On Christmas day, one of the 20th centuries most distinctive voices in pop music passed away. Eartha Mae Kitt, chanteuse extraordinaire and the woman Orson Welles once dubbed, “the most exciting woman in the world”, died of cancer at the age of 81.
I first discovered Eartha Kitt not by her music, but rather by her words. In an interview in a book entitled “Incredibly Strange Music”, Kitt talked about her amazing career, starting in Paris Cafes, signing to RCA record where she was the highest grossing artist on their roster (that is, until Elvis came along) and her infamous speech at the white house in 1968 where she decried the vietname war and reportedly made Lady Bird Johnson cry.
Kitt is known to most people under the age of 40 for her role as Catwoman on TV’s Batman, where she replaced Julie Newmar and made usage of her famous “purr”. Musically, she is (unfortunately) known for her hit, “Santa Baby”. I say unfortunate, because to many, Kitt had become nothing more than a christmas novelty. But she was more than that.
Eartha Kitt was one of the greatest chanteuses the United States has ever produced, understanding the great American songbook in a way few have presented it. Not with sentimentality (though at times the arrangements could be argued as such), but with wit, intelligence and a razor sharp sense of humour.
Au revoir Eartha. Tu serais manquee.
1 comment:
I've meant to send you an email for the past few weeks (or maybe month(s), by now. Who knows)-- I really enjoyed your Eartha Kitt 'special'. I don't think I really (fully) appreciated her while she was still around, but you've managed to let her peek through during your show, and I now can't help but go out and scavenge some old recordings. I've kept that episode, and I still listen to it.
Note #2: I still make the effort to download your show every week, despite whatever issues had happened with your host.
Thanks so much.
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