Learn How to Play Dean Martin Songs on Guitar

On this page, you'll learn how to play 11 of his most popular songs on guitar.

Whether you're strumming along to That's Amore, swinging through Sway, or slowing things down with Return to Me, these lessons will help you master the rhythm and feel of Dean Martin’s timeless hits.

Each song includes chords, a video demo, and a downloadable PDF to get you playing right away.

Ain't That A Kick In The Head was written as a pop song in 1960, but Dino turned it into a big band jazz arrangement. His arrangement was also used in the original Oceans 11 movie.  

The original title was called Ain't That A Kick In The Seat. Dino's version never charted, but over the years the song has appeared on several of his Greatest Hits albums.

The Irish group Westlife also covered this song in 2004.

Everybody Loves Somebody was written in 1947 and was recorded by others before Dean Martin and that includes Frank Sinatra. But it was Deans version in 1964 that put the song on the map.

Although Dean Martin graced us with numerous hit songs throughout his illustrious career, "Everybody Loves Somebody" holds an unmatched status. It not only topped the Billboard Hot 100 chart in 1964 but also became Martin's signature song, supplanting his earlier staples such as "That's Amore".

The song can be found on his album of the same name.

Mambo Italiano comes from the pen of Bob Merrill, who was a writer who was under a deadline in 1954, and while sitting in an Italian restaurant trying to come up with a song for his approaching deadline, on a napkin he wrote Mambo Italiano. At a nearby payphone he passed along the melody and lyrics to the pianist who was waiting in the studio.

Rosemary Clooney recorded the song first and had a #1 hit in 1955.

Dean Martin recorded his version later in 1955 and had a #2 hit in Australia. The song wasn't part of any album but it did appear on The Essential Dean Martin Hits.

Memories Are Made Of This was Dean Martins only #1 UK hit with this song in 1955. Members of the backup group, The Easy Riders, wrote this one and sang on Dean's track, which reached #1 also on the Billboard Top 100 in 1956.

The most successful version in terms of sales was not Dean's version of this song but one recorded in German.  The Everly Brothers, The Drifters and even Johnny Cash have covered this song.

My Rifle My Pony And Me was in a 1959 film called Rio Bravo starring John Wayne, Walter Brennan, Dean Martin, Ricky Nelson and Angie Dickinson.

Dean Martin and Ricky Nelson took turns singing this song in the movie but Dino recorded a version himself. Some people call this the Dean Martin Rio Bravo song.

Release Me was actually written and first released back in 1949. Both Dean Martin and Engelbert Humperdinck recorded and released their versions in the same year which was 1969. 

Humperdinck's version became one of the largest selling singles of all time. 

Return To Me was first introduced to the world through its release as a single by Dean Martin in 1957. The song was a commercial success and performed exceptionally well on the music charts. It reached #1 on the Billboard Hot 100 chart, a remarkable achievement that solidified its place in the annals of music history. Its enduring popularity allowed it to remain on the charts for an impressive 22 weeks.

Dean recorded the song in 1961 for this album "Dino Italian Love Songs".

Sway was originally written in Spanish for Pedro Infante Cruz, a well known Mexican actor and singer but it was translated into English by Norman Gimbel, so Martin could record an English version. Dino recorded Sway in 1954.

His version reached #6 in the UK and #15 in the US and can be found on the 1954 album "Hey Brother Pour The Wine".

Download the Sway Dean Martin lyrics sheet below.

That's Amore has an interesting back story. For an upcoming 1953 movie called The Caddy, Jerry Lewis paid a composer and a lyricist $30,000 to come up with several songs for the movie that Dean could sing, in the hopes they'd write a hit. 

That's Amore was the result and became one of those Dean Martin top songs. Amore means "love" in Italian.

We'll Sing In The Sunshine was written by Gale Garnett from New Zealand and she recorded this song back in 1964 and had a #1 and a top 10 on several charts.

Several artists including Sonny & Cher, Wanda Jackson, Dolly Parton and Helen Ready all recorded the song.

Dean Martin put the song on his "The Door Is Still Open To My Heart" in 1964 but he never released the song as a single.

You Belong To Me is one of those songs by Dean Martin which was late to the party as Joni James, Jo Statford and Patti Page all had recorded and released their versions first. 

Dino got his version out there in Aug of 1952 and still managed a #12 ranking on the charts. The song was not on any early Dean Martin albums but appeared on his "Dino The Essentials Greatest Hits" album from 2004.

Bob Dylan and Jason Wade also have their versions of this song.