was to listen to twice.
What I’ve often liked about the charts though is their seeming arbitrariness. You can make a good guess at what will be Number One each week but you can rarely get it entirely right - I was surprised (and delighted) that the Black Eyed Peas hit the top this week; I was resigned and appalled when Gareth Gates and the Kumars clung clammily on this spring. So it’s fitting that the first No.1 sounds so overdone and undistinguished - it crashes into life well enough on a surge of strings but Martino’s cornball opera style is baffling to me: this was pop? Um, OK, if you say so.
But the question always has to be - what’s the appeal? Someone (who? why? we can’t really guess) was buying it - what did they like? Martino’s voice is damn versatile - it slides from bellow to purr so slickly over the space of one line, but it never lets the orchestra outshine it. Maybe that was the hook. Maybe what I hear as too-much a 1952 me would have heard as just right. I expect though I’d have thought what I more or less think now - that ‘Here In My Heart’ is OK, just a curio today; just a hit yesterday. And OK seems an OK place to start. 4
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Linked by: FreakyTrigger » Popular Revival: “Here In My Heart” on October 10th, 2006
[...] Here is the first ever UK #1 single - Al Martino’s “Here In My Heart” - and the first entry in the blog. [...]
Daniel_Rf on October 11th, 2006
Haha, surprise and delight at BEP chart-toppers, 2003 feels centuries away.
I guess I might as well be the bore that mentions Al Martino played the crooner in “The Godfather”. Dull as trivia, but potentially interesting as a starting point for discussing the italo-american crooner’s attitudes towards la cosa nostra - anyone catch that Tony Bennent interview in “Mojo” recently where he said “The Godfather” was made to distract the american public from Cambodia and Vietnam?
Pete on October 11th, 2006
All (okay most) films are made to distract people from aspects of real life: otherwise people wouldn’t pay to see them and their non real life stylings. That flippancy aside, the italio-american crooner sub-genre is an interesting one, which I know next to nothing about. Would I be right in assuming that there is an Italian crooning tradition, which was then developed by Italian American immigrants which maintained its roots more due to the nationality of its fanbase than necessarily of its singers?
Wither Irish-American croonery.
Marcello Carlin on October 11th, 2006
You would - the venerable Neapolitan-derived bel canto tradition; Nick Tosches is very good on the historical development of this in terms of Italo-American immigration in his Dean Martin biog.
The Italo-American crooners were regarded as gods in the Glasgow of the fifties, but then there was a substantial diaspora of Italian immigrants to West Central Scotland in the post-war years, including my mother, who came over in February 1953. “Here In My Heart” was the first record she bought in Britain.
FT's Tim on October 11th, 2006
Irish American croonery: Bing Crosby (at least according to that biography which came out a few years back), who was a Big Dog when it comes to crooners. Possibly The Big Dog. The hollow Big Dog.
Marcello Carlin on October 11th, 2006
That tradition hasn’t really endured, though, has it, except obliquely in certain strands of C&W?
I mean, there was Dick Haymes, but he was Argentinian…
Erithian on October 11th, 2006
Nothing I can say about this one, having heard maybe a few bars of the song a long time ago, and not being any kind of authority on Italo-American crooners. But I just wanted to say - a great idea to revive old “Popular” entries, Tom. Are you going to link to all the old entries or just selected highlights? (my guess is the latter) Your new arrival must be getting imminent by now – hope your partner’s having a better time of it than mine is!
FT's Tom on October 11th, 2006
6 weeks to go, and all well. Good luck with yours Erithian!
I was thinking of doing all of them (well, all up to about 64-65 which is when the current comments surface).
Pete on October 11th, 2006
The c&w crooning soon became country ballads right (again speaking from next to no knowledge), and perhaps cowboy story songs which seeme to me to be distunguished initially by a lack of accompaniment - just guitar picking, rathe rthan the orchestrial backing of your Deano’s and Frank’s.
Irish crooning, Joe Loss?
(Glad I checked that and the answer is no - I’ll leave it there though clearly Loss was Russian-English, a world of difference to Irish-American. I blame Hear My Song. Which was about Josef Locke - oi vey - I might just walk away from this one).
