Radio loves a good controversy, and since Howard Stern took his team and his headphones to satellite radio, broadcasters haven’t had a whole lot of drama. Sure there was that Denver DJ and Taylor Swift. And Craig Carton’s extracurricular activities. But for the most part, smooth sailing.
It’s been a while since a real radio brouhaha broke out that involved programmers, DJs, and listeners. But in an otherwise quiet years – aside from political advertising – it’s looked a lot like another sedate season of holiday music.
At least that was the case until last week when the radio industry – and pretty much everyone else in media – freaked out over the lyrics of a song first 
recorded nearly 70 years ago.
Out intrepid researcher and musical historian, Seth Resler, couldn’t let this one go by without some analysis and introspection. And in today’s blog post, he presents more sides than you knew existed of the “Baby, It’s Cold Outside” controversy.
It’s more fun than talking about translators, the spectrum repack, bankruptcy proceedings, and whether or not there will be another round of deregulation. So, pull up an egg nog and enjoy Seth’s foray into this year’s lyrical kerfuffle. – FJ
Last week, news broke that Star 102, WDOK-FM in Cleveland, pulled the Frank Loesser duet “Baby, It’s Cold Outside,” from its 24/7 Christmas music format in response to listener complaints about the lyrics. The song, in which a man discourages a woman from leaving his house by offering her more liquor, includes lines like, “Say, what’s in this drink?” and “I ought to say no, no, no.”
By the way, it’s not even a Christmas song. The film in which it first appeared – “Neptune’s Daughter” – was a RomCom of its day. The movie was released in 1949, and the song in question – “Baby, It’s Cold Outside” – won the Academy Award that year for “Best Song.” Frank Loesser couldn’t have possibly known his standard would become the center of a controversy in 2018.
The video below features “Neptune’s Daughter” stars Esther Williams (she of Olympic swimming fame) and Ricardo Montalbán (he of soft Corinthian leather fame).
But if you think the song was merely a mistake, an exercise in bad taste, or an indiscretion from a very different time and culture, “Baby, It’s Cold Outside” has been recorded and/or performed by the following prominent duos. In fact, the song has actually become more popular in recent years, often by singers who are very aware of the sensitivities involved:
- Sammy Davis, Jr. and Carmen McRae – 1957
- Ray Charles and Betty Carter – 1961
- Barry Manilow and K.T. Oslin – 1990
- Bette Midler and James Caan – 1991
- Robert Palmer and Carnie Wilson – 1992
- Lou Rawls and Dianne Reeves – 1995
- Vanessa Williams and Bobby Caldwell – 1996
- Brian Setzer and Ann-Margret – 2002
- Lee Ann Womack and Harry Connick, Jr. – 2002
- Zooey Deschanel and Leon Redbone – 2003
- Jessica Simpson and Nick Lachey – 2004
- Rod Stewart and Dolly Parton – 2004
- James Taylor and Natalie Cole – 2004
- Willie Nelson and Norah Jones – 2009
- Colbie Caillat and Gavin DeGraw – 2012
- Lyle Lovett and Kat Edmonson – 2012
- Cee Lo Green and Christina Aguilera – 2012
- Lady Gaga and Joseph Gordon-Levitt – 2013
- Kelly Clarkson and Ronnie Dunn – 2013
- Darius Rucker and Sheryl Crow – 2014
- Idina Menzel and Michael Bublé – 2014
- Garth Brooks and Trisha Yearwood – 2016
- Brett Eldredge and Meghan Trainor – 2016
- Amy Grant and Vince Gill – 2016
And for all we know, there was a prominent recording duo in the studio recording a new version for this Christmas when the WDOK flap went viral.
WDOK’s afternoon drive DJ, Glenn Anderson, wrote a blogpost explaining the station’s decision:
“I do realize that when the song was written in 1944, it was a different time, but now while reading it, it seems very manipulative and wrong. The world we live in is extra sensitive now, and people get easily offended, but in a world where #MeToo has finally given women the voice they deserve, the song has no place.”
