Baby, It's Cold Outside
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"Baby, It's Cold Outside" is a
popular song Popular music is music with wide appeal that is typically distributed to large audiences through the music industry. These forms and styles can be enjoyed and performed by people with little or no musical training.Popular Music. (2015). ''Fun ...
written by
Frank Loesser Frank Henry Loesser ( "lesser"; June 29, 1910 – July 28, 1969) was an American songwriter who wrote the music and lyrics for the Broadway theatre, Broadway musicals ''Guys and Dolls (musical), Guys and Dolls'' and ''How to Succeed in Business ...
in 1944 and popularized in the 1949 film '' Neptune's Daughter''. While the lyrics make no mention of a holiday, it is commonly regarded as a
Christmas song Christmas music comprises a variety of Music genre, genres of music regularly performed or heard around the Christmas and holiday season, Christmas season. Music associated with Christmas may be purely instrumental, or in the case of Christmas ...
owing to its winter theme. The song was released in eight recordings in 1949—including well-known versions by
Ella Fitzgerald Ella Jane Fitzgerald (April25, 1917June15, 1996) was an American singer, songwriter and composer, sometimes referred to as the "First Lady of Song", "Queen of Jazz", and "Lady Ella". She was noted for her purity of tone, impeccable diction, phra ...
and
Louis Jordan Louis Thomas Jordan (July 8, 1908 – February 4, 1975) was an American saxophonist, multi-instrumentalist, songwriter and bandleader who was popular from the late 1930s to the early 1950s. Known as "Honorific nicknames in popular music, the King ...
, Hot Lips Page and Pearl Bailey, and by
Dean Martin Dean Martin (born Dino Paul Crocetti; June 7, 1917 – December 25, 1995) was an American singer, actor, and comedian. Nicknamed the "Honorific nicknames in popular music, King of Cool", he is regarded as one of the most popular entertainers of ...
and Marilyn Maxwell—and has been covered numerous times since.


History

In 1944, Loesser wrote "Baby, It's Cold Outside" to sing with his wife, Lynn Garland, at their housewarming party in New York City at the Navarro Hotel. They sang the song to indicate to guests that it was time to leave. Garland has written that after the first performance, "We became instant parlor room stars. We got invited to all the best parties for years on the basis of 'Baby.' It was our ticket to caviar and truffles. Parties were built around our being the closing act." In 1948, after years of performing the song, Loesser sold it to
MGM Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer Studios Inc. (also known as Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer Pictures, commonly shortened to MGM or MGM Studios) is an American Film production, film and television production and film distribution, distribution company headquartered ...
for the 1949 romantic comedy '' Neptune's Daughter''. Garland was furious: "I felt as betrayed as if I'd caught him in bed with another woman." According to Esther Williams, the producers of ''Neptune's Daughter'' had planned to use a different Loesser song, " (I'd Like to Get You on a) Slow Boat to China", but studio censors thought it was too suggestive and replaced it with "Baby." The song won the 1950 Academy Award for Best Original Song.


Lyrics

The song is a call and response duet between two people: a host and a guest, usually performed by male and female singers respectively. Every line in the song features a statement from the guest followed by a response from the host. The lyrics consist of the host trying to convince the guest that she should stay for a romantic evening because he fears her getting too cold outside, despite the fact that she feels she should return home to her concerned family and neighbors. In the film ''Neptune's Daughter'', the song is first performed by Ricardo Montalbán and
Esther Williams Esther Jane Williams (August 8, 1921 – June 6, 2013) was an American competitive swimmer and actress. She set regional and national records in her late teens on the Los Angeles Athletic Club swim team. Unable to compete in the 1940 Summer Ol ...
in the conventional manner, then with a comic parody twist by Betty Garrett and
Red Skelton Richard Bernard Skelton (July 18, 1913September 17, 1997) was an American entertainer best known for his national old-time radio, radio and television shows between 1937 and 1971, especially as host of the television program ''The Red Skelto ...
: this time the man wants to leave and the woman wants him to stay. In the original edition from Loesser's publishing company "Susan Publications, Inc." from 1948, the host's character name is "The Wolf" and the guest "The Mouse." It's unclear of the origin or meaning of these character names; they don't occur in the film version. This edition's tempo is given as "Loesserando", a humorous reference to the composer's name.


