“Baby It’s Cold Outside” might be getting a bit of heat these days, but Dean Martin’s daughter is saying she’s not going to stop singing the classic in front of audiences.
“’Baby It’s Cold Outside’ is a cute, flirtatious song written by Frank Loesser in 1944,” Deana Martin said.
“It won the Oscar for ‘Best Original Song’ in the 1949 film ‘Neptune’s Daughter.’ It’s been recorded by dozens of the world’s top recording artists for over 60 years, including my dad Dean Martin… This song is included in his very successful 1959 ‘Winter Romance’ album and I’m very proud that it has become an evergreen favorite that is played every holiday season.”
“I personally love performing ‘Baby It’s Cold Outside’ and will continue to do so,” added the 70 year old performer. “Merry Christmas!”
Dean, the creator of the song, died at age 78 in 1995 from acute respiratory failure. Since then, Deana hasn’t stopped sharing her father’s legacy of Christmas cheer on stage to new, curious listeners.
“I’m always thinking about dad, what he went through in his life and how the world has changed,” she previously said in 2017. “He was a sweet, generous man who would just get up and do his thing.”
The song sparked a wave of controversy during the holiday season this year when a radio station in Ohio removed it from its lineup after a listener stated concern over the holiday song’s lyrics.
According to Fox 8, WDOK Christmas 102.1 removed the tune after one listener called the station and argued it’s not appropriate to play the 1940’s classic in 2018.
“It wasn’t really our decision,” WDOK host Desiray told the outlet. “It’s the decision of our listeners.
“Baby It’s Cold Outside” has sparked debate over the years on whether or not its lyrics are problematic.
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In the tune, a female sings: “I really can’t stay,” to which a man responds: “But baby, it’s cold outside.”
Also in the song, the woman is heard singing lines like “Say what’s in this drink?”, “The answer is no” and “I’ve gotta get home.”
Other stations in the U.S. have been weighing pulling the song from the Holiday lineup.
USA Today reported Wednesday radio stations in Northern California and Colorado have turned to polling their listeners in order to decide the best course of action.
Following the removal, San Francisco-based station 96.5 KOIT said on their website that they also had decided to do away with the song. But the decision sparked an outcry among their listeners to bring it back, they said.
“On Monday, December 3rd, 96.5 KOIT Program Director, Brian Figula, made the decision to remove ‘Baby It’s Cold Outside’ (from various artists) after receiving complaints from listeners, and the trending national story from Cleveland,” the station said. “After removing the song, we have received hundreds of comments on social media and via email demanding that ‘Baby It’s Cold Outside’ be placed back to the Christmas Playlist.”
The public response prompted the radio station to create a poll to help determine the song’s future. The results would be revealed this week, they said.
KOSI 101 in Denver found themselves in a nearly identical situation. Their online poll generated more than 15,000 responses and “showed overwhelmingly that KOSI 101.1 listeners were in favor of the holiday classic returning to the air,” KOSI 101 said.
“Respondents voted 95% in favor of us keeping the song as part of KOSI 101.1’s tradition of playing all of your holiday favorites,” KOSI 101.1 program director, Jim Lawson, said. “While we are sensitive to those who may be upset by some of the lyrics, the majority of our listeners have expressed their interpretation of the song to be non-offensive.”
