Dean Paul Martin Jr., everyone called him Dino, was 16 years old, standing in the wings of his father’s TV show, absolutely terrified. It was September 1965, the Dean Martin Show, one of the biggest shows on television, 20 million viewers every week. And tonight, Dino’s rock band was performing.

 This should have been a dream come true. But Dino was scared because he knew something the audience didn’t know. His father hated rock and roll, despised it. Dean Martin had spent months mocking the Beatles on TV, calling the Rolling Stones homeless guys who wandered into a studio. Dean represented everything traditional. Sinatra, big band, real music.

 And Dino, Dino played the exact music his father made fun of. Beatles covers, Rolling Stone style rock, the music Dean called organized noise. Now, Dino had to walk onto that stage in front of his father, in front of 20 million people, and perform the music his father hated. Dino looked at his bandmates, Desi Arnass Jr.

and Billy Hinch. All three were shaking. They had no idea what would happen. Would Dean mock them on live TV, support them, humiliate them? Dino was about to find out. And what happened next on that stage and after the camera stopped would change everything between father and son.

 To understand why Dino was so terrified that night, you need to understand three things. What the Dean Martin show was, how much Dean hated rock and roll, and what Dino, Desi, and Billy meant to teenage America in 1965. The Dean Martin show premiered on NBC in September 1965. It was an instant hit. Dean’s format was simple.

 Variety show, musical guests, comedy sketches, celebrity appearances, Dean playing the lovable drunk who didn’t take anything seriously. The show was appointment television. Thursday nights at 1000 p.m. Families gathered to watch. Dean made it look effortless. Walking on stage with a drink, making jokes, singing a few songs, introducing guests.

 No rehearsal, no script, just Dean being Dean. By late 1965, the show was pulling 20 million viewers per episode. It was one of NBC’s biggest hits, and Dean had complete creative control. If Dean didn’t want something on his show, it didn’t happen. Which brings us to rock and roll. Dean Martin hated rock and roll.

 Not in a casual, I don’t like it way. He genuinely despised it. thought it was destroying music. Thought it was talentless noise. On previous episodes of his show, Dean had made his feelings very clear. When the Beatles appeared on Ed Sullivan and broke viewership records, Dean joked, “I watched that Beatles thing.

 Couldn’t tell if they were boys or girls. Couldn’t tell if they were singing or yelling, but teenage girls were screaming, so I guess it’s music.” When the Rolling Stones released their early records, Dean played a clip and said, “I think my television’s broken. That can’t be music. That’s just noise with hair.” Dean wasn’t trying to be mean.

 It was comedy. But underneath the jokes was real disdain. Dean believed in craftsmanship, in learning to sing properly, in orchestras, and arrangements and real musicianship. Rock and roll to Dean was kids with guitars making noise. No talent required, no skill, just volume and screaming. Dean represented the old guard, the Sinatra generation, the kuners, the professionals.

 And rock and roll was the enemy, the barbarians at the gate, the end of real music. But Dean’s son didn’t see it that way. Dean Paul Martin Jr., Dino was born in 1951. Dean’s son from his second marriage to Gene Beager. By 1965, Dino was 14 years old, about to turn 15. Dino loved his father, idolized him. But Dino also loved the Beatles, the Rolling Stones, the Beach Boys.

 That was his music, his generation’s music. And in early 1965, Dino decided to start a band. His best friend was Desi Arnaz Jr., son of Lucille Ball and Desi Arnaz Senior. They’d grown up together, both celebrity kids, both rebelling against their famous parents’ music. They recruited Billy Hinshi, a talented guitarist and singer, and they formed a band, Dino, Desi, and Billy.

 They started playing Beatles covers, Rolling Stone songs, Beach Boys harmonies, rehearsing in Dino’s garage, playing at school dances, and they were good. Really good. Not just good for kids, actually talented. Tight harmonies, solid musicianship. When Dino told his father about the band, Dean’s reaction was exactly what you’d expect.