Criticism

While studying in the United States in 1949, the future leader of the
Muslim Brotherhood The Society of the Muslim Brothers ('' ''), better known as the Muslim Brotherhood ( ', is a transnational Sunni Islamist organization founded in Egypt by Islamic scholar, Imam and schoolteacher Hassan al-Banna in 1928. Al-Banna's teachings s ...
,
Sayyid Qutb Sayyid Ibrahim Husayn Shadhili Qutb (9 October 190629 August 1966) was an Egyptian political theorist and revolutionary who was a leading member of the Muslim Brotherhood. As the author of 24 books, with around 30 books unpublished for differe ...
, reportedly expressed outrage with the song and its perceived decadent use at dance in a church. Since 2009, the song has also faced criticism among some listeners for the alleged implications of its lyrics, with elements such as the line, "Say, what's in this drink?" and the "wolf's" unrelenting pressure for the "mouse" to remain in spite of her repeated suggestions that she should go home being described as suggestive of
sexual harassment Sexual harassment is a type of harassment based on the sex or gender of a victim. It can involve offensive sexist or sexual behavior, verbal or physical actions, up to bribery, coercion, and assault. Harassment may be explicit or implicit, wit ...
or even
date rape Date rape is a form of acquaintance rape and dating violence. The two phrases are often used interchangeably, but date rape specifically refers to a rape in which there has been some sort of romantic or potentially sexual relationship between ...
. However, others have noted that cultural expectations at the time of the song's writing were such that ladies were not socially permitted to spend the night with gentlemen to whom they were not married and that the woman states that she wants to stay, while "What's in this drink?" was a common idiom of the period used to sidestep social expectations by blaming one's actions on the influence of alcohol. Susan Loesser, the daughter of songwriter
Frank Loesser Frank Henry Loesser ( "lesser"; June 29, 1910 – July 28, 1969) was an American songwriter who wrote the music and lyrics for the Broadway theatre, Broadway musicals ''Guys and Dolls (musical), Guys and Dolls'' and ''How to Succeed in Business ...
, attributed the controversy to the song being associated with
Bill Cosby William Henry Cosby Jr. ( ; born July 12, 1937) is an American retired comedian, actor, and media personality. Often cited as a trailblazer for African Americans in the entertainment industry, Cosby was a film, television, and stand-up comedy ...
after television programs such as ''
Saturday Night Live ''Saturday Night Live'' (''SNL'') is an American Late night television in the United States, late-night live television, live sketch comedy variety show created by Lorne Michaels and developed by Michaels and Dick Ebersol that airs on NBC. The ...
'' and ''
South Park ''South Park'' is an American animated sitcom created by Trey Parker and Matt Stone, and developed by Brian Graden for Comedy Central. The series revolves around four boysStan Marsh, Kyle Broflovski, Eric Cartman, and Kenny McCormickand the ...
'' satirically depicted it being performed by the comedian, who had been accused of sexually assaulting numerous women. In 2018, the airing of the song was canceled by a number of radio stations including Canada's
CBC CBC may refer to: Media * Cadena Baja California or Grupo Cadena, a radio and television broadcaster in Mexico * Canadian Broadcasting Corporation, Canada's radio and television public broadcaster ** CBC Television ** CBC Radio One ** CBC Music ** ...
streaming service, after social media criticism and public pressure regarding the song's lyrics. This was referred to by some media outlets as part of a wider
cancel culture Cancel culture is a cultural phenomenon in which an individual thought to have acted or spoken in an unacceptable manner is ostracized, boycotted, shunned or fired, often aided by social media. This shunning may extend to social or professio ...
at the time of works liable to offend people. On November 30, 2018,
