However, research shows that it was not Sinatra who brought in the Mafia but Martino's near namesake, Dean Martin, another Italian-American singer enj

Hey pallies, sad to see 'nother Dinocomtemporary Mr. Al Martino has departed this life and we express our condolences to Mr. Martino's family and friends.

Amazin' how much Dinotruth comes out at such a time. Here is a stellar piece of research Dinoinfo that comes from down under at the Sydney Morning Herald web pad (clicks on tagg of this Dinopost to goes there).

Thanks to writer Michael Freedland of the Guardian News & Media, we here how the Johnny Fontane character that Mr. Martino played in "The Godfather" was actually modeled after our Dino...not the frankie as many believed. So glad to see our Dino get his due.

Always so so Dinowonderful to keeps learnin' more and more 'bout our Dino, his life, his times, his amazin' legecy of cool. Dinoawed, DMP



A star when pop singers only had eyes for you October 17, 2009
Al Martino, 1927-2009

A MILLION young girls believed Al Martino had a place reserved for them when he sang the hit ballad Here in My Heart. He also warbled I Love You Because and they had no doubt that he was making a personal statement for their ears only. Such was the power of an early 1950s pop star in a more innocent age.

Martino entered the Guinness Book of Records by having, in 1952, the first No. 1 in the newly established British singles chart. Here in My Heart remained at No. 1 for nine weeks. He also had 34 Hot 100 entries in the US hit parade between 1959 and 1977.

There was a time when it seemed that Martino was destined to be the new Frank Sinatra, not least because he first enjoyed success when Sinatra's career was at a low ebb.

The Sinatra connection continued when, in 1972, Martino appeared in the Oscar-winning film The Godfather as Johnny Fontane, a nightclub singer and aspiring actor whose lagging career is given a helping hand by the mob. Fontane's godfather, Don Vito Corleone (Marlon Brando), arranges for a horse's head to be placed in the bed of a Hollywood mogul to ensure a movie role for his godson. Martino can be seen performing I Have But One Heart in the film's opening wedding scene.

For years it was widely believed that Fontane was based on Sinatra, who, it was alleged, got his own big movie break in From Here to Eternity (1953) through Mafia intervention. However, research shows that it was not Sinatra who brought in the Mafia but Martino's near namesake, Dean Martin, another Italian-American singer enjoying his first hit records.

Their voices were at times remarkably similar, except that Martino's style was more full-throated than the laid-back ''Dino'' approach. When Martino sang Spanish Eyes in 1965, another of his successful singles, he might easily have been mistaken for Martin, who was even at one time wrongly said to be Martino's brother.

He was born Alfred Cini Martino in Philadelphia. When he left school he entered the family's construction business, and in the evenings sang in clubs and bars near his home. Like Sinatra, Martino won a contest - in his case, Arthur Godfrey's Talent Scout Show, which landed him a contract with Capitol Records in the label's heyday.

It was due to Mario Lanza, the operatic tenor who became a pop idol, that Martino got further than merely having his name on the label's roster. Lanza was a friend of the Martino family and persuaded the young Al to take up singing professionally and move to New York. Capitol wanted Lanza to sing Here in My Heart but he was not interested. The label found that Martino was on its books and, almost out of desperation, gave him the chance to record it.

Four years later he had further success with the Italian ballad Volare. It was big not only in the US but also in Italy - a coals-to-Newcastle triumph. The song reached the top of the charts across Europe.

Al Martino is survived by his wife, Judi, son, Alfred, and daughter, Allison.

Michael Freedland


Guardian News & Media


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