After a local TV station reported on the dropped song, word of WDOK’s decision spread quickly. Everybody from Entertainment Weekly to the BBC picked up the story. The question at the center of the debate: Is this station responding appropriately to legitimate concerns about lyrics that encourage date rape, or is the station overreacting in a fit of political correctness?
Of course, the other question that comes to mind is whether dropping “Baby, It’s Cold Outside” is a stance — or a stunt. Whatever the case, it’s a fascinating decision that got people talking about controversies other than collusion with Russia. I watched as dozens of broadcasters debated the question in the radio-centric Facebook groups in which I lurk. Some offered an alternate theory: that the station hadn’t pulled the song in response to listener concerns, but as part of a brilliant publicity scheme.
Of course, this isn’t the first time radio stations have pulled songs from rotation in response to current events or cultural climates. When planes crashed into the Twin Towers on 9/11, the band Drowning Pool had a song called “Bodies” that was swiftly climbing the charts. But as news coverage showed people leaping to their deaths from the burning buildings, some stations felt that a song with the chorus, “Let the bodies hit the floor!” was much too close to home and pulled it from rotation.
It wasn’t the only song that was impacted by 9/11. Notorious B.I.G.’s 1994 single, “Juicy,” includes the line, “Time to get paid, blow up like the World Trade.” Here, the phrase “blow up” means “to get big” (like a balloon), not “to detonate,” but after the 2001 terrorist attack, some radio stations removed this lyric from the song. A line that had previously been seen as unremarkable was now deemed insensitive – or worse. Is there a difference between removing this reference and dropping “Baby, It’s Cold Outside”?
Sometimes, whether a song is offensive or not depends upon the context of the community that is hearing it. In early 2003, I was the Music Director at 107.7 The End in Seattle, where I championed a band named Finch. Finch released a single called “What It Is to Burn.” That spring, I was hired as the Program Director at WBRU in Providence, where I intended to continue my support for the band.
But as the record label was working the single, a horrific fire at a Great White concert at the Station Nightclub in West Warwick killed 100 people. Among the victims was Mike “Dr. Metal” Gonsalves, the nighttime DJ on the crosstown rock station, WHJY. As a result, my predecessor at WBRU decided it would be inappropriate to play the Finch single. I agreed, and when I took the job, we wound up playing a different song by the band. This was a clear example of how a song could be offensive for an audience in one market but not in another.
Sometimes, radio stations drop songs not in response to the lyrics, but because of actions or stances taken by the artist. In 2003, the Dixie Chicks famously criticized President George W. Bush onstage at a London concert. Singer Natalie Maines declared that she was “ashamed the president of the United States is from Texas.” Some country stations responded by pulling the band’s songs off the airwaves.
And after Chris Brown was arrested for assaulting his then-girlfriend Rihanna in 2009, some radio stations responded by pulling his songs off the air.
Of course, radio programmers don’t just drop songs in reaction to current events; sometimes they add them. When a major artist, like David Bowie, Prince, or Aretha Franklin passes away, it’s not uncommon for their songs to reappear on radio station playlists.
When “Wayne’s World” was a box office smash, a key scene led to a resurgence in airplay for Queen’s “Bohemian Rhapsody.”
And in the wake of the new movie of the same name, Queen songs are today re-appearing on the radio airwaves in droves.
Likewise, the TV shows “The Sopranos” and “Glee” breathed new life and generated millions of new fans for Journey’s “Don’t Stop Believing”:
And of course, director Cameron Crowe has made a career out of musical movie moments, including his use of Tom Petty’s “Free Falling” in “Jerry McGuire,” Elton John’s “Tiny Dancer” in “Almost Famous,” and Peter Gabriel’s “In Your Eyes” in “Say Anything.” We often associate these songs with those films.
https://youtu.be/uXxN_ylX7Tw
So if radio can adjust its playlists by adding songs in response to the cultural zeitgeist, why shouldn’t it also drop songs accordingly?
As wise old radio programmers will tell you, “They won’t miss what you don’t play.” And there’s a lot of truth in that.
No matter which side of the “Baby, It’s Cold Outside,” debate you fall on, one thing is clear: The playlists at radio stations are curated by people, not algorithms, and one of the biggest advantages of this fact is that humans can read the current cultural climate – and the room – and react accordingly.