Cleveland Cleveland is a city in the U.S. state of Ohio and the county seat of Cuyahoga County. Located along the southern shore of Lake Erie, it is situated across the Canada–U.S. maritime border and approximately west of the Ohio-Pennsylvania st ...
, Ohio, radio station WDOK ''Star 102'' announced that it had removed the song from its playlist due to its lyric content, based on listener input, amid the
MeToo movement #MeToo is a social movement and Consciousness raising, awareness campaign against sexual abuse, sexual harassment and rape culture, in which women publicize their experiences of sexual abuse or sexual harassment. The phrase "Me Too" was init ...
. On December 4, 2018, the Canadian radio broadcasters
Bell Media Bell Media Inc. (Canadian French, French: ) is a Canadian media conglomerate that is the mass media subsidiary of BCE Inc. (also known as Bell Canada Enterprises, the owner of telecommunications company Bell Canada). Its operations include nati ...
,
CBC Radio CBC Radio is the English-language radio operations of the Canadian Broadcasting Corporation. The CBC operates a number of radio networks serving different audiences and programming niches, all of which (regardless of language) are outlined below ...
, and
Rogers Media Rogers Media Inc., operating as Rogers Sports & Media, is a Canadian subsidiary of Rogers Communications that owns the company's mass media and sports properties. Operations Current television brands owned by Rogers include two television sys ...
followed suit. The decision was divisive among critics and the general public, with supporters arguing that the song's possible implications of date rape did not align with current societal norms, and others arguing that the decision was an appeal to
political correctness "Political correctness" (adjectivally "politically correct"; commonly abbreviated to P.C.) is a term used to describe language, policies, or measures that are intended to avoid offense or disadvantage to members of particular groups in society. ...
. Station KOIT in
San Francisco San Francisco, officially the City and County of San Francisco, is a commercial, Financial District, San Francisco, financial, and Culture of San Francisco, cultural center of Northern California. With a population of 827,526 residents as of ...
, having placed the song "on hold" pending listener feedback, returned it to the playlist after 77% of respondents opposed its removal. CBC Radio subsequently reinstated the song as well. Following the controversy, the song rose to the top 10 of ''
Billboard A billboard (also called a hoarding in the UK and many other parts of the world) is a large outdoor advertising structure (a billing board), typically found in high-traffic areas such as alongside busy roads. Billboards present large advertis ...
'' digital sales list for the week of December 22, 2018, with a 70% increase in downloads. In 2019, vocalists
John Legend John Roger Stephens (born December 28, 1978), known professionally as John Legend, is an American singer, songwriter, and pianist. He began his musical career working behind the scenes for other artists, playing piano on Lauryn Hill's " Every ...
and
Kelly Clarkson Kelly Brianne (born Kelly Brianne Clarkson, April 24, 1982), known professionally as Kelly Clarkson, is an American singer, songwriter, and television personality. Rising to fame after winning the American Idol season 1, first season of ''Ameri ...
also recorded the song with modified lyrics, written by Legend and Natasha Rothwell for an expanded edition of Legend's '' A Legendary Christmas'' album. The lyrical changes, which included lines from the "Wolf" emphasizing sexual consent, became a new source of controversy in their own right. Deana Martin, whose father
Dean Martin Dean Martin (born Dino Paul Crocetti; June 7, 1917 – December 25, 1995) was an American singer, actor, and comedian. Nicknamed the "Honorific nicknames in popular music, King of Cool", he is regarded as one of the most popular entertainers of ...
had recorded a popular version of the song in 1959, criticized the new interpretation as "absurd", saying her father would not have approved of altering the lyrics (which she maintained to be more sexually explicit in the new version than in Loesser's original) in order to appease contemporary sensibilities.