 A rock band, son? Why? You’ve got a good voice. You could learn to sing properly. Why waste it on that garbage? Dino tried to explain. Dad, this is what kids my age listen to. This is our music. It’s not music. It’s noise. You don’t have to like it, but I’m doing it. Dean didn’t forbid it. He could have, but Dean had a philosophy about parenting.

 Let your kids make their own mistakes. So Dean said, “Okay, let Dino waste his time with this rock band. he’d grow out of it. Except Dino didn’t grow out of it. Dino, Desi, and Billy got better. They started getting noticed. A record producer saw them perform at a school dance, offered them a deal. In June 1965, Dino, Desi, and Billy released their first single, a song called I’m a Fool.

It was pure 1960s rock, Beatles influenced, catchy, upbeat, and it became a hit. Not a massive hit, but it charted. It got radio play. Teenage girls started buying the record. By September 1965, Dino, Desi, and Billy were becoming famous. Not Beatles level famous, but famous enough that people recognized them, that teenage magazines wrote about them, that girls screamed when they saw them. And NBC had an idea.

 Put Dino, Desi, and Billy on the Dean Martin show. It was perfect, right? Dean’s son’s band performing on Dean’s show. Great publicity, great ratings, a family moment. The producers pitched it to Dean. And Dean said, “No, I’m not putting a rock band on my show.” Dean, it’s your son’s band. I don’t care. It’s still rock music and I’m not promoting that garbage.

 But the NBC executives pushed Dean, this is good for the show. Father son angle. the ratings will be huge. Dean resisted for weeks, but eventually he agreed. Not because he wanted to, but because he realized if he said no, he’d be rejecting his son publicly. And Dean, despite hating the music, loved Dino. So Dean said yes. But he made it clear, I’m doing this for my son, not for rock and roll.

 September 23rd, 1965, the taping of the episode. Dino, Desi, and Billy arrived at NBC Studios in Burbank. They were excited, but nervous. This was national television, Dean Martin’s show. 20 million viewers. Dino hadn’t told his bandmates how much his father hated their music. He’d kept it vague. Dad’s old-fashioned.

 He doesn’t really get rock and roll. But standing in the wings watching his father’s show, Dino realized this could go very wrong. Dean’s opening monologue included several jokes about rock music, about long hair, about loud guitars. The audience laughed, but Dino felt sick. Then came the introduction. Dean walked to center stage, his trademark drink in hand, that easy smile.

 Ladies and gentlemen, our musical guests tonight are a young rock and roll band that’s very popular with teenage girls. They’ve got a hit record, and I have absolutely no idea why. The audience laughed. Dino’s stomach tightened. Dean continued, “Now, I’m told this music is called rock and roll. I’ve been listening to their record, trying to understand it, and I think my record player might be broken because it just sounds like noise to me.” more laughter.

But Dean’s tone shifted slightly, got softer. But you know what? These three young men work very hard. They practice. They write songs. They perform. And even though I don’t understand their music, even though it sounds like organized chaos to me, I respect that they’re doing something they love.

 Dean paused, looked directly at the camera. One of these young men is my son, Dino. And I got to be honest, when he first told me he wanted to start a rock band, I said, “Son, are you sure? Because I’ve heard that music and I’m not convinced it is music.” But he was sure he loves it. And you know what I learned? Just because I don’t understand something doesn’t mean it’s wrong. It just means I’m old.

 The audience laughed, but it was warm laughter, appreciative. So, tonight I’m going to do something I never thought I’d do. I’m going to introduce a rock band on my show and I’m going to smile and I’m going to clap and I’m probably not going to understand a single word they’re singing, but I’m proud of them, especially the one in the middle.

 So, please welcome Dino, Desi, and Billy. The audience applauded enthusiastically. And when Dino walked onto that stage, when he saw his father standing there clapping, smiling, Dino had tears in his eyes. Because Dean Martin, the man who hated rock and roll more than anything, had just publicly supported his son in front of 20 million people.

