Studio Album · No. 8
Houston Songwriting Credits by Dean Martin
Produced by Jimmy Bowen · Engineered by Eddie Brackett
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
Every song on Houston comes from an outside pen; Dean Martin interprets the whole album rather than writing any part of it. The title track is a Lee Hazlewood song, the same writer behind hits for Nancy Sinatra and Duane Eddy, and its narrator's drifting, downbeat voice suits Hazlewood's catalog more than Martin's usual saloon-song persona. The rest of the album draws on a mix of Nashville session pros like Grady Martin and Paul Westmoreland, pop songwriters Tommy Boyce and Bobby Hart, and even Martin's own producer Jimmy Bowen, who is credited as a co-writer on 'Old Yellow Line' alongside his then-wife Keely Smith. That credit shows how closely Bowen was steering Martin's mid-1960s comeback, shaping the material as well as the sound.
Houston is the ninth studio album by Dean Martin, released in 1965 on Reprise Records. Produced by Jimmy Bowen, it continued the run of contemporary, country-tinged pop that revived Martin's chart standing after his 1964 hit 'Everybody Loves Somebody.' The title track, written by Lee Hazlewood, became a Top 40 hit, reaching number 21 on the Billboard Hot 100 and number 2 on the Easy Listening chart. The rest of the record draws on Nashville and West Coast country-pop songwriters, among them Jimmy Dean, Tommy Boyce and Bobby Hart, Roy Clark, and Dave Burgess, arranged and conducted by Bill Justis. Session drummer Hal Blaine and the Jack Halloran Singers backed Martin's vocal, with Eddie Brackett engineering. The album reached number 11 on the Billboard 200, another sign that Bowen's efforts to modernize Martin's sound were working rather than fading.
Track Listing & Credits 12 tracks
| # | Title | Lyricist(s) | Composer(s) | Producer(s) | Performers |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 |
Houston
#21
|
Lee Hazlewood | Barton Lee Hazlewood | Jimmy Bowen | Dean Martin (Lead Vocals)Bill Justis (Arranger, Conductor)The Jack Halloran Singers (Backing Vocals)Hal Blaine (Drums) |
| 2 |
The First Thing Ev'ry Morning (And the Last Thing Ev'ry Night)
|
Jimmy DeanRuth Roberts | Jimmy Ray DeanRuth Roberts | Jimmy Bowen | Dean Martin (Lead Vocals)Bill Justis (Arranger, Conductor)The Jack Halloran Singers (Backing Vocals)Hal Blaine (Drums) |
| 3 |
Hammer and Nails
|
Dick Glasser | Dick Glasser | Jimmy Bowen | Dean Martin (Lead Vocals)Bill Justis (Arranger, Conductor)The Jack Halloran Singers (Backing Vocals)Hal Blaine (Drums) |
| 4 |
Little Lovely One
|
Tommy BoyceBobby Hart | Sidney Thomas BoyceRobert Luke Harshman | Jimmy Bowen | Dean Martin (Lead Vocals)Bill Justis (Arranger, Conductor)The Jack Halloran Singers (Backing Vocals)Hal Blaine (Drums) |
| 5 |
Love, Love, Love
|
Sidney J. WycheSunny DavidTeddy McRae | Sidney J. WycheSunny DavidTeddy McRae | Jimmy Bowen | Dean Martin (Lead Vocals)Bill Justis (Arranger, Conductor)The Jack Halloran Singers (Backing Vocals)Hal Blaine (Drums) |
| 6 |
Down Home
|
Roy Clark | Roy Linwood Clark | Jimmy Bowen | Dean Martin (Lead Vocals)Bill Justis (Arranger, Conductor)The Jack Halloran Singers (Backing Vocals)Hal Blaine (Drums) |
| 7 |
I Will
|
Dick Glasser | Dick Glasser | Jimmy Bowen | Dean Martin (Lead Vocals)Bill Justis (Arranger, Conductor)The Jack Halloran Singers (Backing Vocals)Hal Blaine (Drums) |
| 8 |
Snap Your Fingers
|
Grady MartinAlex Zanetis | Thomas Grady MartinAlex Zanetis | Jimmy Bowen | Dean Martin (Lead Vocals)Bill Justis (Arranger, Conductor)The Jack Halloran Singers (Backing Vocals)Hal Blaine (Drums) |
| 9 |
Everybody But Me
|
Dave Burgess | Dave Burgess | Jimmy Bowen | Dean Martin (Lead Vocals)Bill Justis (Arranger, Conductor)The Jack Halloran Singers (Backing Vocals)Hal Blaine (Drums) |
| 10 |
Old Yellow Line
|
Jimmy BowenKeely SmithL. W. Henson | James Albert BowenDorothy Jacqueline KeelyL. W. Henson | Jimmy Bowen | Dean Martin (Lead Vocals)Bill Justis (Arranger, Conductor)The Jack Halloran Singers (Backing Vocals)Hal Blaine (Drums) |
| 11 |
Detour
|
Paul Westmoreland | Paul Westmoreland | Jimmy Bowen | Dean Martin (Lead Vocals)Bill Justis (Arranger, Conductor)The Jack Halloran Singers (Backing Vocals)Hal Blaine (Drums) |
| 12 |
You're the Reason I'm in Love
|
Jack Morrow | Jack Morrow | Jimmy Bowen | Dean Martin (Lead Vocals)Bill Justis (Arranger, Conductor)The Jack Halloran Singers (Backing Vocals)Hal Blaine (Drums) |