A Winter Romance

A Winter Romance is a 1959 long playing album by Dean Martin, accompanied by an orchestra arranged and conducted by Gus Levene. While not exclusively a Christmas album, it features several songs associated with Christmas as part of its larger winter theme. It was Martin's only Christmas themed album for Capitol Records. Martin later recorded The Dean Martin Christmas Album for Reprise Records in 1966.

A Winter Romance
Studio album by Dean Martin
Released	November 16, 1959
Recorded	July 29 – August 6, 1959
Studio	Capitol (Hollywood)
Genre	Christmas
Length	33:34
Label	Capitol
Producer	Lee Gillette
Dean Martin chronology
Sleep Warm (with an orchestra conducted by Frank Sinatra) (1959) A Winter Romance (1959) This Time I'm Swingin'! (1960)
Singles from A Winter Romance
"Let It Snow! Let It Snow! Let It Snow!" Released: November 1959

The original artwork featured a picture of Martin embracing a fetching young woman. At the same time, he is throwing a passing flirt at a second, attractive woman.

Reception

Professional ratings

Review scores
Source	Rating
AllMusic	link

The initial Billboard magazine review from November 30, 1959, chose the album as one of its "Spotlight Winners of the Week" and commented that "The tunes are all one the winter kick ... Martin sings them with his usual ease and nonchalance ... A potent waxing for the holiday season".^[1]

Track listing

Original LP

Capitol (S)^[2] T-1285

Side A

1. "A Winter Romance" (Sammy Cahn, Ken Lane) – 2:57
   • Session 7875S; Master 32161; Take 10. Recorded August 4, 1959.
2. "Let It Snow! Let It Snow! Let It Snow!" (Jule Styne, Sammy Cahn) – 1:55
   • Session 7882; Master 32194; Take 15. Recorded August 6, 1959.
3. "The Things We Did Last Summer" (Jule Styne, Sammy Cahn) – 3:37
   • Session 7851; Master 32147; Take 8. Recorded July 29, 1959.
4. "I've Got My Love to Keep Me Warm" (Irving Berlin) – 2:43
   • Session 7875S; Master 32164; Take 8. Recorded August 4, 1959.
5. "June in January" (Leo Robin, Ralph Rainger) – 2:46
   • Session 7875S; Master 32162; Take 6. Recorded August 4, 1959.
6. "Canadian Sunset" (Eddie Heywood, Norman Gimbel) – 3:18
   • Session 7851; Master 32150; Take 4. Recorded July 29, 1959.

Side B

1. "Winter Wonderland" (Felix Bernard, Dick Smith) – 1:51
   • Session 7851; Master 32148; Take 7. Recorded July 29, 1959.
2. "Out in the Cold Again" (Rube Bloom, Ted Koehler) – 3:34
   • Session 7882; Master 32191; Take 12. Recorded August 6, 1959.
3. "Baby, It's Cold Outside" (Frank Loesser) – 2:23
   • Session 7882; Master 32192; Take 15. Recorded August 6, 1959.
4. "Rudolph the Red-Nosed Reindeer" (Johnny Marks) – 2:15
   • Session 7882; Master 32193; Take 4. Recorded August 6, 1959.
5. "White Christmas" (Berlin) – 2:28
   • Session 7851; Master 32149; Take 7. Recorded July 29, 1959.
6. "It Won't Cool Off" (Cahn, Lane) – 2:27
   • Session 7875S; Master 32163; Take 7. Recorded August 4, 1959.

Reissues

The LP was reissued in 1965 as Holiday Cheer (Capitol STT-2343) as well as on the cassette tape, with different cover art and the song "A Winter Romance" omitted. This version charted for 11 weeks peaking at #12 on Billboard's Best Bets For Christmas album chart December 14, 1968.^[3]

The 1989 Capitol CD reissue added a thirteenth bonus track following to the original album.

1. "The Christmas Blues" (David Holt, Cahn) – 2:54.
   • Session 3176; Master 11943–8; Take 8. Recorded October 5, 1953.

The 2005 Collectors' Choice Music CD reissue added four (non-Christmas) bonus tracks to the original album.

1. "Meanderin'" (Cy Coben, Charles Randolph Grean, George Botsford) – 2:58
   • Session 2309; Master 9022–7. Recorded September 15, 1951.
2. "Sogni d'Oro" (Marilyn Keith, Lew Spence, Alan Bergman) – 2:35
   • Session 7751; Master 31662–14. Recorded May 13, 1959.
3. "Go Go Go Go" (Jerry Livingston, Mack David) – 2:22
   • Session 2092; Master 7256–7. Recorded June 20, 1951.
4. "Buttercup of Golden Hair" (Mitchell Tableporter) – 2:18
   • Session 7757; Master 31694–3. Recorded May 15, 1959.

