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 on May 10, 1960, 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. 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 number four on the UK Download Chart, peaked at number five 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". 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", Dean Martin's initial release failed to chart. 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 "", "Greatest Hits" (Capitol), and "Greatest Hits" (EMI), as well as many swing and easy listening compilations. Contributing to this association is his performance of the song in "Ocean's 11", which is considered the "quintessential" Rat Pack film. The song also appears in the "Fallout  New Vegas" video game.