Baby, It's Cold Outside Revisited

Walking to work in 22 degree weather is never my idea good time, but that's the scenario I was in yesterday at 7 a.m. It was so freezing that I just bundled up, put my head down and started racing to the entrance of the Armstrong Archives. I was almost there when WHAP! Because of my head-down posture, I walked right into a tree branch, getting three minor cuts around my eye in the process. And the only thing going through my head was...?

Baby...it's cold outside!

(Okay, elminate "Baby" and substitute the four-letter word of your choice.)

Anyway, I thought it was a good sign to officially revisit "Baby It's Cold Outside," one of Louis Armstrong and Velma Middleton's most beloved numbers. Actually, this is going to be a very short visit. It's 4:28 a.m. and I have to leave for work in 12 minutes (22 degrees outside, in case anyone's wondering). The good news is, you can still check out my last blog on the subject by clicking here. Over there, you can get a brief history of the tune, listen to Louis and Velma's first, somewhat bland live broadcast of it and then hear one of my all-time favorite versions on the song, done in Canada in 1951.

But if you don't want to go through all that, stay here and enjoy this fantastic 1957 live version of "Baby, It's Cold Outside" from the Orpheum Theater in Seattle, Washington. I think this is a terrific version; you can't help but laugh at Velma and Louis's antics and the audience sounds like they're having a ball, especially when Velma drops the line about "Jackson Street." As soon as the band would arrive at a gig, someone would ask a local for the name of the most dangerous part of town. Velma would drop it into "Baby, It's Cold Outside" and it always would get a huge laugh from the local fans. As Pops says, "Been in town two hours and done found out where Jackson street is!" Hilarious.

So here's "Baby, It's Cold Outside," something to give you a few laughs and warm up the insides. The outsides? You're on my own. As for me, I'm off to New York...and don't worry, this time I'll duck. Have a great weekend!

Comments

Anonymous said…
I apologize if this isn't the appropriate forum for such a query, but I'm curious if anyone knows if the changes to "Christmas in New Orleans" are based another popular tune? Obviously they are familiar and not horribly complicated, but I confess my knowledge is limited. Thanks a million!
Ramon said…
This is my favorite recoding of the two of them. I came across your blog by googling their names. I wanted to know the history and year of this exact recording. I read your other post first then this one. Glad I did.

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