WHAT ARE YOU DOING NEW YEAR'S EVE?/THE ORIOLES
Sonny Til and The Orioles began as the Vibranaires in their home town of Baltimore in 1947. Changing their names to that of the state bird the following year, The Orioles stripped away the orchestral arrangements then in vogue with vocal groups like The Ink Spots and Mills Brothers. The group's breakthrough single, 1948's "It's Too Soon To Know" (written by their manager Deborah Chessler) is described in terms reserved for those monumental records that changed the course of musical history, such as "That's All Right Mama" by Elvis Presley. It came out of nowhere, immediately shot to #1 R&B and even crossed over to the pop charts, a feat rarely accomplished by African-American groups at the time. Doo Wop was born. The Orioles closed out 1948 with a seasonal song, "Lonely Christmas", the first ever Doo Wop Christmas recording. The following year, they brought back "Lonely Christmas", which had reached #8 R&B in 1948, pairing it with a Tin Pan Alley song written by Frank Loesser.
Frank Loesser never saw "What Are You Doing New Year's Eve?" as a seasonal song, let alone a New Year's standard. In fact, it upset him to no end every time someone performed the song in a winter context. To Loesser, his 1947 composition was a spring song--a song about a beginning, not an end.
Frank Loesser was born in New York City in 1910. Loesser, the son of a pianist, dropped out of college after one year and, ultimately, found himself performing in clubs with his future wife, Lynn Blankenbaker Garland. Universal Pictures signed him in 1936 and he wrote some memorable lyrics for the movies up until the war. It was after the war that Loesser truly made his mark, writing the songs for hit Broadway musicals such as Guys & Dolls and How To Succeed In Business Without Really Trying, winning Tony Awards galore and, in 1962, a Pulitzer. He also continued writing for the movies. Among his greatest contributions was a number Loesser had written in 1944 specifically for he and his wife to perform at parties--"Baby, It's Cold Outside". When MGM wanted a full score from Loesser for the 1949 film Neptune's Daughter, he included the now classic duet. "Baby, It's Cold Outside" won Loesser an Oscar.
Frank Loesser was born in New York City in 1910. Loesser, the son of a pianist, dropped out of college after one year and, ultimately, found himself performing in clubs with his future wife, Lynn Blankenbaker Garland. Universal Pictures signed him in 1936 and he wrote some memorable lyrics for the movies up until the war. It was after the war that Loesser truly made his mark, writing the songs for hit Broadway musicals such as Guys & Dolls and How To Succeed In Business Without Really Trying, winning Tony Awards galore and, in 1962, a Pulitzer. He also continued writing for the movies. Among his greatest contributions was a number Loesser had written in 1944 specifically for he and his wife to perform at parties--"Baby, It's Cold Outside". When MGM wanted a full score from Loesser for the 1949 film Neptune's Daughter, he included the now classic duet. "Baby, It's Cold Outside" won Loesser an Oscar.
As far as can be determined, Margaret Whiting was the first to record "What Are You Doing New Year's Eve?"--in 1947. But The Orioles were the first to chart with the song. In the more than 60 years since the Orioles recording, and in complete opposition to Loesser's thoughts about his own song, "What Are You Doing New Year's Eve?" has become THE standard of New Year's songs. If "Auld Lang Syne" is the holiday's "Jingle Bells", "What Are You Doing New Year's Eve?" is most certainly it's "White Christmas".
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