Too Darn Hot
| "Too Darn Hot" | |
|---|---|
| Song by Ella Fitzgerald from the album Ella Fitzgerald Sings the Cole Porter Songbook | |
| Released | 1956 |
| Recorded | February - March 1956 |
| Genre | |
| Length | 03:51 |
| Label | verve |
| Writer(s) | |
"Too Darn Hot" is a song written by Cole Porter for his musical Kiss Me, Kate (1948). In the stage version, it is sung at the start of Act 2, and in the 1948 original Broadway production, it was sung by Lorenzo Fuller (as Paul) and Eddie Sledge and Fred Davis (as the specialty dancers), leading the full company. In the 1953 MGM Hollywood film version, it is moved to a much earlier point, and it is sung by Ann Miller (as Lois Lane, Fred's new girlfriend, who is cast as Bianca). The song does not really contribute to the plot in either the stage or film versions; in the stage version, the song represents the company of The Taming of the Shrew taking a break offstage during the intermission of their play; in the film version it allows the audience to see Lois's fun-loving, risk-taking nature, and gave Ann Miller a chance to show off her dancing skills, specifically tap. The line 'According to the Kinsey report' (in the original stage production) was changed in the film version to 'According to the latest report'. The song has also been covered by many artists.
Ella Fitzgerald recorded the song for her 1956 album "Ella Fitzgerald Sings the Cole Porter Songbook".
Petula Clark recorded it for her album Petula Clark in Hollywood (1959).
Mitzi Gaynor performed the song live on The Ed Sullivan Show in between the two sets of The Beatles for their second appearance on the show in 1964.
It was covered by Erasure for the Red Hot + Blue compilation (album and video versions) in 1990.
It was included by Anthony Strong on his 2013 album Stepping Out and by Stacey Kent in her 2003 album The Boy Next Door, as well as by Holly Cole in the album Shade the same year.
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