A timeless spin on an old classic.
Kacey Musgraves released her A Very Kacey Christmas album in 2016, which is one of my personal favorite Christmas albums and the perfect thing to spin before we turn the page to a new year.
The original Christmas songs are great, but one song in particular, her rendition of Ella Fitzgerald’s “What Are You Doing New Year’s Eve?,” is the perfect tune to include on your New Year’s Eve playlist, whether you’re hosting party, getting ready to go out, or just hanging out at home with a couple friends.
Written in 1947 by Frank Loesser, Ella Fitzgerald included her famous version on her 1960 Ella Wishes You a Swinging Christmas album.
Kacey noted that, while she had never heard the song before, when her producer suggested it for the aforementioned album, she fell in love with it and knew she wanted it to be part of the tracklist:
“We chose this song that, honestly, I had never heard before, but Kyle, one of the producers was like, ‘You gotta hear this song. I think it should be a good candidate for the record.’
It was written in 1947, and it’s called What Are You Doing New Year’s Eve?’ It was a hit for Ella Fitzgerald, among other people.”
Kacey also says she wanted to take the record through Christmas and have it end at a New Year’s Eve party, and this song was the perfect fit:
“But I think it’s really fun that the record, you go through Christmas the whole time, and then the record ends on New Years, and then it has a little moment at the end that kind of lets you feel like you’re maybe at a New Year’s Eve party.
That one kind of gets me because I don’t know why this s a fun fact about me, but I always cry on New Year’s eve and I don’t know why. It’s not something I can really pin point.”
She’s even had to leave the room during the countdown to midnight because it made her so emotional…
“And last year, the countdown was going on, you know maybe champagne has something to do with it, but they were totally laughing at me, cuz I had to go out of the room during the countdown. It just made me really emotional.
And I think it’s just the passage of time, the aspect of nostalgia and going into something new that is overwhelming. So I’m glad that we included a moment like that on the record.”
I think a lot of people feel the same way about New Year’s and starting a new chapter, and there’s something so forlorn, melancholy and almost nostalgic, about her delivery that I can’t get enough of.
In a way, she kind of made it into a sad country song, and her cover is very simple and classic from a production standpoint, and of course her vocals sound incredible, per the usual.
It’s all around perfection, in my very humble opinion…
And with us being just hours away from a brand new year, turn it up and enjoy. Here’s to a great 2024, y’all:
“What Are You Doing New Year’s Eve?”
Here’s a little bit more from Kacey on the song:
