I am taking a day off to prepare for a weekend with three concert gigs. In between cleaning the mouthpieces, setting the reeds, and practicing the gnarly parts, I am looking for some music to highlight in next year’s concert season for the Microsoft Jazz Band. One of the charts I discovered and luv is Baby it’s cold Outside by those fabulous folks at Cabot Music in the UK. Click on the link and start the audio while you read this post. 
I really can’t stay, but, baby, it’s cold outside,
I’ve got to go ‘way, oh, baby, it’s cold outside,
This evenin’ has been, been hopin’ that you’d drop in,
So very nice, I’ll hold your hands, they’re just like ice.
My mother will start to worry, beautiful, what’s your hurry?
My father will be pacin’ the floor, listen to that fireplace roar,
So really I’d better scurry, oh, beautiful, please don’t hurry,
Oh, maybe just a half a drink more, why don’t you put some records on while I pour?
The neighbours might think, oh, baby, it’s bad out there,
Say, what’s in this drink? but there’s no cabs to be had out there,
I wish I knew how, your eyes are like starlight now,
To break this spell, I’ll take your hat, your hair looks swell.
I ought to say no, no, no, sir, Mind if I move a little closer?
At least there will be, oh, but I tried, ah heh, What’s the sense in hurting my pride?
I really can’t stay, baby, don’t hold out,
Ah, but it’s cold… out… side.
We don’t have a male vocalist because I luv to give our singer Shaz as many songs as I can, 6 to 8 per gig. But I happened to hear our lead alto Mark sing last night and thought, he could so do this duet and maybe even mimic Tom Jones! What a fun number this would be. Picking exciting music for my bands is very exciting for me and a labor of luv. Wonder if it’s a genetic predisposition thang?
The Bis Key Chronicles 
We have this tune as well, courtesy of Dick Spencer up in Rhode Island, and it’s a pleasant little piece that falls under the “novelty number” category. To pull it off, you need a couple of singers who are capable of doing more than just singing – some minimal acting skills are required as well.
The way that I think works best is to have the two vocalists play off of each other during their introductory choruses, with the pair only “singing to each other” during the last chorus (when they finally get on the same wavelength, ending up first facing each other as they sing “… cold – out – side”, and then turning to face the audience for the inevitable applause.
Stuff like this was one reason that I finally moved to cordless microphones – it’s far too easy to get people tied up in a microphone cord.
I had this happen once when doing the “barking guy” vocal part in Love Shack. At the end of the tune, during the iconic “Bang, bang, bang on the door, baby!” sequences, I progressively moved down the line of three female vocalists, whispering my sweet nothings (“Knock a little harder, darling”, “I can’t hear you…”, etc.) into their ears in my own inimitable fashion, ending up at the end of the line facing away for the final faux screamed “I CAN’T HEAR YOU!!!”, only to find that the trailing mike cord was pretty firmly wound around my legs. It took a bit of clever footwork on the way back to the stage left of the girls to get unstuck.
I think that most “big bands” or “jazz bands” or “show bands” (my choice of moniker) should program far more of this sort of tune, and far less of the “jazzer” type of arrangements. True, the latter are more fun for the lead players, but the audience would enjoy “Baby It’s Cold Outside” far more than a series of tunes like “Basie’s Buddy B”, “Basie C” and “Basie Straight Ahead”. But, that’s just my opinion…
Just starting a Big Band gig that is a USO show for a theater run, I find that I agree with you. The audience loves it, the band is a part of a number of the humorous routines like the cat running through the sax section. Dunno that I can find the staff to do this kind of show successfully, but we ceratinly could program some of this into each set. Great insight Terry.