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Baby, It's Cold Outside

Ray Charles and Betty Carter | Artist Essentials

Ray Charles / RECOMMENDED SELECTION 20

First released: 1961 (year verified)

Original 1961 studio recording

MusicAtlas editorial note: The singers' flexible timing makes the duet sound like a lively, changing conversation.

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Release evidence and recording details

First released: 1961 (year verified)

Original 1961 studio performance in the reviewed Ray Charles and Betty Carter release history; year precision.

Recording: Original 1961 studio recording
Credit: Ray Charles and Betty Carter
Role in this collection: Co-lead vocalist with Betty Carter

Original album: Ray Charles and Betty Carter

Ray Charles - estate original album discography
Public album panels identify original programs and release years: The Genius of Ray Charles 1959; Genius Hits the Road 1960; Genius + Soul = Jazz and the Betty Carter duet album 1961; both Modern Sounds volumes 1962; Ingredients 1963; Crying Time 1966; Invites You to Listen 1967; A Message from the People 1972; My World 1993. Award years and later remasters are not release dates. The distinct 2004 guest recordings are also identified. | Reviewed 2026-10-17

In the yearly lists

This selected recording is beyond the current yearly lists.

ARTIST BACKGROUND

About Ray Charles

Ray Charles was a singer, pianist and bandleader whose recordings connected blues, gospel phrasing, jazz and popular song. His early Atlantic singles range from the piano-driven Mess Around to the vocal exchanges of What'd I Say. Orchestral albums and the two Modern Sounds in Country and Western Music volumes broadened his settings without smoothing away his distinctive vocal grain. Later studio work continued to pair that expressive voice with country, soul and familiar standards.

Artist background sources

Ray Charles - original Atlantic singles before the debut LP
The distributor's historical account explicitly dates I Got a Woman to 1954 and places Mess Around four years before the 1957 album. The album is a collection of earlier singles; its 1957 date and 2005 copyright do not date those original recordings. | Retrieved 2026-10-17

Rhino - original What'd I Say studio single
The label history distinguishes the original 1959 studio performance and its editing into the two single sides, Parts I and II. The session day alone is not a release date, and a later concert is not selected. | Retrieved 2026-10-17

Ray Charles - estate original album discography
Public album panels identify original programs and release years: The Genius of Ray Charles 1959; Genius Hits the Road 1960; Genius + Soul = Jazz and the Betty Carter duet album 1961; both Modern Sounds volumes 1962; Ingredients 1963; Crying Time 1966; Invites You to Listen 1967; A Message from the People 1972; My World 1993. Award years and later remasters are not release dates. The distinct 2004 guest recordings are also identified. | Retrieved 2026-10-17

Profile reviewed: 2026-10-18. Artist background does not establish a song's creative origin or release date.

Continue listening

Recommended positions express one editorial listening sequence. They are not measured quality scores.

ALL 66 ANNUAL COLLECTIONS

1960-2025. Each year contains 150 selections.

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