BABY IT'S COLD OUTSIDE - Free Jazz Leadsheet

"Baby, It’s Cold Outside" was written by Frank Loesser in 1944. Originally composed as a playful duet for Loesser and his wife to perform at parties, the song became widely known after its inclusion in the 1949 film Neptune’s Daughter, where it won the Academy Award for Best Original Song.

The first commercial recording was made by Ricardo Montalbán and Esther Williams in 1949 for the film soundtrack, soon followed by Dinah Shore and Buddy Clark’s radio hit version. Over the years, it has been reinterpreted by numerous artists including Ella Fitzgerald and Louis Jordan (1949), Ray Charles and Betty Carter (1961), and Lady Gaga and Tony Bennett (2014).

Lyrically, the song presents a lighthearted dialogue between two people debating whether to part ways on a cold evening, framed as a witty romantic exchange. Musically, it is structured as a call-and-response duet in 32-bar form, with modulating harmonies that mirror the conversational tension. The song’s charm lies in its balance of humor, flirtation, and sophistication.