Baby, It's Cold Outside

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Template:Short description Script error: No such module "For". Template:Use mdy dates Script error: No such module "Infobox".Template:Template otherScript error: No such module "Check for unknown parameters".Template:Main other "Baby, It's Cold Outside" is a popular song written by Frank Loesser 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 owing to its winter theme. The song was released in eight recordings in 1949—including well-known versions by Ella Fitzgerald and Louis Jordan, Hot Lips Page and Pearl Bailey, and by Dean Martin 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.[1] 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."[1] In 1948, after years of performing the song, Loesser sold it to MGM 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."[2]

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."[3]

The song won the 1950 Academy Award for Best Original Song.[4][5]

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.[6]

In the film Neptune's Daughter, the song is first performed by Ricardo Montalbán and Esther Williams in the conventional manner, then with a comic parody twist by Betty Garrett and Red Skelton: this time the man wants to leave and the woman wants him to stay.[7]

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.[8][9]

Criticism

While studying in the United States in 1949, the future leader of the Muslim Brotherhood, Sayyid Qutb, reportedly expressed outrage with the song and its perceived decadent use at dance in a church.[10]

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 or even date rape.[11][12]

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.[11][13][14] Susan Loesser, the daughter of songwriter Frank Loesser, attributed the controversy to the song being associated with Bill Cosby after television programs such as Saturday Night Live and South Park satirically depicted it being performed by the comedian, who had been accused of sexually assaulting numerous women.[15][16]

In 2018, the airing of the song was canceled by a number of radio stations including Canada's CBC 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 at the time of works liable to offend people.[17] On November 30, 2018, Cleveland, 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.[18] On December 4, 2018, the Canadian radio broadcasters Bell Media, CBC Radio, and Rogers Media 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.[19][20][21] Station KOIT in San Francisco, having placed the song "on hold" pending listener feedback, returned it to the playlist after 77% of respondents opposed its removal.[22] CBC Radio subsequently reinstated the song as well.[23] Following the controversy, the song rose to the top 10 of BillboardTemplate:'s digital sales list for the week of December 22, 2018, with a 70% increase in downloads.[24]

In 2019, vocalists John Legend and Kelly Clarkson 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.[25][26] Deana Martin, whose father Dean Martin 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.[27]

1949 recordings

Other recordings

As of 2020, there are over 400 recordings of the song.[35]

Year Performer Work Source
1951 Louis Armstrong and Velma Middleton Satchmo at Pasadena [36]
1955 Eddie Fisher and June Hutton Eddie Fisher Sings Academy Award Winning Songs [37]
1957 Sammy Davis Jr. and Carmen McRae Boy Meets Girl [38][39]
1959 Jack Marshall (instrumental) Soundsville! [40]
1959 Dean Martin and female chorus[41] A Winter Romance [42]
1960 Steve Lawrence and Eydie Gormé We Got Us [43]
1961 Ray Charles and Betty Carter Ray Charles and Betty Carter [44]
1961 Marty Gold (instrumental) Stereo Action Goes Hollywood [45]
1963 Joanie Sommers Sommers' Seasons [46]
1963 Joyce Blair and Oliver Reed Novelty recording [47]
1964 Al Hirt and Ann-Margret Beauty and the Beard [48]
1966 Ted Heath and Edmundo Ros (instrumental) Heath vs. Ros: Round 2 [49]
1966 Henry Mancini and mixed chorus The Academy Award Songs [50]
1966 Jimmy Smith and Wes Montgomery (instrumental) Jimmy & Wes: The Dynamic Duo [51]
1991 Bette Midler and James Caan For the Boys: Music From The Motion Picture [52]
1994 Nancy LaMott and Michael Feinstein Just in Time for Christmas [53]
1995 Lou Rawls and Dianne Reeves Jazz to the World [54]
1996 Vanessa Williams and Bobby Caldwell Star Bright [55]
1998 Ann Hampton Callaway and Kenny Rankin This Christmas [56]
1999 Tom Jones and Cerys Matthews Reload [57]
2000 Tom Wopat and Antonia Bennett The Still of the Night [58]
2001 Suzy Bogguss and Delbert McClinton Have Yourself a Merry Little Christmas [59]
2000 Holly Cole and Ed Robertson Baby, It's Cold Outside [60]
2002 Brian Setzer and Ann-Margret Boogie Woogie Christmas [61]
2002 Lee Ann Womack and Harry Connick Jr. The Season for Romance [62]
2003 Zooey Deschanel and Leon Redbone Elf: Music From The Major Motion Picture [63]
2004 Jessica Simpson and Nick Lachey ReJoyce: The Christmas Album [64]
2004 Rod Stewart and Dolly Parton Stardust: The Great American Songbook, Volume III [65]
2004 James Taylor and Natalie Cole A Christmas Album [66]
2006 Dean Martin and Martina McBride Christmas with Dino [67]
2007 Matt Belsante White Christmas [68]
2010 Chris Colfer and Darren Criss Glee: The Music, The Christmas Album [69]
2011 Haley Reinhart and Casey Abrams [70]
2011 She & Him A Very She & Him Christmas [71]
2012 Colbie Caillat and Gavin DeGraw Christmas in the Sand [72]
2012 Rufus Wainwright and Sharon Van Etten Holidays Rule [73]
2012 Rita Coolidge with drummer Lynn Coulter A Rita Coolidge Christmas [74]
2012 Cee Lo Green and Christina Aguilera Cee Lo's Magic Moment [75]
2012 Lyle Lovett and Kat Edmonson Release Me [76]
2013 Jimmy Fallon and Cecily Strong Saturday Night Live [77][78]
2013 Lady Gaga and Joseph Gordon-Levitt Lady Gaga and the Muppets Holiday Spectacular [79]
2014 Connie Britton and Will Chase Christmas with Nashville [80]
2014 Joey DeFrancesco (instrumental) Home for the Holidays [81]
2014 Virginia to Vegas and Alyssa Reid [82]
2016 Garth Brooks and Trisha Yearwood Christmas Together [83]
2016 Jimmy Buffett and Nadirah ShakoorTemplate:Efn 'Tis the SeaSon [84]
2016 Brett Eldredge and Meghan Trainor Glow [85]
2016 John Farnham and Olivia Newton-John Friends for Christmas [86]
2016 Amy Grant and Vince Gill Tennessee Christmas [87]
2017 Adrienne Bailon and Israel Houghton Baby It's Cold Outside / Frio Frio [88]
2017 Fantasia and CeeLo Green Christmas After Midnight [89]
2017 Kelley Jakle and Shelley Regner Pitch Perfect 3 [90]
2017 Avril Lavigne and Jonny Blu [91]
2017 Willie Nelson and Lee Ann Womack [92]
2018 Paloma Faith and B.B. Bones [93]
2018 Aaron Watson An Aaron Watson Family Christmas [94]
2019 The Boys Christmas with the Boys [95]
2019 Disco Pirates It's Cold Outside (Don't Go) [96]
2022 Taj Mahal and Maria Muldaur [97]
2024 Jschlatt A Very 1999 Christmas [98]

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Charts

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Year-end charts

Idina Menzel and Michael Bublé version

Chart (2015) Position
US Adult Contemporary (Billboard)[124] 45

Brett Eldredge and Meghan Trainor version

Chart (2017) Position
US Adult Contemporary (Billboard)[125] 50

Certifications

Dean Martin version

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Idina Menzel and Michael Bublé version

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Brett Eldredge and Meghan Trainor version

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See also

References

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External links

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