[dropcap]W[/dropcap]hen I was a boy, my mother loved listening to American crooners on our old wooden stereo console – Dean Martin was her favorite.

Though I hated his “old people” music as I kid, I listen to it frequently on satellite radio when I’m driving my truck.

Here’s why: Dino celebrated romance, “a feeling of excitement and mystery associated with love,” says Dictionary.com.

And if modern music is the measure, romance is dead.

I point to Billboard M...