 Dino, Desi, and Billy performed their hit song. The audience loved it. Girls in the studio audience screamed. It was everything a 1960s rock performance should be. And Dean stood in the wings watching. His face showed exactly what he was thinking. I still don’t understand this music, but my son is good at it. When the song ended, Dean walked back onto the stage, put his arm around Dino, made a joke.

 Well, my ears are still ringing, but I think you boys did great. The audience laughed. Dean shook hands with Desi and Billy. Made a joke about their hair being too long. Classic Dean Martin comedy. The director called cut. The cameras stopped. The studio audience started leaving and Dean pulled Dino aside, away from the cameras, away from the crew, just the two of them.

 Dean put both hands on Dino’s shoulders, looked him directly in the eyes. Your music is terrible, son. I mean that. It’s noise. I don’t understand it. I don’t like it, and I probably never will. Dino’s face fell, but Dean wasn’t finished. But you, you’re wonderful, and I’m so damn proud of you.

 Not because of the music, but because you found something you love, and you’re working hard at it, and you’re good at it. That’s all that matters. I don’t have to like rock and roll to be proud of you for doing what makes you happy. Dean pulled Dino into a hug. I love you, kid, even if your music gives me a headache. Dino laughed through tears. I love you, too, Dad.

That moment, that private conversation after the camera stopped defined their relationship for the next 30 years. Dean never learned to like rock and roll. He continued making jokes about it on his show, continued calling it noise, but he never stopped supporting Dino. Never stopped being proud.

 Never stopped showing up. When Dino, Desi, and Billy released more records, Dean bought copies, played them once, said, “Still terrible, but congratulations.” When the band performed concerts, Dean would sometimes show up backstage, tell Dino, “You were great out there. I still don’t know what you were singing, but you were great.

” The episode of the Dean Martin Show featuring Dino, Desi, and Billy aired in late September 1965. The ratings were huge. Over 22 million viewers, one of the highest rated episodes of the season, and the mail NBC received was overwhelmingly positive. Not about the music, about Dean’s introduction, about a father supporting his son even when he didn’t understand his son’s choices.

 Parents wrote, “Thank you for showing us how to support our kids even when we don’t agree with them.” The teenagers wrote, “My dad hates my music, too. But watching Dean support Dino gave me hope that my dad might come around.” Dean never responded to the letters publicly, but privately he told his writers, “Maybe we should do more of that. Less jokes, more heart.

” Dino, Desi, and Billy continued as a band until 1970. They had several more hits, toured extensively, were genuinely successful. Dino eventually moved on from music, became an Air National Guard pilot, later became an actor, had a successful career doing what his father did, but in his own way.

 Dean and Dino remained close until Dino’s tragic death in 1987 when his F4 Phantom jet crashed during a military training flight. Dean never recovered from losing Dino. That loss contributed to Dean’s decline and eventual death in 1995. But in those years between 1965 and 1987, Dean and Dino had something special, a relationship built on mutual respect, on understanding that love doesn’t require agreement.

 Dean never learned to like rock and roll, but he learned something more important. Being a good father means supporting your kid’s dreams, even when those dreams sound like noise to you. Years later, in the 1980s, a reporter asked Dean about that 1965 episode about introducing Dino’s rock band, even though Dean hated rock music.

 Dean’s answer was classic Dean Martin. I hated the music, still do. But I loved my son, still do. And between loving your kid and hating their music, loving your kid wins every time, even if their music gives you a headache. That’s the lesson of Dean and Dino. Not about rock and roll, not about generation gaps, but about parenthood.

You don’t have to understand your kids. You don’t have to like what they like. You don’t have to agree with their choices, but you do have to support them. Show up for them. Be proud of them. Dean Martin did that on national television in front of 20 million people and then again privately when the cameras stopped.

 Your music is terrible but you’re wonderful. Five words. The perfect summary of unconditional parental