Personnel

• Dean Martin – vocals
• Gus Levene – leader
• Hy Lesnick – contractor
• Joseph R. (Bobby) Gibbons – guitar
• George Sylvester 'Red' Callender – bass guitar
• Louis 'Lou' Singer – drums
• James Rowles – piano on sessions 7851 and 7882
• Ray I. Sherman – piano on session 7875S
• Edward Ross – accordion on session 7882
• Kurt Reher – cello
• Eleanor Aller Slatkin – cello
• Kathryn Julye – harp on sessions 7875S and 7882
• Donald Cole – viola
• Alvin Dinkin – viola on session 7875S
• Virginia Majewski – viola
• David H. Sterkin – viola on session 7851
• Israel Baker – violin on session 7882
• Victor Bay – violin
• John Peter DeVoogt – violin
• Nathan Kaproff – violin
• Joseph Livoti – violin
• Daniel 'Dan' Lube – violin
• Erno Neufeld – violin
• Jerome 'Jerry' Reisler – violin
• Ralph Schaeffer – violin on session 7875S
• Felix Slatkin – violin on sessions 7851 and 7882
• Gerald Vinci – violin on sessions 7851 and 7875S
• Arnold Koblentz – oboe on sessions 7851 and 7875S
• James Briggs – saxophone on session 7882
• Mahlon Clark – saxophone on sessions 7875S and 7882
• Arthur 'Skeets' Herfurt – saxophone on session 7875S
• Edward Kuczborski ('Eddie' Kusby) – saxophone on session 7875S
• Harry Klee – saxophone on session 7882
• Ronald Langinger – alto saxophone on session 7875S
• Theodore M. 'Ted' Nash – saxophone on session 7851
• Emanuel 'Mannie' Klein – trumpet on session 7875S

Charts

Chart performance for A Winter Romance

Chart (2018–2024)	Peak position
Austrian Albums (Ö3 Austria)^[4]	26
Danish Albums (Hitlisten)^[5]	8
Dutch Albums (Album Top 100)^[6]	5
Estonian Albums (Eesti Tipp-40)^[7]	22
Finnish Albums (Suomen virallinen lista)^[8]	13
German Albums (Offizielle Top 100)^[9]	5
Hungarian Albums (MAHASZ)^[10]	8
Icelandic Albums (Plötutíðindi)^[11]	18
Irish Albums (OCC)^[12]	31
Italian Albums (FIMI)^[13]	27
Latvian Albums (LAIPA)^[14]	8
Lithuanian Albums (AGATA)^[15]	3
Norwegian Albums (VG-lista)^[16]	11
Polish Albums (ZPAV)^[17]	40
Swedish Albums (Sverigetopplistan)^[18]	9
Swiss Albums (Schweizer Hitparade)^[19]	83
US Billboard 200^[20]	61

Certifications

Certifications for A Winter Romance

Region	Certification	Certified units/sales
Denmark (IFPI Danmark)^[21]	Gold	10,000^‡
United Kingdom (BPI)^[22]	Silver	60,000^^
^^ Shipments figures based on certification alone. ^‡ Sales+streaming figures based on certification alone.

Notes

1. "Article". Billboard. 30 November 1959. p. 28. ISSN 0006-2510.
2. The optional 'S' indicates a stereo recording
3. "Billboard Best Bets For Christmas." Billboard, vol. 80, no. 50, December 14, 1968, p. 84. worldradiohistory.com.
4. "Austriancharts.at – Dean Martin – A Winter Romance" (in German). Hung Medien. Retrieved January 2, 2024.
5. "Album Top-40 Uge 1, 2024". Hitlisten. Retrieved January 3, 2024.
6. "Dutchcharts.nl – Dean Martin – A Winter Romance" (in Dutch). Hung Medien. Retrieved December 30, 2023.
7. "EESTI TIPP-40 MUUSIKAS". Eesti Ekspress. December 10, 2019. from the original on November 7, 2021. Retrieved November 28, 2023.
8. "Dean Martin: A Winter Romance" (in Finnish). Musiikkituottajat – IFPI Finland. Retrieved January 1, 2023.
9. "Offiziellecharts.de – Dean Martin – A Winter Romance" (in German). GfK Entertainment Charts. Retrieved December 29, 2023.
10. "Album Top 40 slágerlista – 2023. 52. hét" (in Hungarian). MAHASZ. Retrieved January 4, 2024.
11. "Tónlistinn – Plötur – Vika 52 – 2023" [The Music – Albums – Week 52 – 2023] (in Icelandic). Plötutíðindi. from the original on December 31, 2023. Retrieved December 31, 2023.
12. "Official Irish Albums Chart Top 50". Official Charts Company. Retrieved December 29, 2023.
13. "Album – Classifica settimanale WK 52 (dal 22.12.2023 al 28.12.2023)" (in Italian). Federazione Industria Musicale Italiana. Retrieved December 30, 2023.
14. (in Latvian). LAIPA. Archived from the original on October 10, 2019. Retrieved November 28, 2019.
15. "2022 52-os savaitės klausomiausi (Top 100)" (in Lithuanian). AGATA. December 30, 2022. Retrieved December 31, 2022.
16. "Album 2023 uke 52". VG-lista. Retrieved December 30, 2023.
17. "OLiS - oficjalna lista sprzedaży - albumy" (in Polish). OLiS. Polish Society of the Phonographic Industry. Note: Change the date to 22.12.2023–28.12.2023 under "zmień zakres od–do:". Retrieved January 4, 2024.
18. "Swedishcharts.com – Dean Martin – A Winter Romance". Hung Medien. Retrieved January 1, 2021.
19. "Swisscharts.com – Dean Martin – A Winter Romance". Hung Medien. Retrieved December 31, 2023.
20. "Billboard 200 (January 5, 2020)". Billboard. Retrieved December 31, 2020.
21. "Danish album certifications – Dean Martin – A Winter Romance". IFPI Danmark. Retrieved 12 January 2022.
22. "British album certifications – Dean Martin – A Winter Romance". British Phonographic Industry. Retrieved 27 November 2022.