Studio Album · No. 4
French Style Songwriting Credits by Dean Martin
Holds writing credit on 0 of 12 tracks
Authorship Breakdown 0 / 12 documented
Scored across the 12 tracks with documented writers, by whether Dean Martin carries a lyricist or composer credit.
Share of the 12 tracks where a band member is credited, by role.
By the Numbers
French Style is a pure interpreter's record. Every one of its twelve tracks is a pre-existing standard, split between American theater and film songs and French chansons carried into English by translators like Mack David, Jack Lawrence, and Jerry Seelen. Dean Martin contributes no writing credit anywhere on the album; the closest thing to an authorial stamp is Neal Hefti, who arranged and conducted every track, shaping the record's identity as much as any single songwriter. Where the underlying songs split composer and lyricist roles, as with Louis Guglielmi's music and Edith Piaf's French words for "La Vie en Rose," the credits reflect that split rather than crediting Martin with any hand in the material.
French Style is the first studio album Dean Martin recorded for Reprise Records, the label Frank Sinatra founded and brought Martin into in 1961. Recorded over three sessions in late February 1962, the album gathers French and French-themed standards from the American songbook rather than original material, arranged and conducted by Neal Hefti. Martin interprets songs originally written for Broadway and Hollywood by teams including Rodgers and Hart, Kern and Hammerstein, and Lerner and Loewe, alongside French-born standards such as "La Vie en Rose" and "C'est Si Bon" carried into English by American lyricists. The album includes no original compositions and no charting singles, functioning as a vocal showcase built around a travelogue concept rather than a hit-driven release. It set the tone for Martin's early Reprise era, an easygoing lounge-pop approach that AllMusic later praised for Hefti's swank arrangements.
Track Listing & Credits 12 tracks
| # | Title | Lyricist(s) | Composer(s) | Producer(s) | Performers |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 |
C'est Si Bon
|
Jerry Seelen | Henri Betti | - | Dean Martin (Lead Vocals)Neal Hefti (Arranger, Conductor) |
| 2 |
April in Paris
|
Yip Harburg | Vladimir Dukelsky | - | Dean Martin (Lead Vocals)Neal Hefti (Arranger, Conductor) |
| 3 |
Mimi
|
Lorenz Hart | Richard Rodgers | - | Dean Martin (Lead Vocals)Neal Hefti (Arranger, Conductor) |
| 4 |
Darling, Je Vous Aime Beaucoup
|
Anna Sosenko | Anna Sosenko | - | Dean Martin (Lead Vocals)Neal Hefti (Arranger, Conductor) |
| 5 |
La Vie en Rose
|
Edith PiafMack David | Louis Guglielmi | - | Dean Martin (Lead Vocals)Neal Hefti (Arranger, Conductor) |
| 6 |
The Poor People of Paris
|
Rene RouzaudJack Lawrence | Marguerite Monnot | - | Dean Martin (Lead Vocals)Neal Hefti (Arranger, Conductor) |
| 7 |
The River Seine
|
Flavien MonodAllan RobertsAlan Holt | Guy Lafarge | - | Dean Martin (Lead Vocals)Neal Hefti (Arranger, Conductor) |
| 8 |
The Last Time I Saw Paris
|
Oscar Hammerstein II | Jerome Kern | - | Dean Martin (Lead Vocals)Neal Hefti (Arranger, Conductor) |
| 9 |
Mam'selle
|
Mack Gordon | Edmund Goulding | - | Dean Martin (Lead Vocals)Neal Hefti (Arranger, Conductor) |
| 10 |
C'est Magnifique
|
Cole Porter | Cole Porter | - | Dean Martin (Lead Vocals)Neal Hefti (Arranger, Conductor) |
| 11 |
Gigi
|
Alan Jay Lerner | Friedrich Loewe | - | Dean Martin (Lead Vocals)Neal Hefti (Arranger, Conductor) |
| 12 |
I Love Paris
|
Cole Porter | Cole Porter | - | Dean Martin (Lead Vocals)Neal Hefti (Arranger, Conductor) |