1949 recordings

* Don Cornell and Laura Leslie with Sammy Kaye and his orchestra; recorded on April 12 and released by
RCA Victor RCA Records is an American record label owned by Sony Music Entertainment, a subsidiary of Sony Group Corporation. It is one of Sony Music's four flagship labels, alongside Columbia Records (its former longtime rival), Arista Records and Epic ...
(peaked at No. 12 on ''
Billboard A billboard (also called a hoarding in the UK and many other parts of the world) is a large outdoor advertising structure (a billing board), typically found in high-traffic areas such as alongside busy roads. Billboards present large advertis ...
'' Records Most Played By Disk Jockeys chart, at No. 13 on ''Billboard'' Best-Selling Popular Retail Records chart asting ten weeks on the chart and at No. 17 on ''Billboard'' Most-Played Juke Box Records chart in mid-1949) * Hot Lips Page and Pearl Bailey recorded a popular version of the song that they performed live on
The Ed Sullivan Show ''The Ed Sullivan Show'' is an American television variety show that ran on CBS from June 20, 1948, to March 28, 1971, and was hosted by New York City, New York entertainment columnist Ed Sullivan. It was replaced in September 1971 by the ''CB ...
on October 9, 1949. ' *
Bing Crosby Harry Lillis "Bing" Crosby Jr. (May 3, 1903 – October 14, 1977) was an American singer, comedian, entertainer and actor. The first multimedia star, he was one of the most popular and influential musical artists of the 20th century worldwi ...
and
James Stewart James Maitland Stewart (May 20, 1908 – July 2, 1997) was an American actor and military aviator. Known for his distinctive drawl and everyman screen persona, Stewart's film career spanned 80 films from 1935 to 1991. With the strong morali ...
, abbreviated radio performance with Stewart taking the "mouse" part, from '' The Bing Crosby – Chesterfield Show''; released on ''The Bing Crosby Christmas Gift Collection'' *
Doris Day Doris Day (born Doris Mary Kappelhoff; April 3, 1922 – May 13, 2019) was an American actress and singer. She began her career as a big band singer in 1937, achieving commercial success in 1945 with two No. 1 recordings, "Sentimental Journey ...
and
Bob Hope Leslie Townes "Bob" Hope (May 29, 1903 – July 27, 2003) was an American comedian, actor, entertainer and producer with a career that spanned nearly 80 years and achievements in vaudeville, network radio, television, and USO Tours. He appeared ...
; radio performance from '' The Bob Hope Show'' *
Ella Fitzgerald Ella Jane Fitzgerald (April25, 1917June15, 1996) was an American singer, songwriter and composer, sometimes referred to as the "First Lady of Song", "Queen of Jazz", and "Lady Ella". She was noted for her purity of tone, impeccable diction, phra ...
and
Louis Jordan Louis Thomas Jordan (July 8, 1908 – February 4, 1975) was an American saxophonist, multi-instrumentalist, songwriter and bandleader who was popular from the late 1930s to the early 1950s. Known as "Honorific nicknames in popular music, the King ...
with the Tympany Five; recorded on April 28 and released by
Decca Records Decca Records is a British record label established in 1929 by Edward Lewis (Decca), Edward Lewis after his acquisition of a gramophone manufacturer, The Decca Gramophone Company. It set up an American subsidiary under the Decca name, which bec ...
(peaked at No. 9 on ''Billboard'' Most-Played Juke Box Records chart and at No. 17 on ''Billboard'' Best-Selling Popular Retail Records chart asting seven weeks on the latter chartin mid-1949) * Lynn Garland and
Frank Loesser Frank Henry Loesser ( "lesser"; June 29, 1910 – July 28, 1969) was an American songwriter who wrote the music and lyrics for the Broadway theatre, Broadway musicals ''Guys and Dolls (musical), Guys and Dolls'' and ''How to Succeed in Business ...
(credited as Lynn & Frank Loesser); released by
Mercury Records Mercury Records is an American record label owned by Universal Music Group. It had significant success as an independent operation in the 1940s and 1950s. Smash Records and Fontana Records were sub labels of Mercury. Mercury Records released ...
* Homer and Jethro and June Carter; released by
RCA Victor RCA Records is an American record label owned by Sony Music Entertainment, a subsidiary of Sony Group Corporation. It is one of Sony Music's four flagship labels, alongside Columbia Records (its former longtime rival), Arista Records and Epic ...
(peaked at No. 22 on ''Billboard'' Records Most Played By Disk Jockeys chart on the week ending August 20, 1949) *
Dean Martin Dean Martin (born Dino Paul Crocetti; June 7, 1917 – December 25, 1995) was an American singer, actor, and comedian. Nicknamed the "Honorific nicknames in popular music, King of Cool", he is regarded as one of the most popular entertainers of ...
and Marilyn Maxwell; radio performance from '' The Martin and Lewis Show''; released on several compilations, including ''The Very Best of Dean Martin'' and ''Relax, It's Dean Martin, Vol 2'' *
Dinah Shore Dinah Shore (born Frances Rose Shore; February 29, 1916 – February 24, 1994) was an American singer, actress, television personality, and the chart-topping female vocalist of the 1940s. She rose to prominence as a recording artist during the ...
and Buddy Clark with Ted Dale and his orchestra; recorded on March 17 and released by
Columbia Records Columbia Records is an American reco ...
(peaked at No. 3 on ''Billboard'' Records Most Played By Disk Jockeys chart, at No. 4 on ''Billboard'' Best-Selling Popular Retail Records chart, and at No. 6 on ''Billboard'' Most-Played Juke Box Records chart in mid-1949) *
Margaret Whiting Margaret Eleanor Whiting (July 22, 1924 – January 10, 2011) was an American singer of popular music who gained popularity in the 1940s and 1950s.Mapes, Jillian.Margaret Whiting, Iconic Standards Singer, Dies at 86. ''Billboard'', January 12, ...
and
Johnny Mercer John Herndon Mercer (November 18, 1909 – June 25, 1976) was an American lyricist, songwriter, and singer, as well as a record label executive who co-founded Capitol Records with music industry businessmen Buddy DeSylva and Wallichs Music Cit ...
with Paul Weston and his orchestra; recorded on March 18 and released by
Capitol Records Capitol Records, LLC (known legally as Capitol Records, Inc. until 2007), and simply known as Capitol, is an American record label owned by Universal Music Group through its Capitol Music Group imprint. It was founded as the first West Coast-base ...
(peaked at No. 3 on ''Billboard'' Records Most Played By Disk Jockeys chart, at No. 4 on ''Billboard'' Best-Selling Popular Retail Records chart asting 19 weeks on the chart and at No. 8 on ''Billboard'' Most-Played Juke Box Records chart in mid-1949)


