"That's Amore" is a 1952 song

Song

In music, a song is a composition for voice or voices, performed by singing.A song may be accompanied by musical instruments, or it may be unaccompanied, as in the case of a cappella songs...

 by composer Harry Warren

Harry Warren

Harry Warren was an American composer and lyricist. Warren was the first major American songwriter to write primarily for film. He was nominated for the Academy Award for Best Song eleven times and won three Oscars for composing "Lullaby of Broadway", "You'll Never Know" and "On the Atchison,...

 and lyricist Jack Brooks

Jack Brooks (lyricist)

Jack Brooks was an English-American lyricist.Brooks was born in Liverpool, England. He wrote a large number of lyrics of popular songs, including "Ole Buttermilk Sky" "That's Amore" and " Wagon Train" the second theme used on the television program, Wagon...

. It became a major hit, signature song for Dean Martin

Dean Martin

Dean Martin was an American singer, film actor, television star and comedian. Martin's hit singles included "Memories Are Made of This", "That's Amore", "Everybody Loves Somebody", "You're Nobody till Somebody Loves You", "Sway", "Volare" and "Ain't That a Kick in the Head?"...

 in 1953. Amore ' onMouseout='HidePop("1676")' href="/topics/Pronunciation_respelling_for_English">ah-MOR-eh

Pronunciation respelling for English

Pronunciation respelling is a notation used to convey the pronunciation of words, in a language, such as English, which does not have a phonemic orthography....

) means "love" in Italian

Italian language

Italian is a Romance language spoken mainly in Europe: Italy, Switzerland, San Marino, Vatican City, by minorities in Malta, Monaco, Croatia, Slovenia, France, Libya, Eritrea, and Somalia, and by immigrant communities in the Americas and Australia...

.

The song first appeared in the soundtrack

Soundtrack

A soundtrack can be recorded music accompanying and synchronized to the images of a motion picture, book, television program or video game; a commercially released soundtrack album of music as featured in the soundtrack of a film or TV show; or the physical area of a film that contains the...

 of the Martin and Lewis

Martin and Lewis

Martin and Lewis were an American comedy team, comprising singer Dean Martin and comedian Jerry Lewis as the comedic "foil". The pair first met in 1945; their debut as a duo occurred at Atlantic City's 500 Club on July 24/25, 1946....

 comedy

Comedy

Comedy , as a popular meaning, is any humorous discourse or work generally intended to amuse by creating laughter, especially in television, film, and stand-up comedy. This must be carefully distinguished from its academic definition, namely the comic theatre, whose Western origins are found in...

 film The Caddy

The Caddy

The Caddy is a 1953 American film starring the comedy team of Martin and Lewis. It was filmed from November 24, 1952 through February 23, 1953. It was released by Paramount Pictures on August 10, 1953...

, released by Paramount Pictures on August 10, 1953. In the film, the song is performed mainly by Dean Martin, with Jerry Lewis

Jerry Lewis

Jerry Lewis is an American comedian, actor, singer, film producer, screenwriter and film director. He is best known for his slapstick humor in film, television, stage and radio. He was originally paired up with Dean Martin in 1946, forming the famed comedy team of Martin and Lewis...

 joining in and then followed by the other characters in the scene. It received a nomination for the Academy Award for Best Original Song

Academy Award for Best Original Song

The Academy Award for Best Original Song is one of the awards given annually to people working in the motion picture industry by the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences . It is presented to the songwriters who have composed the best original song written specifically for a film...

 of that year, but it lost to "Secret Love" from Calamity Jane starring Doris Day

Doris Day

Doris Day is an American actress, singer and, since her retirement from show business, an animal rights activist. With an entertainment career that spanned through almost 50 years, Day started her career as a big band singer in 1939, but only began to be noticed after her first hit recording,...

.