Wow: Wikipedia knows NOTHING about Joe Loss: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Joe_Loss
Marcello Carlin on October 11th, 2006
Then again, remember who Joe Loss’ lead singer was…
Pete on October 11th, 2006
Ah yes. Wow, this stream of consciousness brainstorming has almost led us full circle, what with Elvis Costello’s occasionall foray into what he might regard crooning.
FT's Tom on October 11th, 2006
And the rest of us regard as…
Pete on October 11th, 2006
Out of interest Tom, what would you have given “I’m A Secret Lemonade Drinker?”
FT's pˆnk s lord sükråt cunctør on October 11th, 2006
that’s not crooning it’s belting!
(EC’s version of funny valentine is GREBT so bug-off)
Erithian on October 11th, 2006
re EC, as it ‘appens I was listening to “Tramp The Dirt Down” just last night. What a number one that would have made in 1989!
Marcello Carlin on October 11th, 2006
I note that the last number one of 1989 samples “March Of The Mods” by the Joe Loss Orchestra.
Marcello Carlin on October 11th, 2006
correction: last but one
jeff w on October 11th, 2006
(off topic: my instinctive reaction to suggestion of possibly doing two #1s in a single post is “Don’t do it, Tom”. But hey, it’s your project)
FT's Tom on October 11th, 2006
(Already done it, Jeff - “Tears” and “Get Off Of My Cloud”!
In this case I think you’re right, though the Freda Payne entry will probably read as a continuiation of the Smokey one.)
FT's Tom on October 11th, 2006
(This is actually the one problem with doing Popular as a blog - it makes foreshadowing very difficult: my smart commenters will pick up and chew on any loose end I leave well before I can take it up again.)
Daniel_Rf on October 11th, 2006
“All (okay most) films are made to distract people from aspects of real life: otherwise people wouldn’t pay to see them and their non real life stylings.” - Yes, of course. I was just surprised to hear such outright conspiracy theory coming from this hyper-respectable singer; it bordered on the “there is no mafia!” type outbursts that I’d only previously heard from mobster characters in gangster flicks (and even there, Tony Soprano couldn’t tell Meadow that without them both cracking up afterwards.) Is it a popular view amongst italo-americans of Bennet’s age? And getting back to Martino there, if it is/was, how much was Al putting his career (ok, not that much of it left at that point, probably) on the line?
FT's Doctor Mod on October 12th, 2006
But truly, Tom, I do think that “Band of Gold” deserves its own entry. I mean, how many songs about unconsumated marriages have ever reached #1?
Come to think of it, how many songs about unconsumated marriages even exist?
intothefireuk on October 12th, 2006
Just a historical note which may be stating the obvious but what the hell. The singles chart was developed at a time when the main priority was sheet music sales - this continued throughout most of the Fifties. So individual recordings weren’t as important as the songs themselves (which pressumably would then be played by a Mrs. Mills type character in yer local). There were also, of course, no teenagers (ie. they didn’t exist as a marketing entity), as post-war the UK was still in economic recovery (and rationing still existed!). So your record buying public was likely to be quite limited in number and probably aged 25 plus. So to Al Martino. One of a number of versions recorded of the song (others included Vic Damone & Tony Bennet), it was actually Martino’s debut single (Mario Lanza passed on it) so even more impressive that it fought its way into the top spot in both the UK & US. Crooners were at the height of their popularity at this time so its unsurprising that they dominate the first charts - although I’m mystified why this particular recording lasted at number one for so long as isn’t exactly a wonderful song (or version). Is there actually anyone who comments on Popular who is old enough to remember this at the time ? I’d be interested to hear their take on it as it seems a world away even a decade or so later.
Marcello Carlin on October 12th, 2006
My mum confirms that he was pretty much a prototype teen idol and that, at the time, this was his big set closer and it got the girls screaming, etc.
Chris Brown on October 12th, 2006
I don’t think I’ve ever heard this in its entirety. Ever.
Admittedly I wasn’t around back then, but even among crooning records I don’t think I’ve ever heard the whole thing. The last time I heard a bit of it was when that guy tried to auction off a complete set of Number Ones.
