The past and present fittingly collide in a new lyric video for Dean Martin’s timeless “Ain’t That a Kick in the Head.” Inspired by the original 1960 Rat Pack version of Ocean’s 11, in which Martin first sang the pop-jazz classic, the visuals draw from Saul Bass’ title sequence for the film, revitalizing a favorite from the Rat Pack’s baritone “King of Cool.” The lyric video arrives just ahead of the anniversary of the recording session that yielded “Ain’t That a Kick In the Head.”
Sammy Cahn and Jimmy Van Heusen, regular collaborators with Ocean’s 11 lead Frank Sinatra, wrote “Ain’t That a Kick in the Head” specifically for the movie. Martin’s character, a Las Vegas lounge singer named Sam Harmon who gets caught up in Danny Ocean’s high-stakes heist, performs the song onstage during the movie in an alternate minimal arrangement featuring vibraphonist Red Norvo.
In the spring of 1960, after shooting wrapped on the movie, Martin recorded “Ain’t That a Kick in the Head” at Capitol Studios in Hollywood with a new, fuller arrangement by Nelson Riddle, who had also composed the Ocean’s 11 score. The studio version of the song came out before the movie’s release in August 1960, setting the stage for the film but not breaking onto the charts at the time.
“Ain’t That a Kick in the Head” remained a relative obscurity for Martin until 1989, when producer Ron Furmanek decided to include it on a greatest hits compilation called Capitol Collectors Series. Since then, the song has steadily gained a reputation as a highlight of Martin’s catalog, appearing on various out hits collections, in Hollywood productions like The Sopranos, and even in the video games Fallout: Las Vegas and Mission: Impossible – Ghost Protocol. The Irish boy band Westlife also covered it on their Rat Pack tribute album …Allow Us to be Frank. It’s now one of Dino’s most recognizable and beloved tracks.
Watch the new lyric video for Dean Martin’s “Ain’t That a Kick In The Head” now.
