Frank Loesser wrote “What Are You Doing New Year’s Eve?”, first recorded by Margaret Whiting in 1947.
Loesser wrote the song in 1947, and singer Margaret Whiting made the first recording that year with an orchestra conducted by Freddie Slack. The lyric asks a romantic partner about plans for the coming New Year, giving the song a distinctive mixture of anticipation and uncertainty.
Although it is now strongly associated with New Year’s Eve, the song is not a traditional folk standard. It is a popular song from the mid-twentieth-century American songwriting era. Its unusually early question about the next New Year helped make it useful for holiday programming well before December 31.
Frank Loesser wrote many other major songs, including “Baby, It’s Cold Outside” and the music and lyrics for the musical Guys and Dolls. Margaret Whiting was a prominent American popular singer whose recording helped establish the song. Later versions by numerous jazz and pop performers contributed to its enduring seasonal status.