Wikipedia

Ain't That a Kick in the Head?

"Ain't That a Kick in the Head?"is a pop song written in1960with music byJimmy Van Heusenand lyrics bySammy Cahn.It was first recorded that year on May 10 byDean Martinin a swinging big bandjazzarrangement conducted byNelson Riddle.Martin performed the song in the 1960heist filmOcean's 11in an alternate arrangement featuring vibraphonistRed Norvoand his quartet.

"Ain't That a Kick in the Head?"
SinglebyDean Martin
B-side"Humdinger"
ReleasedJuly 1960(1960-07)
RecordedMay 10, 1960
GenreSwing
Length2:24
LabelCapitol
Composer(s)Jimmy Van Heusen
Lyricist(s)Sammy Cahn
Producer(s)Lee Gillette
Dean Martinsingles chronology
"Just in Time"
(1960) 		"Ain't That a Kick in the Head?"
(1960) 		"Sogni D'oro (Golden Dreams)"
(1960)

The song was covered in 2004 by Irishboy bandWestlifeon their sixth studio album,...Allow Us to Be Frank.Despite not charting in Ireland and failing to appear on theUK Singles Chart,their cover of the song reached No. 4 on theUK Download Chart,peaked at No. 5 in Denmark, and charted within the top 50 inFlanders,the Netherlands, and Sweden.

Background

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Van Heusen and Cahn wrote the song specifically for the 1960 filmOcean's 11,though it was initially referred to press as "Ain't That a Kick in the Seat".[1]Dean Martin's single was released before the film, which premiered on August 10, 1960.

Reception

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Despite being listed on the "Very Strong Sales Potential" list inBillboard's "Reviews of This Week's Singles",[2]Dean Martin's initial release of "Ain't That a Kick in the Head?" failed to chart[3][4]never technically was a hit in terms of sales or radio play.

The song languished in obscurity and remained unreleased on LP or CD.[5]However, in 1989, producerRon Furmanekwas assembling material for a new Dean Martin compilation album in theCapitol Collectors Seriesand decided to include the tune.[5]Furmanek located the three-track stereo session master tape and remixed the song in true stereo for the first time.[5]The albumsold well, eventually achievingGoldstatus, and the song has become strongly associated with Martin.[5]The Furmanek mix has been released on a number of subsequent Dean Martingreatest hitsalbums, such asDino: The Essential Dean Martin,Greatest Hits(Capitol),[6]andGreatest Hits(EMI),[7]as well as many swing and easy listening compilations.[8]Contributing to this association is his performance of the song inOcean's 11,which is considered the quintessentialRat Packfilm.[9]

The song is featured in the movieMission: Impossible – Ghost Protocolduring the film's prison break sequence. The song is also featured in the 2010 video gameFallout: New Vegas,where it can be heard on the in-game radio station Radio New Vegas.

Certifications

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Region Certification Certified units/sales
United States (RIAA)[10] Platinum 1,000,000‡

‡Sales+streaming figures based on certification alone.

Westlife version

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"Ain't That a Kick in the Head?"
SinglebyWestlife
from the album...Allow Us to Be Frank
B-side"Moon River"
ReleasedNovember 1, 2004(2004-11-01)
Length2:25
Label
Composer(s)Jimmy Van Heusen
Lyricist(s)Sammy Cahn
Producer(s)Steve Mac
Westlifesingles chronology
"Obvious"
(2004) 		"Ain't That a Kick in the Head?"
(2004) 		"Smile"
(2004)

Charts

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Chart (2004–2005) Peak
position
Belgium (Ultratop 50Flanders)[11] 47
Denmark (Tracklisten)[12] 5
Netherlands (Single Top 100)[13] 41
Romania (Romanian Top 100)[14] 74
Sweden (Sverigetopplistan)[15] 20
UK Singles Downloads(OCC)[16] 4

Release history

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Region Date Format(s) Label(s) Ref.
Denmark November 1, 2004 CD
[17]
Sweden November 3, 2004 [18]

References

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  1. ^Zhito, Lee (1 February 1960)."On the Soundtrack".Billboard.Vol. 72, no. 5. Nielsen Business Media, Inc. p. 33.Retrieved19 February2018.
  2. ^"Reviews of This Week's Singles".Billboard.Nielsen Business Media, Inc. 25 July 1960. p. 45.Retrieved19 February2018.
  3. ^Billboard Archive Search, 1960
  4. ^"Show Music".Vol. 7. Max O. Preeo. 1991. p. 76.Retrieved19 February2018.
  5. ^abcdAin't That A Kick In the Head!. (reprint)
  6. ^"Greatest Hits [Capitol] - Dean Martin | Songs, Reviews, Credits | AllMusic".AllMusic.
  7. ^"Greatest Hits [EMI Import] - Dean Martin | Songs, Reviews, Credits | AllMusic".AllMusic.
  8. ^"Ain't That a Kick in the Head - Dean Martin Song Info".AllMusic.
  9. ^Mott, Patrick (February 2000)."The Dean of Las Vegas".Orange Coast Magazine.Vol. 26, no. 2. Emmis Communications.Retrieved19 February2018.
  10. ^"American single certifications – Dean Martin – Ain't a Kick in the Head?".Recording Industry Association of America.RetrievedSeptember 6,2024.
  11. ^"Westlife –...Ain't That a Kick in the Head "(in Dutch).Ultratop 50.Retrieved July 18, 2020.
  12. ^"Westlife –...Ain't That a Kick in the Head ".Tracklisten.Retrieved July 18, 2020.
  13. ^"Westlife –...Ain't That a Kick in the Head "(in Dutch).Single Top 100.Retrieved July 18, 2020.
  14. ^"Arhiva romanian top 100 – Editia 5, saptamina 7.02 – 13.02, 2005"(in Romanian).Romanian Top 100.Archived fromthe originalon February 23, 2005.RetrievedNovember 6,2020.
  15. ^"Westlife –...Ain't That a Kick in the Head ".Singles Top 100.Retrieved July 18, 2020.
  16. ^"Official Singles Downloads Chart Top 100".Official Charts Company.Retrieved July 18, 2020.
  17. ^"Westlife: Single".click2music.dk(in Danish). Archived fromthe originalon December 16, 2004.RetrievedNovember 10,2023.
  18. ^"Westlife: Ain´t That a Kick in the Head".click2music.se(in Swedish). Archived fromthe originalon February 16, 2005.RetrievedNovember 30,2023.
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