Please pass the egg nog. It’s cold outside.
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BABY IT’S COLD OUTSIDE BY LADY GAGA AND JOSEPH GORDON LEVITT. —–LADY GAGA—. Lady Gaga approved.
The only songs I would seriously reconsider are “He hit me and it felt like a kiss” by the Chrystals and Pumped Up Kicks by Foster the People.
But again, this proves the impact on culture of that radio station down the street. And again with this impact—they pulled ONE SONG and the ENTERTAINMENT TONIGHT truck arrives—we should raise the rates. RAISE THE RATES. RAISE THE RATES.
The smartest owner I ever worked with,, Bob McAllan used to tell me, “When the staton (NEW JERSEY 101.5) is going to cause trouble, tell me so I can tell the sales department to raise the rates.” THAT’S how you do it.
That is EXACTLY how you do it. Kudos to WDOK. Thanks for the perspective and the truth, Walter.
Great piece Seth. Canadian broadcasters have been “governing themselves accordingly” since 1990 with the creation of the Canadian Broadcast Standards Council. It takes just one unhappy listener to get the industry to review where the standards are. In 2011, the Atlantic panel missed the mark on the context of “Money for Nothing” by Dire Straits, and in true Canadian fashion: The word “faggot” is bad but considering the context – it’s okay. https://www.rollingstone.com/music/music-news/canada-lifts-ban-on-dire-straits-money-for-nothing-178222/
Interesting example, Matt. Yes, it’s important to not only look at the words themselves, but the context of those words. I remember programmers at a radio station that refused to play No Doubt’s “Just a Girl” because they felt it was condescending to women, when the band’s intention was to satirize that type of condescension. Sometimes, you look back years later and realize that the artists got it wrong; sometimes, you look back years later and realize that the broadcasters got it wrong.
While I don’t agree with censorship of any kind, I do agree with the comment, “So if radio can adjust its playlists by adding songs in response to the cultural zeitgeist, why shouldn’t it also drops songs accordingly?” There is so much truth to that.
As for making a public announcement that you are dropping a song, THAT is done to garner attention. And it looks like WDOK got exactly what they wanted. I hope that gains them even greater numbers. They are doing what a lot of us in radio should be doing, drawing attention to what we are doing. Too often radio stations would rather not rock the boat and merely fly under the radar.
Sometime you have to polarize (not offend) people to get them to pay attention and engage (i.e. active participation). In this case, you aren’t offending in a way that makes people hate you, but rather get people to talk about you and debate the merits (or demerits) of dropping a title from your playlist.
It is refreshing to know that the debates around this song, Charlie Brown and Rudolf means that people are passionate about something other than politics. It is almost like people want to protect their innocence. Interesting.
I honestly don’t know if the station dropped the song in earnest, or as part of a publicity ploy, or a little of both. But if it hoped to get press with the move, it was quite effective.
They dropped it in earnest.
The cacophony of the tribe now controls the cultural climate. If it’s loud enough and can bully their social justice outcomes to meet their demands for power and religious inquisitional fervor and ‘truth to power’ then as long as the individual doesn’t stand up to their moving morality target, they will win. How soon we forget Frank Zappa and his brilliant testimony at the PMRC. It was a travesty when it was the political right fostering their draconian morality against speech and art, but when it’s the kindly inquisitors of the postmodern cabal, we have to bend a knee to their false empathy which is nothing more than an attempt to take power for themselves and expand their ‘morality’ by fiat. When any totalitarian mob comes for the artists and comedians, alarms should be loudly ringing in your head.
Thanks for the comment, John. There’s a key difference between the PMRC and WDOK — one was a government committee and the other is part of a publicly traded company. Is this difference significant?
