Dean Martin - Bye Bye Blackbird (Live) (1950) Dean Martin’s 1950 recording of “Bye Bye Blackbird” marked a turning point in his rise from nightclub crooner to national star. The song, written in 1926 by Ray Henderson and Mort Dixon, had long been a jazz favorite, but Martin’s relaxed phrasing and conversational tone gave it fresh intimacy. His voice—warm, unforced, and rhythmically precise—transformed a familiar tune into something quietly personal, as though he were speaking to an old friend ac