Eartha Kitt, real name Eartha Keith, was an American singer, dancer and actress whose palor skin was believed to be due to being the result of rape. Rape orchestrated by the son of the owner of the farm where she was born.
She began her artistic career in 1943 by integrating the Katherine Dunham Company, a contemporary dance company of which she would be a member until 1948. And it was from the 1950s that she experienced her first successes on the song side with titles such as "C'est si bon", "Santa baby" and others "Under the bridges of Paris".
During the 60s and 70s, she alternated roles in cinema, in TV series as well as in musicals. It was the 80s that saw her come back in force on the song side with the enormous single "Where is my man", a single which will literally ignite all the Dancefloor on the planet and which will remain as the biggest record success of her entire career. .
She will have two other notorious successes with "I love men" in 1984 and "This is my life" in 1986. An exceptional career which will unfortunately end in 2008 when she dies at the age of 81 from colon cancer.
To discover or rediscover.
Discography (among others ...) :
Love is a simple thing 1952
Bal petit bal 1952
I want to be evil 1953
Uska dara 1953
Santa baby 1953
Somebody bad stole de weddin’ bell 1954
Mrs Patterson 1954
I wantcha around 1955
I've got that lovin' bug itch 1955
Fascinating man 1957
Thursday's child 1957
St Louis blues 1958
Beale street blues 1958
Yellow bird 1959
Mack the knife 1959
All I want is all there is and then some 1962
Do it again ! 1962
Wonderful illusion 1962
September song 1962
Just an old fashioned girl 1963
You're my man 1964
It is love 1970
Wear your love like heaven 1970
Catch the wind 1970
A knight for my nights 1971
Catch the wind 1972
Where is my man 1983
I love men 1984
Arabian song 1984
Suggar daddy 1984
I don’t care 1986
This is my life 1986
Arabian song 1987
Cha cha heels 1989
Primitive man 1989
You can't fool me 1991
Back in business 1994
Ain't misbehavin' 1994
Snuff ou the light 2000
Clips :
1952...the very beginnings of a young singer who will appear for the first time in the eyes of the world in the show 'New faces of 1952'...
1952...a second title from the same show. A show which will reveal her but which will also reveal others...
1953...young Eartha will take flight this time solo and begin to write her legend without knowing it of course...
1953...here she revisits Jean Marco's title from 1948, a song covered shortly after by Yves Montand. Her version will at least have the merit of bringing a touch of femininity to this very masculine song...
1953...a year 1953 which saw her really take off and start to make talking about her more and more. And that's just the beginning...
1953 ... in a style so typical of that time, you can feel the singer already a little more at ease. Most of the singers of that time will never reach the 80s. She yes, a real feat !
1954 ... a decade which allowed her to blossom and reveal herself, slowly but surely. And what we see so far is rather nice. But she is still light years away from 'Where is my man', that's clear ...
1954...after each era its musical standards and for this decade of the 50s she is perfectly in tune with the times, it is clear...
1955...each new year further strengthens its status as a revelation of the moment. Everything is going in an ideal manner from now on...
1955...the rise in power is certain and inevitably promises great and beautiful things later. To be continued...
1957...a year 1957 which allows her to show in a very beautiful way that in the 'emotional' register she ensures, to say the least...
1957...in the same vein. Time seems to stand still on this kind of title and we feel her particularly at ease in this register...
1958...this young singer really has something different and brings a freshness and candor that is truly worth seeing. And above all to hear...
1958...each passing year allows her to show the full extent of her talent. And she has talent, that's more than certain...
1959...a decade of the 50s which saw her blossom and then establish herself as one of the most talented singers of her generation...
1959...here she revisits the title by Kurt Weill that he composed in 1928 and delivers a version of it, in my opinion, one that is most honorable, it is clear...
1962...it now remains to be seen whether this new decade of the 60s will be that of great takeoff or, on the contrary, that of slow but irreversible deceleration...
1962...for the moment it would be neither one nor the other despite the release of titles of certain quality. She consolidates its position but without increasing it more than that...
1962...afterwards there is no more concern than that to have regarding the continuation of events. She unrolls quietly but surely...
1962...what is paradoxical to say the least is that for the big takeoff we will have to wait a few years, even a few decades...
1963...a title released 7 years earlier but which will experience a semblance of glory during this year 1963. Sometimes success takes time...
1964...a mid-60s which will be most favorable to her with 2 successes in a row. She has to take advantage of it because there won't be any others for a few years...
1970...we find her at the very beginning of the 70s in a form that we would describe as certain. Certain but insufficient at this stage to fight on equal terms with the best...
1970...the important thing is that she is back and above all that she shows that she has absolutely no intention of giving up anything just yet...
1970...not only does she come back but she also shows that she is still capable of offering titles of certain quality...
1971...she still has to be careful to stick a little more to the latest trends of the moment otherwise the exit door risks opening faster than expected...
1972 ... year after year, she writes her story and grows in power, but it is clear that with her, you will have to be patient. She will have started her artistic career very early but will only explode at the song level at the end ...
1983 ... the 1970s not having given much, we find ourselves once again 10 years ahead. And there, as if by a miracle, everything will suddenly accelerate in an incredible way. In particular thanks to THIS title, a title which will simply remain as one of the biggest dance hits of the decade and which makes her one of the biggest phenomena of the moment while she is 56 years old at that time. A success to say the least late but what a success. MAS-TER-FUL !
1984 ... the rest will turn out to be almost the same. The singer is then at the height of her art and her possibilities and she intends to take advantage of it. Race results : new top hit. Impossible now to stop her !
1984...a title which will go a little more unnoticed but which it would have been a shame to hide. So here it is brought back to light...
1984...a title which will also go a little more unnoticed but which it would have been a shame to hide in the same way. So here it is brought back to light just like its predecessor...
1986 ... an almost 60 years old Dance Diva. Who could have imagined it ? She competes without any complex with young girls who could be her little girls. Incredible but true !
1986 ... she unrolls in a truly insolent way and here signs a new top hit under the dumbfounded eyes of the competition. It should be remembered that she started singing in the 1950s. A longevity that is simply breathtaking. HU-GE !
1987 ... well, it's true that at one point it was obvious that she couldn't continue on such a dynamic of success forever. After 3 totally euphoric years, 1987 will mark the breaking point and the beginning of the fall. And yet, she is far from being ridiculous !
1989 ... nothing for 3 years. And here she is back in Olympic form but her good will will not be enough to put her back in the race. Unfortunately, the game is over !
1989 ... a last title to close this absolutely incredible adventure in terms of longevity. A truly extraordinary artist for a career that is no less. Respect !
1991...we will still see her again the following decade but it is clear that the level of exposure of the singer will no longer have much to do with the previous decade...
1994...afterwards it is inevitably the core fans who rejoice as soon as she returns and no matter what she offers...
1994...especially since with such a style and sound she is no longer likely to touch the younger generations as she did with 'Where is my man'...
2000...who could have imagined that we would find her on the soundtrack of a Disney film ? Not many people and yet it will be particularly successful for her...
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