Oh, Baby

March 24, 2020 #1962


Above: David Miller with Diana Ross (in white) and Florence Ballard, two-thirds of the Supremes, who scored a big hit when they recorded "Baby Love" in 1964. This photo was taken in the Bahamas in 1966.

It's amazing how many songs were written about babies. By far the greatest majority refer to adults, songs like "Walkin' my baby back home" and "Is you is or is you ain't my baby?" Of course there were a few songs that didn't fit the pattern. Henry Mancini wrote a jaunty piece that he called the baby elephant walk. And there was "Baby mine," a tender lullaby sung to Dumbo by his mother in the Disney film. It's interesting, isn't it, that Glenn Miller recorded that tune with a vocal by Ray Eberle. If you didn't listen closely to the lyrics, you might well have figured that it was a love song to his sweetheart.

The tunes included on this episode only scratch the surface of the topic. I could have easily filled four hours with songs with "baby" in the title, but with the limits of time I've selected those that I consider among the best.


Playlist

Oh, baby
Benny Goodman
Baby boogie
Elliott Lawrence
Baby love
Diana Ross and the Supremes
Baby me
Glenn Miller
Don’t be a baby, Baby
Benny Goodman
I’m nobody’s baby
Tommy Dorsey
My baby just cares for me
Orrin Tucker
Baby face
Mitch Miller
Everybody loves my baby
Boswell Sisters
I’ve found a new baby
Mills Brothers
I found a million-dollar baby
Shep Fields
Is you is or is you ain’t my baby?
Louis Jordan
You must have been a beautiful baby
Johnny Mercer
Rock-a-bye your baby with a Dixie melody
Al Jolson
Walkin’ my baby back home
Nat King Cole
When my baby smiles at me
Ted Lewis