I wasn’t commenting so much on WDOK and their ability to turn a disadvantage into an advantage, and getting a bit of free press, kudos on them for that. Just showing my anger at the current social climate that would even consider “Baby it’s cold outside” offensive. And really, who the hell cares. Once upon a time, we would have just laughed it off, now PD’s are considering this when making programming decisions. Look, I’ll quote Walt Sabo who made a great statement at the beginning of these comments. When I was at WIOD, I asked Walt how to respond to listener complaints to the PD, his advice was be pleasant and explain to them that the hosts are paid to be controversial, and the listeners call just proved to me that the hosts were doing their jobs. These days playing “Baby it’s cold outside” would probably be a fireable offense. Just let that sink in
Once again, the patients are running the asylum.
Oops.
Hope I didn’t offend.
Much water has flowed over the dam since this song first appeared. The theme of many old RoComs is the pursuit of the female lead by her male counterpart. As a “good girl,” she was expected to resist until he finally persuaded, cajoled, hoodwinked, or otherwise got her to submit. The so-called “sexual revolution” of the 60’s and 70’s changed that. It gave “liberated women” societal permission to pursue and enjoy sex to the same degree as men. Obviously, recent events in the #metoo sphere have empowered women to an even greater degree. As game changing as it’s been, perhaps this isn’t a revolution, but just the next step in the evolution of gender equality.
Thanks for the thoughts, Jack. I agree completely, the larger societal context in which this was made matters a lot, and as you point out, it’s changed quite a bit.
With a “classic,” it raises the question: If the larger societal context has changed, do you continue to hold onto the relic from the past in the name of tradition, or do you let go of the relic because it no longer fits in today’s context?
Lennon & McCartney’s “Run For Your Life” would never get on the air today!
Nick, thanks for the reminder. I conjured up those lyrics in my head, and sweet harmonies aside, it’s disturbing. Of course, so’s “Every Breath You Take.”
As an AC station, we’re playing a couple versions of the song. Maybe the next stunt should be taking ALL the versions of this song listed in this post and going ALL “Baby It’s Cold Outside” 24/7?
Dave, you may be onto something. Maybe “Entertainment Tonight” will cover it!
Interesting stuff. So in Canada Faggot is ok depending on context. I wonder what context would be ok for Kike or Chink or a hundred other insulting and aim to hurt words. How about the long run of the Ten Years After song, I’d Love To Change The World. The use of the words Freaks And Fairies, made me grind my teeth every time I played it. Let’s be honest, unless a particular group has a baseball bat, figuratively speaking, the insults just keep on spinning. I recommend just use your brain, Faggot is never acceptable, unless it’s a song about what’s not acceptable.
Dan, you remind everyone reading this blog post of the sensitivities of these situations and the hurt they can cause.
Being the only woman to comment…. I will say that last year when the #Metoo movement first started, we received a few calls that complained. I started asking all the women I knew if they thought it should be played and heard story after story from them of being put into a situation where they felt pressured. And how that song glorified it. So we dropped it last year. To many women, it feels creepy. And since that’s my target, I’m going with the “what you don’t play won’t hurt you” philosophy.
Thanks for chiming in, Diane. I’d love to hear from more women on the issue. I wonder if there’s a difference of opinion across gender or generational lines.
For what it’s worth, the song has always felt creepy to me, too. Personally, it’s not one that I would miss.
It’s a SONG, not a political statement. Only crazed people would actually do what any song suggests. What would be next, ” I get no kick from Champagne…” and the following lines regarding drug use? Let’s dump that one, too while we are at it. ” There are far worse songs out depicting violence, greed and wanton sex there that ARE played and why? Because the listeners want that song. As the saying goes…”If you don’t like it, move down the dial, or shut it off)” or as the song goes: ” Life is just a bowl of . . . aw, nuts!
So live and laugh at it all!..” Merry Christmas.
Pat, your comments reflect many others I’ve read and heard, not to mention the movie scene sends a very different message than listening to the song itself on the radio. Thanks for weighing in.
Personally, I find the barking dogs version of “Jingle Bells” to be more offensive to my ears than this song, and thankfully that no longer tests well enough to get more than a handful of spins.
As for “Baby, It’s Cold Outside” … how well did it test in Cleveland before WDOK pulled it? That might tell us whether it was cultural sensitivity or just a clever stunt.
I’m no fan of the barking dogs, either.
I wonder if the station tests the Christmas music.
