When the temperature starts to drop and you finally dig that heavy wool coat out of the back of the closet, there’s a specific sound that just fits. It’s not necessarily "Jingle Bells" or the high-octane cheer of modern pop stars trying to out-sing a reindeer. It’s something smoother. Honestly, if you’ve ever put on Dean Martin A Winter Romance, you know exactly what I’m talking about. Released on November 16, 1959, this album isn't just a Christmas record.
In fact, it’s barely a Christmas record at all.
Most people lump it in with the holiday classics, but Dino and Capitol Records were doing something way more clever here. They were selling an atmosphere. They were selling the idea of a crackling fireplace, a stiff drink, and someone special to keep you warm while the wind howls outside. It’s a concept album about the season of winter, and it might just be the coolest thing the King of Cool ever put to tape.
The Secret Sauce of Dean Martin A Winter Romance
If you look at the tracklist, you’ll notice something kind of weird. Only a handful of these songs are actually about Christmas. You’ve got "White Christmas" and "Rudolph the Red-Nosed Reindeer," sure. But then you’ve got "Canadian Sunset," "June in January," and "The Things We Did Last Summer."
Why? Because Dean wasn't trying to compete with the church choir.
He was carving out a niche for the "Winter Romance" part of the title. This was his only holiday-themed effort for Capitol Records before he eventually hopped over to Reprise and gave us the more traditional The Dean Martin Christmas Album in 1966. But for many purists, the 1959 sessions—recorded between July 29 and August 6 of that year—are the definitive Dino.
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The sessions were a masterclass in "easy." Producer Lee Gillette and arranger Gus Levene didn't overcomplicate things. They let the orchestra breathe. They let Dean be Dean. When you listen to the title track, "A Winter Romance," written by Sammy Cahn and Ken Lane, you can almost see Dean leaning against the microphone with a wink.
Why the 1959 Version of "Let It Snow!" Rules the World
You’ve heard "Let It Snow! Let It Snow! Let It Snow!" a thousand times. It’s in every department store from October to January. But the version you’re likely humming is the one from this 1959 album. It’s shorter than most modern versions—clocking in at a brisk 1:55—but it packs more personality into two minutes than most artists manage in a career.
Interestingly, Dean recorded the song again in 1966. But that later version has background singers and a different vibe. The 1959 original is just Dean. No fluff. It’s intimate. It feels like he’s singing it directly to you (or whoever is sitting on the rug next to you).
Music critics like William Ruhlmann have often pointed out that Dean’s "nonchalance" is his greatest weapon. He doesn't try to impress you with his range. He’s not hitting glass-shattering high notes. He’s just comfortable. That comfort is contagious, and it's why this record has such a massive afterlife on streaming platforms and vinyl reissues today.
A Tracklist That Doesn't Care About the Calendar
The flow of this album is honestly pretty ballsy for 1959. Capitol was basically telling the audience, "Yeah, it’s freezing, but let’s talk about summer for a second."
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- "The Things We Did Last Summer": This is a nostalgia trip. It’s about holding onto warmth when the world is turning grey.
- "June in January": A clever flip on the winter theme. It argues that love makes the seasons irrelevant.
- "Baby, It's Cold Outside": Long before this song became a lightning rod for internet debates, Dean treated it as a playful, suave duet with himself and the orchestra. It’s more about the "chase" and the atmosphere than anything else.
- "Rudolph the Red-Nosed Reindeer": Okay, this is the one where Dean gets a little silly. He calls him "Rudy." It’s the least "serious" moment on the record, but it reminds you that Dino never took himself too seriously.
Back in the day, Billboard had some weird rules about Christmas albums. In 1963, they actually changed their policy, making albums like this ineligible for the main pop chart. Instead, they got shuffled off to a seasonal "Christmas" chart. But don't let that fool you—A Winter Romance was a smash. It eventually hit No. 1 on that seasonal chart and has been certified Gold by the RIAA.
The Weird History of "Holiday Cheer"
If you're a vinyl hunter, you might have stumbled across a record called Holiday Cheer from 1965. Look closer at the back cover.
It’s actually just A Winter Romance wearing a cheap disguise.
Capitol Records wanted to squeeze more money out of the catalog once Dean moved to Reprise, so they repackaged the album, changed the cover, and—bizarrely—omitted the title track and "It Won't Cool Off" in some versions. They even left off "White Christmas" and "Rudolph" in some international pressings. It was a mess. If you want the real experience, you have to stick with the original 12-track 1959 sequence.
The Audiophile Obsession with Dino
There is a whole subset of the vinyl community that obsesses over the "Tubey Magic" of these 1950s Capitol pressings. Because it was recorded at the legendary Capitol Studios in Hollywood, the soundstage is massive.
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If you get your hands on a clean mono or early stereo pressing, the vocals don't just sit "in" the speakers. They sit in the room. Experts at sites like The Skeptical Audiophile have spent years arguing over which reissue sounds best, but the consensus is usually that the 2005 Collector’s Choice Music CD or the recent 180g vinyl reissues are the way to go if you can't find a mint original from 1959.
The 2005 reissue is particularly cool because it adds four bonus tracks that weren't on the original LP, including "Sogni d'Oro" and "Go Go Go Go." While they aren't wintery, they capture that same late-50s Dean magic.
What We Can Learn From A Winter Romance
In a world where everything is "over-produced" and every holiday album feels like a corporate mandate, A Winter Romance stands out because it feels effortless. It’s a reminder that you don't need a 50-person choir to make a "big" record. You just need a guy who knows how to tell a story and a band that knows how to swing.
Honestly, the best way to enjoy this is to wait for the first real snow of the year. Turn off the big lights, put on some small lamps, and let the needle drop on side A. It’s the closest thing to time travel you can get for under thirty bucks.
Your next steps for the ultimate winter vibe:
- Check the Matrix: If you’re buying this on vinyl, look for the "Anvil" symbol in the runout groove. That means it was pressed at the Capitol Records Pressing Plant in Scranton—the gold standard for these old records.
- Compare the Versions: Pull up the 1959 version of "Let It Snow!" and the 1966 version back-to-back. You’ll immediately hear the difference between Capitol-era Dean and Reprise-era Dean.
- Dig into the Bonus Tracks: Seek out "The Christmas Blues" (recorded in 1953). It’s often included as a bonus track on CD versions and it’s one of the best "sad" holiday songs ever written.