It's Cold Outside (song)
| "It's Cold Outside" | ||||
|---|---|---|---|---|
 1966 Swedish picture sleeve. | ||||
| Single by The Choir | ||||
| B-side | "Going Home" | |||
| Released |
September 1966 May 1967 (reissue) | |||
| Format | 7" single | |||
| Recorded | 1966 | |||
| Genre | ||||
| Length | 2:49 | |||
| Label |
Canadian-American Roulette (reissue) | |||
| Writer(s) | Dan Klawon (credited as Danny Klawon) | |||
| The Choir singles chronology | ||||
| ||||
"It's Cold Outside" is a song by the American garage rock band The Choir, written by The Choir's drummer, Dan Klawon, and first released on Canadian-American Records in September 1966 (see 1966 in music). It is considered a classic of the musical genre of garage rock, and became the group's only national hit. The song has since been featured on several compilation albums.
The Choir originally came to prominence in Cleveland under the moniker The Mods, covering a wide-variety of material penned by British Invasion-based groups such as The Who, The Rolling Stones, and The Beatles. As the house band for the Painsville Armory, the group appeared on several local television programs, emulating a pop sound inspired by the very songs they covered.[1] By 1966, the band members developed into capable songwriters, writing the originals "It's Cold Outside" and "Going Home". With their freshly-penned matetial in hand, The Mods traveled to Chicago to record. Around the same time, the band changed their name to The Choir after another local group performed under the same moniker.[2]
The song's lyrics pertain to a dejected recounting of a failed love affair, though the vocal delivery is conducted in a sunny manner. Klawon explains "I used to write quite a bit then, and one day I was thinking of some sort of theme to use with the moon/spoon, boy/girl lyrics," before deciding "to go with a weather analogy".[3] Also evident are the soothing vocal harmonies and fast-paced rhythm guitar instrumentals, both reminiscent of early Beatles and Who compositions. In addition to the British Invasion-influenced arrangements, "It's Cold Outside" is also marked by Dave Burke's raving bass playing and lead guitarist Wally Bryson's jangling Byrds-esque technique.[4] Music historian Richie Unterberger, writing for the Allmusic website, proposes the tune would have been better suited for "the innocent times of 1964 than for the complicated culture and music scene of 1967".[5]
Upon release, "It's Cold Outside" launched to number one on the regional charts in Cleveland, retaining the position for five weeks. It also received success on the charts in Canada, and peaked at number 68 when it was reissued on Roulette Records in 1967.[6] "It's Cold Outside" gained more attention from garage rock enthusiasts years later when it was compiled on Pebbles, Volume 2 and the 1998 reissue of Nuggets: Original Artyfacts from the First Psychedelic Era, 1965–1968. Other albums that feature the song include Psychedelic Microdots, Volume 3, Choir Practice, and Trash Box.[5]
References
- ↑ "Choir Practice (CD booklet)". Sundazed Records. 1994.
- ↑ "Denny Carelton". dennycarelton.com. Retrieved October 18, 2015.
- ↑ Rock 'N' Roll and the Cleveland Connection by Deanna R. Adams, 2002: Kent State University Press, pp. 153-154 (from Google Book Search)
- ↑ Wolff, Carlo (2006). Cleveland Rock and Roll Memories: True and Tall Tales of the Glory Days. Gray and Company. p. 42. ISBN 9781886228993.
- 1 2 Unterberger, Richie. "It's Cold Outside - Review". allmusic.com. Retrieved October 18, 2015.
- ↑ Unterberger, Richie. "The Choir - Biography". allmusic.com. Retrieved October 18, 2015.