In Australia in late January 2009, local artist Jessica Mauboy had just scored a Number 1 with her single “Burn”. A fortnight later, there were catastrophic bushfires in Victoria, in which over 150 people died, and the song (still charting well) disappeared from the airwaves.
That’s understandable. Declaring a song unplayable today because the lyrics are deemed potentially offensive 20, 30, 50 years after it was written is a whole ‘nother ball of wax…
Chris, exactly. As Seth points out, there are timely reasons why certain songs just FEEL wrong, often because of real-life events. As for “Baby, It’s Cold Outside,” as you suggest, another story entirely.
Via an objective ear…
I always thought the song was creepy and improper.
My gender continues to embarrass me even in the guise of a classic holiday song.
The guy in the song needs to switch to “It’s Cold Outside ” by The Choir:
“And now it’s cold outside
There’s nothing I can do
To make you love me”
Guys will be…guys. Thanks, Marty.
About a year into my tenure at WTMD a war broke out…. One station in the market decided to make a big deal about dropping the song “War” by Edwin Starr. They went a step further to announce they would play Whitney Houston’s rendition of the National Anthem and other traditional patriotic songs more often. The press got wind of it and asked me, as a public triple AAA licensed to a University, if we were going to drop the song.
It was my first TV spot as GM. I looked square into the camera and said no, we would not drop it. In fact, we will play protest songs from the Vietnam era to remind the public how a war can affect a generation. I also said we would play songs that represented all points of view even if it meant going outside the format occasionally.
First, I knew that station may have played War once in the last year or six months and this was a similar stunt to Baby It’s Cold Outside and we got the l kudos for standing up to censorship. And more people made membership contributions because of my comments than complained. Know Your Audience.
But second and more importantly–music and radio is a reflection of our History. To ban a classic that is continually embraced by the recording community and the American public based on today’s sensitivities and political climate is to revise history and deny the American public the context of how we got to where we are today.
To do it for ratings is distasteful. Though it is appropriate engage the public is a discussion of what songs from the past would never be written today because they don’t fit with today’s #metoo controversy.
And using Baby It’s Cold Outside is a safe choice to make an example of. It only shows up at Christmastime on AC stations addicted to that ratings bump.
Bro Country and artists like Luke Bryan, Florida Georgia Line and a multitude of others would disappear from the airwaves if you applied the standards used for Baby to all songs on the radio.
Then there’s Grease. Olivia Newton John and John Travolta’s hit Summer Nights is a much bigger offender about consent issues.
How about the Stone’s Brown Sugar? Should Classic Rock Stations ban this song about raping slaves? George Michael’s Father Figure? Gary Puckett and the Union Gap’s Young Girl (this is one is barely veiled!) How About Reba’s and other’s version of Fancy.
Even Billy Joel would be affected. No more singing along to Only The Good Die Young. Would Neil Diamonds Girl, You’ll Be a Woman Soon send him the way of Al Franken? Ringo’s You’re Sixteen out too.
Entire formats would disappear, especially country and Hip-Hop. AC would face a major sanitization. And Jack would hit the road.
The list is endless because music reflects our cultural norms and while our norms are changing, our history is not.
One song is a ratings stunt. The possible, though unlikely, avalanche of censorship this stunt could set off is a far more important conversation to have within our industry.
https://performingsongwriter.com/only-good-die-young/
Some Catholics did try to ban Billy Joel’s song… only to turn the album into a hit!
“Know Your Audience” is the most helpful takeaway.
Steven, your comment midway through about entire formats disappearing brought to mind something I have wondered for many years:
Why do women still support the rap and hip-hop genres, and the stations that program same? So much of the “lyrics” sounds misogynistic to my ears, and yet …
(And don’t get me started about the way women are depicted in most of the music videos in that genre.)
Stephen, good to hear from you and thanks for the thoughtful comment on today’s “big issue.” Seth Resler and I are more than little amazed aout how “Baby” has turned into such a “thing.” And your comments about music from other eras and artists ring true, and reflects a lot of what I’m seeing on social media. It’s not hard to find “offensive lyrics” pretty much anywhere. Appreciate the reminder and the feedback you’ve generated.