While the Christmas tune "Baby, It's Cold Outside" continues to get an icy reception for some radio listeners in the nation, others have warmed their tone and brought back the song it once shelved.
Two western radio stations in the last week have brought the song back into their holiday rotations while others continue their refusal to play it. And it all comes down to their listeners, the radio stations say.
Today, KOIT 96.5 FM in the San Francisco Bay area announced the song will be back in its rotation. This comes days after Denver's KOSI reinstated the Christmas hit written during World War II.
"KOIT's listeners have spoken, and the overwhelming message is they do want to hear 'Baby, It's Cold Outside' on our station, as they have throughout the years," KOIT's Brian Figula said Monday in a statement. "More than seven out of every 10 listeners who responded said although some lyrics of the song may reflect a different era and a different sensibility than today, still they love the tradition and history of the song, and want to hear it as part of their holiday season."
This comes after the station put the song on its "hold list" after initially getting lots of complaints about the song's "offensive lyrics." So while it was on hold, KOIT reached out to its listeners, and the majority wanted it back on the air waves.
"At KOIT, we always listen carefully when our listeners take time to comment. In this case, it was very obvious what they wanted us to do."
Meanwhile in Denver, KOSI 101.1 FM had originally joined other stations nationwide by pulling the song from the air. But just like the San Francisco station, it went to its listeners to make the decision for them.
"We value the opinion of all our listeners and appreciate the feedback we received," KOSI 101.1 Program Director Jim Lawson said in a statement. "Respondents voted 95 percent in favor of us keeping the song. 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."
The song was written in 1944 by Frank Loesser as a song he and his wife could sing at Christmas parties. Part of the song that's about a man trying to get a woman to stay at his home rather leave includes this lyric:
Say what's in this drink? (No cabs to be had out there)
Advocates of the #MeToo movement say the lyrics throughout the song, including the above line, insinuate a man trying to drug his date and take advantage.
Susan Loesser, 74, is the daughter of the song writer who said Bill Cosby is the blame to stations refusing to play the song.
"Bill Cosby ruined it for everybody," Susan Loesser told NBC. "Way before #MeToo, I would hear from time to time people call it a date rape song. I would get annoyed because it's a song my father wrote for him and my mother to sing at parties. But ever since Cosby was accused of drugging women, I hear the date rape thing all the time."
The radio station that ignited this year's refusal of the song began at WDOK in Cleveland after claiming many of its listeners didn't appreciate sexual undertones in the song.
"It wasn't really our decision. It's the decision of our listeners," WDOK midday host Desiray said, adding that the station's listeners help develop the holiday song lineup.
The debate on whether or not to play the song, or listen to it, has sparked debate all around the country. Dean Martin is one of the many famous people who sang the hit when he recorded it in 1959. His daughter, Deana, called the uproar about the song outrageous.
"I was absolutely flabbergasted; it's just insane,"Deana said on Fox News. "When I heard it and I said, 'This can't possibly be' … I tweeted, 'I think this is crazy, what do you think?' and then all of a sudden it went viral.
"I know my dad would be going insane right now," Deana Martin said. "He would say, 'What's the matter with you? Get over it. It's just a fun song.' Because he was so sweet. He would never see anything bad in that. He was a great guy, fun guy, nice. And he wouldn't want to do anything offensive; that wasn't Dean Martin. So this has just been outrageous."
With two weeks until Christmas and with holiday music ramping up, it could be interesting to see how radio stations tune their playlists.
Uncommon Knowledge
Newsweek is committed to challenging conventional wisdom and finding connections in the search for common ground.
Newsweek is committed to challenging conventional wisdom and finding connections in the search for common ground.
About the writer
Scott McDonald is a Newsweek deputy night editor based in Cape Coral, Florida. His focus is assigning and writing stories ... Read more
To read how Newsweek uses AI as a newsroom tool, Click here.