PS: I presume we should steer clear of commenting on other Fifties entries until they get linked to then?
Marcello Carlin on October 13th, 2006
Don’t really see why we should, Chris.
A spokesperson for Banksie on October 13th, 2006
Nah, jump in if you have something to say - I will single out stuff to lead the discussion but I’m so busy right now I only have time to look at the comments!
Tom on October 13th, 2006
Haha god knows why it came up as that particular alias!
Brian on October 13th, 2006
Songs about unconnsummated marriage ? How’s about ” Crying in The Chapel” ? I’d have to listen again but all the right noises are there.
BTW : I’ll be in London on on Nov 10 for the Poptimism. Is it an open invite ? ( Can I come , can I come , huh , huh, can I ? )Look forward to meeting some of you then if all goes OK with the business side of my trip.
Tom on October 13th, 2006
Yes! It’s an open invite!
FT's Doctor Mod on October 13th, 2006
Brian–it’s an amusing thought, given the title, but “Crying in the Chapel” is about going there “Just to sing and praise the lord.” Not the Chapel of Love, then, or at least not in the sense that the Dixie Cups would have it. No mention of a girl, and I think the line “The tears I shed were tears of joy” kind of obviates the notion of an unconsummated marriage.
But who knows? Maybe someone could be so relieved they would shed tears of joy about the whole matter…….
Brian on October 13th, 2006
Cheers , Tom , I’m looking forward to it.
Brian on October 13th, 2006
Doc -
how does on or can one connsummate a marriage to ” The Lord ” ?
Do priests & Nuns , do it ?
Or how about - ‘ She Caught The Katy & Left Me The Mule to Ride ?
FT's Doctor Mod on October 14th, 2006
Brian-
1) As I recently revealed that I once studied to be a nun, I suppose I should try to answer this, even if I’d prefer not to. The term is overloaded, requires a belief/construction (that I no longer have) of the metaphysical that most human beings would not arrive at without coercion, and really isn’t all that interesting in the long run. I suspect that many who choose that path don’t place a lot in it, as it’s all completely abstract to begin with. A few with a more mystical bent really do get into it–but all I can say about that is that religion and erotic fantasy don’t necessarily obviate one another.
But Elvis wasn’t Catholic and would never think along those lines.
2) I truly don’t know this song–but I know a variation on “Ticket to Ride” called “She’s Got a Chicken to Ride.” Probably not the same thing, though.
FT's Doctor Mod on October 14th, 2006
s there actually anyone who comments on Popular who is old enough to remember this at the time ?
I’m old enough, but I have no recollection of this song. That doesn’t mean I never heard it–I actually did hear most of these number ones (at least those by US singers) early in life, as there always seemed to be music on radio or television in our household. (It blocked out are ability to talk to each other, which was probably a good thing.) But if I actually have heard it, it must have made no impression on me.
Brian on October 16th, 2006
Non-connsummation song : “Dear Doctor” by The Rolling Stones that eventually turns out for the good. He doesn’t want to marry his cousin & she runs off with his cousin.
I was being flip with ” She Caught The Katy ” but it really is a song. An old blues one , covered by many but a gret version by Taj Mahal. Incidentally a ” katy ” is a type ofhorse drawn carriage. And , although not always used at weddings, it could have been. But as the title says , he ends up with the mule ( as opposed to the horse ) and she rides into the sunset.
Erithian on October 16th, 2006
Just a thought - shouldn’t all this interesting stuff about non-consummation be left until Tom posts on “Band of Gold”? Otherwise we could confuse the hell out of any Al Martino fans who google onto this page in the future!
Brian on October 16th, 2006
yes, you’re probably right. I’d hate to confuse both of them.
FT's rosie on October 21st, 2006
I remember years ago when I first learned that Al Martino had the first UK number one, because 1952 seemed to be in the far-distant Palaeolithic Era (before I was born, after all) and I was familiar with Al Martino through Spanish Eyes, which wasn’t at all a bad song even if it wasn’t what I called rock ‘n’ roll. I hadn’t (knowingly) heard this song until I started collecting the early number ones as a result of getting hooked on Popular. It’s not in the same league as Spanish Eyes because Martino belts it and his controlled, velvety (and rather sexy) voice is yet to come. I’m not a fan of the belting style of delivery.