Other recordings

As of 2020, there are over 400 recordings of the song.SecondHandSongs, https://secondhandsongs.com/work/6745 .


Charts


Dean Martin version


Ray Charles and Betty Carter version


Tom Jones and Cerys Matthews version


Ella Fitzgerald and Louis Jordan version


Glee Cast version


Willie Nelson and Norah Jones version


She & Him version


Lady Antebellum / Lady A version


Kelly Clarkson and Ronnie Dunn version


Idina Menzel and Michael Bublé version


Brett Eldredge and Meghan Trainor version


John Legend and Kelly Clarkson version


Year-end charts


Idina Menzel and Michael Bublé version


Brett Eldredge and Meghan Trainor version


Certifications


Dean Martin version


Idina Menzel and Michael Bublé version


Brett Eldredge and Meghan Trainor version


See also

* List of Billboard Adult Contemporary number ones of 2014,
2015 2015 was designated by the United Nations as: * International Year of Light * International Year of Soil __TOC__ Events January * January 1 – Lithuania officially adopts the euro as its currency, replacing the litas, and becomes ...
, and 2017 (U.S.)


References


External links

*
27 Takes On Frank Loesser's 'Baby, It's Cold Outside'
''Broadwayworld''
Is 'Baby, It's Cold Outside' About Date Rape?
''
Snopes ''Snopes'' (), formerly known as the ''Urban Legends Reference Pages'', is a fact-checking website. It has been described as a "well-regarded reference for sorting out myths and rumors" on the Internet. The site has also been seen as a source ...
''. Includes 1949 recording by the Loessers * * {{authority control 1944 songs 1949 singles Songs written by Frank Loesser American Christmas songs Best Original Song Academy Award–winning songs Male–female vocal duets Obscenity controversies in music Songs with feminist themes Pop standards