"Steppin' Out with My Baby" is a
popular song written by
Irving Berlin
Irving Berlin (born Israel Beilin; yi, ישראל ביילין; May 11, 1888 – September 22, 1989) was a Russian-American composer, songwriter and lyricist. His music forms a large part of the Great American Songbook.
Born in Imperial Russ ...
and introduced in the 1948
musical film ''
Easter Parade''.
There it was sung by
Fred Astaire
Fred Astaire (born Frederick Austerlitz; May 10, 1899 – June 22, 1987) was an American dancer, choreographer, actor, and singer. He is often called the greatest dancer in Hollywood film history.
Astaire's career in stage, film, and tele ...
as part of a dance number involving Astaire on stairs and three different dance partners.
Since then the song has been recorded and performed by several artists, most notably
Tony Bennett
Anthony Dominick Benedetto (born August 3, 1926), known professionally as Tony Bennett, is an American retired singer of traditional pop standards, big band, show tunes, and jazz. Bennett is also a painter, having created works under his birt ...
, in whose treatment it has become a
jazz standard. Introduced as the title song on his 1993 Astaire-themed album ''
Steppin' Out'', a stylish
music video
A music video is a video of variable duration, that integrates a music song or a music album with imagery that is produced for promotional or musical artistic purposes. Modern music videos are primarily made and used as a music marketing device ...
for it garnered some
MTV airplay and was part of Bennett's commercial resurgence at the time. One such performance was included on his high-selling 1994 ''
MTV Unplugged: Tony Bennett'' album.
Later Bennett recorded it as bonus tracks duets with
Michael Bublé
Michael Steven Bublé ( ; born September 9, 1975) is a Canadian singer. A four-time Grammy Award winner, he is often credited for helping to renew public interest and appreciation for traditional pop standards and the Great American Songboo ...
and
Delta Goodrem for his 2006 ''
Duets: An American Classic'' album; performed it three times with
Christina Aguilera
Christina María Aguilera (; ; born December 18, 1980) is an American singer, songwriter, actress, and television personality. Known for her four-octave vocal range and ability to sustain high notes, she has been referred to as the " Voice of ...
on his
NBC
The National Broadcasting Company (NBC) is an American English-language commercial broadcast television and radio network. The flagship property of the NBC Entertainment division of NBCUniversal, a division of Comcast, its headquarters are l ...
special ''An American Classic,
Saturday Night Live
''Saturday Night Live'' (often abbreviated to ''SNL'') is an American late-night live television sketch comedy and variety show created by Lorne Michaels and developed by Dick Ebersol that airs on NBC and Peacock (streaming service), Peacock. ...
'', and the
59th Primetime Emmy Awards
The 59th Primetime Emmy Awards were held on Sunday, September 16, 2007, honoring the best in U.S. prime time television programming at the Shrine Auditorium in Los Angeles, California. The ceremony was televised live on Fox at 8:00 p.m. ...
in 2007; and in 2011 with
Haley Reinhart
Haley Elizabeth Reinhart (born September 9, 1990) is an American singer, songwriter and actress from Wheeling, Illinois. She first rose to prominence after placing third in the 10th season of ''American Idol''. In July 2011, Reinhart signed a re ...
in the finale show of
''American Idol'' season 10. Aguilera and Bennett's version was nominated in 2008
50th Annual Grammy Awards
The 50th Annual Grammy Awards took place at the Staples Center in Los Angeles, on February 10, 2008. It honored musical achievement of 2007 in which albums were released between October 1, 2006, through September 30, 2007. The primary ceremonies ...
in the category Best Pop Collaboration with Vocals. Bennett continued to perform the song until his retirement in 2021, at the age of 95.
*
Fred Astaire
Fred Astaire (born Frederick Austerlitz; May 10, 1899 – June 22, 1987) was an American dancer, choreographer, actor, and singer. He is often called the greatest dancer in Hollywood film history.
Astaire's career in stage, film, and tele ...
included the song on his album ''
The Astaire Story
''The Astaire Story'' is a 1952 album by Fred Astaire. The album was conceived of and produced by Norman Granz, the founder of Clef Records (and later Verve Records), who was also responsible for the Jazz at the Philharmonic concerts, at which a ...
'' (1952)
*
Doris Day recorded the song in 1959 for her "
Cuttin' Capers" album.
*
Curtis Stigers
Curtis Stigers (born October 18, 1965) is an American jazz singer. He achieved a number of hits in the early 1990s, most notably the international hit " I Wonder Why" (1991), which reached No. 5 in the UK and No. 9 in the US.
Career
S ...
, alongside the
John Wilson Orchestra
The John Wilson Orchestra was formed by British orchestral conductor John Wilson in 1994. It is a symphony orchestra that includes a jazz big band. It performs the original arrangements of MGM musicals and the works of Rodgers and Hammerstein. ...
performed the song as the opening song for the film ''
Ted 2
''Ted 2'' (stylized as ted2) is a 2015 American comedy film directed by Seth MacFarlane and written by MacFarlane, Alec Sulkin, and Wellesley Wild. The second installment in the ''Ted'' franchise, it serves as a sequel to the 2012 film of the ...
''.
It was also used as the ending song for the film ''
She's Funny That Way
"She's Funny That Way" or "He's Funny That Way" is a popular song, composed by Neil Moret, with lyrics by Richard Whiting. It was composed for the short film ''Gems of MGM'' in 1929 for Marion Harris, but the film was not released until 1931. Harr ...
'' (with footage "Easter Parade").
American swing revivalists the
Cherry Poppin' Daddies
The Cherry Poppin' Daddies are an American swing and ska band established in Eugene, Oregon, in 1989. Formed by singer-songwriter Steve Perry and bassist Dan Schmid, the band has experienced numerous personnel changes over the course of its 30 ...
recorded a version of the song on their 2016 cover album ''
The Boop-A-Doo
''The Boop-A-Doo'' is the eighth studio album and tenth album overall by American ska- swing band the Cherry Poppin' Daddies, released on January 22, 2016 by Space Age Bachelor Pad Records.
The second in a planned trilogy of cover albums intende ...
'', alongside several other songs originally composed by Berlin.
References
1948 songs
2012 songs
Songs written by Irving Berlin
Tony Bennett songs
Fred Astaire songs
Christina Aguilera songs
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