The track that was used for the single released by Capitol Records

Capitol Records

Capitol Records is a major United States based record label, formerly located in Los Angeles, but operating in New York City as part of Capitol Music Group. Its former headquarters building, the Capitol Tower, is a major landmark near the corner of Hollywood and Vine...

 was recorded on August 13, 1953 (Session 3098; Master 11694-6), with the orchestra conducted by Dick Stabile

Dick Stabile

Dick Stabile was an American jazz saxophonist and bandleader.-Biography:Stabile got his start playing in theater ensembles on Broadway in the 1950s. He joined Ben Bernie's orchestra in 1928, where he remained for several years...

, at Capitol Records' studios at 5505 Melrose Avenue, Hollywood, California. On November 7, 1953, Martin's record

Gramophone record

A gramophone record, commonly known as a phonograph record , vinyl record , or colloquially, a record, is an analog sound storage medium consisting of a flat disc with an inscribed, modulated spiral groove...

 of the song, with "You're The Right One" (which was recorded at the same session as "That's Amore") on the flip side, peaked at #2 on the Billboard charts. The song was kept from the #1 spot when Les Paul

Les Paul

Lester William Polsfuss —known as Les Paul—was an American jazz and country guitarist, songwriter and inventor. He was a pioneer in the development of the solid-body electric guitar which made the sound of rock and roll possible. He is credited with many recording innovations...

 and Mary Ford's Capitol Records single "Vaya Con Dios

Vaya con Dios (song)

"Vaya con Dios" is a popular song written by Larry Russell, Inez James, and Buddy Pepper, and published in 1953....

" returned to the #1 spot after being knocked out by Stan Freberg

Stan Freberg

Stanley Victor "Stan" Freberg is an American author, recording artist, animation voice actor, comedian, radio personality, puppeteer, and advertising creative director whose career began in 1944...

's Capitol Records single "St. George and the Dragonet

St. George and the Dragonet

"St. George and the Dragonet" is a short audio satire recorded August 26, 1953 by Stan Freberg for Capitol Records. It was released September 21, 1953 as a 45 rpm single ....

", which had been #1 for the past four weeks, after "Vaya Con Dios" had been #1 for the nine previous weeks.

The song remains closely identified with Dean Martin. That's Amore was used as the title for a 2001 video retrospective of Martin's career; and his son, Ricci Martin, entitled his 2002 biography

Biography

A biography is a detailed description or account of someone's life. More than a list of basic facts , biography also portrays the subject's experience of those events...

 That's Amore: A Son Remembers Dean Martin. As an iconic song, "That's Amore" remains a secondary signature song

Signature song

A signature song is the one song that a popular and well-established singer or band is most closely identified with or best known for, even if they have had success with a variety of songs...

.

In popular culture

Since around the year 2000, the song has been sung by football fans with the lyrics changed to "When the ball hits your head and you're sat in row Zed, that's Zamora" in honour of the English footballer Bobby Zamora

Bobby Zamora

Robert Lester "Bobby" Zamora is an English footballer who plays for Fulham and the England national football team. Zamora began his career at Football League club Bristol Rovers, but was soon signed by Brighton & Hove Albion, where he found first team success...

. It started while he was playing for Brighton & Hove Albion

Brighton & Hove Albion F.C.

Brighton & Hove Albion Football Club are an English association football club based in the coastal city of Brighton & Hove, East Sussex. They currently play in the Football League Championship, the second tier of the English football league system....

 and has since followed him to West Ham United

West Ham United F.C.

West Ham United Football Club is an English professional football club based in Upton Park, Newham, East London. They play in The Football League Championship. The club was founded in 1895 as Thames Ironworks FC and reformed in 1900 as West Ham United. In 1904 the club relocated to their current...

 and now to his current club Fulham

Fulham F.C.

Fulham Football Club is a professional English Premier League club based in southwest London Fulham, in the London Borough of Hammersmith and Fulham. Founded in 1879, they play in the Premier League, their 11th current season...

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