Thanks to social justice warriors the go-to song for this holiday season is, “Baby, It’s Cold Outside”.
After being banned from several radio stations in the wake of #MeToo hysteria, the jazzy tune is returning to the airwaves. Surprisingly, one of those stations is in the Bay Area.
In San Francisco, the KOIT radio station said it would return the song to its playlist following a vote of its listeners, with a reported 77 percent voting to keep the song.”After hearing from thousands of Bay Area listeners via polling, phone calls, emails and social media, KOIT has concluded that the vast majority consider the song to be a valuable part of their holiday tradition, and they still want to hear it on the radio,” KOIT Program Director Brian Figula said in a statement on Monday.
Colorado listeners will be able to savor the song as well.
In Denver, the vote was even more outsize: 95 percent of those who responded wanted KOSI to keep playing the popular seasonal ditty.“We value the opinion of all our listeners and appreciate the feedback we received,” said KOSI program director Jim Lawson in a statement on Fox31. “Respondents voted 95 percent in favor of us keeping the song as part of KOSI 101.1’s tradition of playing all of your holiday favorites. 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.”
Of course, some radio station managers retained both their sense of humor and perspective in light of recent social justice high jinks.
…[B]rand managers for holiday stations in Iowa’s two largest cities — More 104.1 KMYR in Des Moines and 104.5 KDAT in Cedar Rapids — tell the Register that neither plan to cut the tune from its holiday rotation.“… (T)here are those who are genuinely offended by the song, and to them I say: I understand and I’m sorry if you are offended,” Mike Ferris, KDAT brand manager, wrote in a post on the station’s website.In the statement, Ferris continued to explain he believes the majority of listeners want the song on air: “…(many) understand the difference between the flirty playful nature of the lyrics and harmful manipulation. Most would agree that this song’s lyrical intention was not originally meant to be interpreted as creepy or manipulative.”
Deana Martin, daughter of Dean Martin and a professional singer herself, says she planned to continue performing the song despite the recent drama.
“’Baby, It’s Cold Outside’ is a cute, flirtatious and romantic song written by Frank Loesser in 1944,” Deana, 70, told Fox News. “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,” Deana said.
Amusingly, sales of soared in response to the ban.
Despite the bans, several versions of the song surged in sales and streaming and continued to draw airplay on the radio in the latest tracking week, according to Nielsen Music.According to Billboard, three interpretations of “Baby It’s Cold Outside” appear on their Holiday Digital Song Sales chart dated Dec. 15, which is the most of any title.
In fact, I purchased “Neptune’s Daughter after viewing this clip featuring one of my favorite actors, Ricardo Montalban.
During our annual Christmas show on Canto Talk, our guest today was Rik Fox, an iconic American heavy metal bassist. He shared his disdain for the ban, as well as his concern about the corrosion of both American humor because if political correctness.
Our show also included a look at Polish Christmas traditions and news that Rik has joined the band Angeles and will be playing at the legendary Whisky-A-Go-Go. It’s a HOT show, so emjoy!
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