Ain't That a Kick in the Head?

"Ain't That a Kick in the Head?" is a pop song written in 1960 with music by Jimmy Van Heusen and lyrics by Sammy Cahn. It was first recorded that year on May 10 by Dean Martin in a swinging big band jazz arrangement conducted by Nelson Riddle. Martin performed the song in the 1960 heist film Ocean's 11 in an alternate arrangement featuring vibraphonist Red Norvo and his quartet.

"Ain't That a Kick in the Head?"
Single by Dean 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 Martin singles 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 Irish boy band Westlife on their sixth studio album, ...Allow Us to Be Frank. Despite not charting in Ireland and failing to appear on the UK Singles Chart, their cover of the song reached No. 4 on the UK Download Chart, peaked at No. 5 in Denmark, and charted within the top 50 in Flanders, the Netherlands, and Sweden.

Background

Van Heusen and Cahn wrote the song specifically for the 1960 film Ocean'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

Despite being listed on the "Very Strong Sales Potential" list in Billboard's "Reviews of This Week's Singles",[2] Dean Martin's initial release failed to chart.[3][4] However, the song has become strongly associated with Martin and—despite never technically being a "hit" in terms of sales or radio play—has been released on many Dean Martin "greatest hits" albums, such as Dino: The Essential Dean Martin, Greatest Hits (Capitol),[5] and Greatest Hits (EMI),[6] as well as many swing and easy listening compilations.[7] Contributing to this association is his performance of the song in Ocean's 11, which is considered the "quintessential" Rat Pack film.[8] The song also appears in the video game Fallout New Vegas.[9]

Cover versions

Westlife cover version
"Ain't That a Kick in the Head?"
Single by Westlife
from the album ...Allow Us to Be Frank
B-side"Moon River"
Released2004 (2004)
Length2:25
Label
Composer(s)Jimmy Van Heusen
Lyricist(s)Sammy Cahn
Producer(s)Steve Mac
Westlife singles chronology
"Obvious"
(2004)		 "Ain't That a Kick in the Head?"
(2004)		 "Smile"
(2004)

Charts
Chart (2004–2005) Peak
position
Belgium (Ultratop 50 Flanders)[10] 47
Denmark (Tracklisten)[11] 5
Netherlands (Single Top 100)[12] 41
Romania (Romanian Top 100)[13] 74
Sweden (Sverigetopplistan)[14] 20
UK Singles Downloads (OCC)[15] 4

References
  1. Zhito, Lee (1 February 1960). "On the Soundtrack". Billboard. Vol. 72, no. 5. Nielsen Business Media, Inc. p. 33. Retrieved 19 February 2018.
  2. "Reviews of This Week's Singles". Billboard. Nielsen Business Media, Inc. 25 July 1960. p. 45. Retrieved 19 February 2018.
  3. Billboard Archive Search, 1960
  4. "Show Music". No. Vol 7. Max O. Preeo. 1991. p. 76. Retrieved 19 February 2018.
  5. "Greatest Hits [Capitol] - Dean Martin | Songs, Reviews, Credits | AllMusic". AllMusic.
  6. "Greatest Hits [EMI Import] - Dean Martin | Songs, Reviews, Credits | AllMusic". AllMusic.
  7. "Ain't That a Kick in the Head - Dean Martin Song Info". AllMusic.
  8. Mott, Patrick (February 2000). "The Dean of Las Vegas". Orange Coast Magazine. Vol. 26, no. 2. Emmis Communications. Retrieved 19 February 2018.
  9. Lawlor, Scott (October 14, 2010). "The Music of The Mojave Wasteland". Gamasutra. UBM TechWeb. pp. 1, 2, 3. Retrieved October 15, 2012.
  10. "Westlife – ...Ain't That a Kick in the Head" (in Dutch). Ultratop 50. Retrieved July 18, 2020.
  11. "Westlife – ...Ain't That a Kick in the Head". Tracklisten. Retrieved July 18, 2020.
  12. "Westlife – ...Ain't That a Kick in the Head" (in Dutch). Single Top 100. Retrieved July 18, 2020.
  13. "Arhiva romanian top 100 – Editia 5, saptamina 7.02 – 13.02, 2005" (in Romanian). Romanian Top 100. Archived from the original on February 23, 2005. Retrieved November 6, 2020.
  14. "Westlife – ...Ain't That a Kick in the Head". Singles Top 100. Retrieved July 18, 2020.
  15. "Official Singles Downloads Chart Top 100". Official Charts Company. Retrieved July 18, 2020.
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