Marcello Carlin on October 18th, 2007
The song was written with Mario Lanza in mind but he turned it down. Lindsay Anderson fans should also note that Richard Harris sings it as only Richard Harris could in the film This Sporting Life.
Charlie on December 13th, 2007
Where can I get c copy of the music for Here in My Heart?
wichita lineman on May 25th, 2008
One way of putting Here In My Heart in context is to track down The First British Hit Parade cd on Acrobat - the top 15 as of 14 November 1952, with the other singles that charted in ‘52 thrown in for good measure. My reaction was - well, I still don’t rate Here In My Heart beyond Al’s technical ability to go from roar to sexy coo within the opening line.
Just like every chart since there are things lower down which are MUCH better.
Three appearances by Vera Lynn (all backed by what sounds like platoons of returning soldiers) aren’t among them but are a reminder of how much the war hangover must have still dominated everything. No jazz either, unless you include Louis Armstrong’s dire It Takes Two To Tango (he sounds embarrassed) or Bing Crosby and Jane Wyman’s daffy-but-ace Zing A Little Zong (with an arrangement that sounds like a prototype for Brook Benton and Dinah Washington, while Nelson Riddles away behind them). It catches the mythical American “post-war optimism” better than anything else on the list.
Three Bings and Nat King Cole’s brace of entries suggest a considerable appetite for non-belters. Johnnie Ray’s Walkin’ My Baby Back Home has a finger-snapping saunter, is super-catchy, and sounds the most like Modern Pop. Ray Martin’s Blue Tango is a chipper instrumental, something I remember my Gran singing along to with invented words worthy of Homer Simpson (”It’s the blue tango, I’ve got my woolly woofs on”).
Feet Up is the first of a bunch of rip-roaring Guy Mitchell singalong hits - slap that baby’s butt! - and won’t disappoint anyone who has a taste for She Wears Red Feathers. Jo Stafford’s You Belong To Me is soppy but, with a whiff of exotica, is more than respectable (it’s a darn sight more romantic than Matchbox’s revival in 1980). Sugarbush turns out to be Frankie Laine’s nickname for Doris Day, which must have sounded a little suggestive even in 1952.
A proper time capsule, then. For a bit of colour, Oscar nominations that year included Alec Guinness (Lavender Hill Mob), Richard Burton (My Cousin Rachel) and Gloria Grahame (The Bad And The Beautiful) while The Man In The White Suit was up for Best Screenplay: only Glo won. A foreigner scored the winning goal in the FA Cup final: Chilean George Robledo got the only goal for Newcastle against ten-man Arsenal. And Londoners should listen to it all bearing in mind this was lurking outside the window:
http://www.metoffice.gov.uk/education/secondary/students/smog.html
DJ Punctum on May 25th, 2008
I note your diplomatic silence regarding “Cowpuncher’s Cantata” by Max Bygraves.
wichita lineman on May 25th, 2008
I was going to say that’s the only track I reeeeally have to skip (even Mario Lanza and Vera Lynn have worn better), but it seemed unnecessarily cruel. And Max is probably the only person in the first ever chart whose offspring made a Junk Shop Glam 45: Anthony Bygraves’ Painted Lady. “Head to toes-ah, you’re a po-sah.” Now THAT’S a ten.
les jenkinson on June 9th, 2008
on what site can i get al martino or anyone else singing hear in my heart?
LES.
Judda on July 30th, 2008
Tom
I aM AMAZED AT YOUR COMMENTS, WHEN YOU CONSIDER SOME OF THE TRASH THAT IS PUT ON THE RADIO NOW -(besides that rubbish BY BLACK EYED PEAS) Al Martino is still singing & recording. Go to his Web site and get uptodate before any comments. He is on tour in September in the UK (2008) go and see and then tell me what you think
Tom on July 30th, 2008
I kind of think I should go and see him really!
Do I still like that BEP song? Wait and see :)