Mancini was born Enrico Nicola Mancini in the Little Italy neighborhood of Cleveland, Ohio, and grew up near Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania in the steel town of West Aliquippa, Pennsylvania. His parents emigrated from the Abruzzo region of Italy. Mancini's father, Quinto, was a steelworker, who made his only child begin flute lessons at the age of eight. When Mancini was 12 years old, he began piano lessons. Quinto and Henry played flute together in the Aliquippa Italian immigrant band, "Sons of Italy". After high school, Mancini attended the renowned Juilliard School of Music in New York. In 1943, after roughly one year at Juilliard, his studies were interrupted when he was drafted into the army. In 1945, he participated in the liberation of a South German concentration camp.
Mancini recorded over 90 albums, in styles ranging from big band to classical to pop. Eight of these albums were certified gold by The Recording Industry Association of America. He had a 20 year contract with RCA Records, resulting in 60 commercial record albums that made him a household name composer of easy listening music.
Mancini's range also extended to orchestral and ethnic scores (Lifeforce, The Great Mouse Detective, Sunflower, "Tom and Jerry: The Movie", Molly Maguires, The Hawaiians), and darker themes ("Experiment In Terror," "The White Dawn," "Wait Until Dark," "The Night Visitor").
Mancini was also a concert performer, conducting over fifty engagements per year, resulting in over 600 symphony performances during his lifetime. Among the symphony orchestras he conducted are the London Symphony Orchestra, the Israel Philharmonic, the Boston Pops, the Los Angeles Philharmonic and the Royal Philharmonic Orchestra. He appeared in 1966, 1980 and 1984 in command performances for the British Royal Family. He also toured several times with Johnny Mathis and with Andy Williams, who had sung many of Mancini's songs.[citation needed]
Mancini had experience with acting and voice roles. In 1994 he made a one-off cameo appearance in the first season of the sitcom series Frasier, as a call-in patient to Dr. Frasier Crane's radio show. Mancini voiced the character Al, who speaks with a melancholy drawl and hates the sound of his own voice, in the episode "Guess Who's Coming to Breakfast?" Mancini also had an uncredited performance as a pianist in the 1967 movie Gunn, the movie version of the series Peter Gunn, the score of which was originally composed by Mancini himself.
Mancini was nominated for an unprecedented 72 Grammys, winning 20 Additionally he was nominated for 18 Academy Awards, winning four. He also won a Golden Globe Award and was nominated for two Emmys.
Mancini won a total of four Oscars for his music in the course of his career.
Mancini died at the age of 70 in Beverly Hills/Los Angeles, California of pancreatic cancer. He was working at the time on the Broadway stage version of Victor/Victoria. At the time of his death, Mancini was married to singer Virginia "Ginny" O´Connor, with whom he had three children. Ginny Mancini went on to found the Society of Singers a non profit organization which benefits the health and welfare of professional singers worldwide. Additionally the Society awards scholarships to students pursuing an education in the vocal arts and holds the annual Ella Awards.
The American Society of Composers, Authors and Publishers(ASCAP) Foundation "Henry Mancini Music Scholarship" has been awarded annually since 2001.
Baby It's Cold Outside
Henry Mancini Lyrics
Jump to: Overall Meaning ↴ Line by Line Meaning ↴
(But baby, it's cold outside)
I got to go away
(Baby, it's cold outside)
This evening has been
(Been hoping 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 worry?)
My father will be pacing the floor
(Listen to the fireplace roar)
So really I'd better scurry
(Beautiful, please don't hurry)
Well, maybe just a half a drink more
(Put some records on while I pour)
The neighbors might think
(Baby, it's bad out there)
Say, what's in this drink?
(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 I'm gonna say that I tried
(What's the use of hurting my pride?)
I really can't stay
(Baby, don't hold out)
Ah, but it's cold outside
There's bound to be talk tomorrow
(Think of my life long sorrow)
Atleast there will be plenty implied
(If you caught pneumonia and died)
I really can't stay
(Get over that hold-out)
Baby, it's cold outside
The song "Baby, It's Cold Outside" seems innocuous but has been criticized in recent years due to its alleged reference to date rape culture. Nevertheless, this song was written in 1944 by composer Frank Loesser, who introduced to his wife, Lynn Garland, as a party trick to sing at the end of evening parties. Soon after, they received offers from Hollywood to feature this song on certain movies, and only in 1949 did it appear in the Academy Award-winning film "Neptune's Daughter." It is now considered one of the great classics of American music.
The storyline of "Baby, It's Cold Outside" is that of a man trying to make a woman stay overnight with him, while she tries to keep her dignity intact and return home. In the beginning, she tries to leave, but he persists with all of his charms not to let her go. The woman's speech is full of hesitations and gentle protests, while the man's language is more insistent and confident, portraying the traditional male role. He plies her with alcohol and compliments, arguing that he only wants to keep her safe since it's cold outside. Then he speaks of a spell he's under with her eyes looking like starlights. The woman eventually thinks she will compromise her reputation if she stays the night, and they conclude with a series of polite exchanges about how tomorrow's gossip will undermine her reputation if she stays longer. The song's playfulness conveys a flirtatious mood from a bygone era, but some parts of the lyrics seem to hint at non-consensual sexual advances.
Line by Line Meaning
I really can't stay
I don't think I should stay
(But baby, it's cold outside)
(Because it's very cold outside)
I got to go away
I need to leave
(Baby, it's cold outside)
(Because it's too cold to stay outside)
This evening has been
This night has been
(Been hoping that you'd drop in)
(I was hoping you would visit)
So very nice
It was lovely
(I'll hold your hands, they're just like ice)
(Let me hold your hands, they're very cold)
My mother will start to worry
My mother will be concerned
(Beautiful, what's your worry?)
(Why worry about it?)
My father will be pacing the floor
My father will be anxious
(Listen to the fireplace roar)
(Listen to the sound of the fireplace)
So really I'd better scurry
I should hurry
(Beautiful, please don't hurry)
(No need to hurry)
Well, maybe just a half a drink more
Maybe I'll have a little more to drink
(Put some records on while I pour)
(I'll put on some music while I pour the drink)
The neighbors might think
The neighbors may have an opinion
(Baby, it's bad out there)
(Because it's dangerous outside)
Say, what's in this drink?
What is in this drink?
(No cabs to be had out there)
(There are no taxis available outside)
I wish I knew how
I don't know
(Your eyes are like starlight now)
(Your eyes are beautiful)
To break this spell
To end this situation
(I'll take your hat, your hair looks swell)
(Let me take your hat, your hair looks great)
I ought to say no, no, no, sir
I should say no, no, no
(Mind if I move a little closer?)
(Is it okay if I move closer?)
At least I'm gonna say that I tried
At least I will attempt it
(What's the use of hurting my pride?)
(Why make me feel bad about it?)
I really can't stay
I really can't stay
(Baby, don't hold out)
(Don't hold out on me)
Ah, but it's cold outside
But it's too cold outside
There's bound to be talk tomorrow
People will talk about this tomorrow
(Think of my life long sorrow)
(Think of the consequences for me)
Atleast there will be plenty implied
People will assume the worst
(If you caught pneumonia and died)
(If you get sick and die)
I really can't stay
I really can't stay
(Get over that hold-out)
(Stop resisting)
Baby, it's cold outside
It's too cold outside
Contributed by Eliana C. Suggest a correction in the comments below.