''That Bad Eartha'' is a twelve-song reconfiguration of material from American singer

Eartha Kitt Eartha Kitt (born Eartha Mae Keith; January 17, 1927 – December 25, 2008) was an American singer and actress known for her highly distinctive singing style and her 1953 recordings of "C'est si bon" and the Christmas novelty song "Santa Ba ...

's first two eight-song, 10-inch

album An album is a collection of audio recordings issued on compact disc (CD), Phonograph record, vinyl, audio tape, or another medium such as Digital distribution#Music, digital distribution. Albums of recorded sound were developed in the early ...

s issued by

RCA Victor RCA Records is an American record label currently owned by Sony Music Entertainment, a subsidiary of Sony Corporation of America. It is one of Sony Music's four flagship labels, alongside RCA's former long-time rival Columbia Records; also Aris ...

. It contains all eight songs from the 1953 album RCA Victor Presents Eartha Kitt. It repurposes the cover image and title, and four of the songs from Eartha's 1954 second 10-inch album, '' That Bad Eartha (10-inch, 8-song album)''. In this way, it could be considered an expansion of the first short-length album, supplementing it with packaging and selected songs from the second. In May 1953, RCA Victor released the 10-inch vinyl album '' RCA Victor Presents Eartha Kitt'', which reached No. 2 on the pop albums chart and featured 8 songs. The album was recorded in four sessions between March and October 1953 with

Henri Rene Henri is an Estonian, Finnish, French, German and Luxembourgish form of the masculine given name Henry. People with this given name ; French noblemen :'' See the 'List of rulers named Henry' for Kings of France named Henri.'' * Henri I de Montm ...

and His Orchestra . RCA released her second album, ''

That Bad Eartha ''That Bad Eartha'' is a twelve-song reconfiguration of material from American singer Eartha Kitt's first two eight-song, 10-inch albums issued by RCA Victor. It contains all eight songs from the 1953 album RCA Victor Presents Eartha Kitt. I ...

'', in the 10″ popular format, in 1954. It was also released in a 45 RPM extended play version with two songs on each side of two disks. ''That Bad Eartha'' spent 12 weeks on the pop albums chart, peaking at No. 5.

Long-playing records The LP (from "long playing" or "long play") is an analog sound storage medium, a phonograph record format characterized by: a speed of rpm; a 12- or 10-inch (30- or 25-cm) diameter; use of the "microgroove" groove specification; and ...

were introduced in 1948 by Columbia with 10-inch albums as the popular music format and the 12-inch album the format for classical music. RCA introduced the 45 RPM format shortly afterwards. By the mid-50s, 10″ LPs were phased out, replaced by 12″ ones for popular as well as classical music. At this point, in approximately 1956, RCA Victor reconfigured these two 8-song albums into a 12-track album, jettisoning 4 songs. This then became the standard version of the album. Several singles were issued from various configurations of these albums. "Under the Bridges of Paris" charted in the

UK Singles Chart The UK Singles Chart (currently titled Official Singles Chart, with the upper section more commonly known as the Official UK Top 40) is compiled by the Official Charts Company (OCC), on behalf of the British record industry, listing the top-s ...

in 1955 at #7. Many of the songs recorded for this album, such as "

C'est si bon "" (; ) is a French popular song composed in 1947 by Henri Betti with the lyrics by André Hornez. The English lyrics were written in 1949 by Jerry Seelen. The song has been adapted in several languages. History In July 1947, Henri Bet ...

", "Uska Dara" and "I Want to Be Evil" became closely associated with Eartha Kitt, and were performed live by her until one of her last concerts at the ''

Cheltenham Jazz Festival Cheltenham Jazz Festival is one of the UK's leading jazz festivals, and is part of Cheltenham Festivals' annual festival season, also including the Science, Music and Literature Festivals in Cheltenham Spa. Introduction and history The Chelt ...

'', shortly before her death in December 2008. The complete album was re-issued on CD in 1994 as part of the

Bear Family Records Bear Family Records is a Germany-based independent record label, that specializes in reissues of archival material, ranging from country music to 1950s rock and roll to old German movie soundtracks. History The label has been in existence since ...

five-CD boxset ''Eartha – Quake''; this included "

Santa Baby "Santa Baby" is a song performed by American singer Eartha Kitt with Henri René, Henri René and His Orchestra and originally released in 1953. The song was written by Joan Javits and Philip Springer, who also used the pseudonym Tony Springer i ...

" and several other tracks from the same recording session not included in this album.

Track listings

''RCA Victor Presents Eartha Kitt'' (1953)

This was the first incarnation of the album, originally released to 10-inch in late-1953. It was released a few months later in early 1954 as a 45 RPM

7-inch In music, a single is a type of release, typically a song recording of fewer tracks than an LP record or an album. One can be released for sale to the public in a variety of formats. In most cases, a single is a song that is released separate ...

double extended play An extended play record, usually referred to as an EP, is a musical recording that contains more tracks than a single but fewer than an album or LP record.

. In 2010 it was issued as a digital download in select European countries under

public domain The public domain (PD) consists of all the creative work A creative work is a manifestation of creative effort including fine artwork (sculpture, paintings, drawing, sketching, performance art), dance, writing (literature), filmmaking, ...

with alternate artwork by Smith & Co. ;10-inch Long Play ''Track list and notes adapted from liner notes of original release.''''Track lengths adapted from digital release.'' ;7-inch Double Extended Play ''Track list and notes adapted from liner notes of original release.''''Track lengths adapted from digital release.''

''That Bad Eartha'' (EP) (1954)

The follow-up to Kitt's first album, ''RCA Victor Presents Eartha Kitt'', ''That Bad Eartha'' (EP) was released in 1954, consisting entirely of previously unreleased music. It wasn't until 1956 that a 12-inch album with this title and packaging would be made available; and the later album would only contain four of these songs, with the other eight from her debut. The catalog numbers for the release were LPM-3187 (10-inch version) and EPB3187 (7-inch version). ;10-inch Extended Play ;7-inch Double Extended Play ''Credits adapted from label notes of original release.'' ;10-inch Long Play (United Kingdom Version) Released in 1955, it wasn't until 1958 that the now standard, 12-inch long play version of the album was released in the United Kingdom. As a result, this version with catalogue number DLP 1067, released by

His Master's Voice His Master's Voice (HMV) was the name of a major British record label created in 1901 by The Gramophone Co. Ltd. The phrase was coined in the late 1890s from the title of a painting by English artist Francis Barraud, which depicted a Jack Russ ...

, is still considered to be the standard track listing for the album in the UK; the 12-inch version being commonly referred to as the "American Version" within the country. The UK version of the album was released with alternative cover artwork, and was later released to a compact disk compilation. ''Credits adapted from liner notes of original release.''

''That Bad Eartha'' (LP) (1956)

As 12-inch records became more popular, RCA Victor re-issued ''RCA Victor Presents Eartha Kitt'' as a 12-inch record with four new songs from ''That Bad Eartha'' (EP), releasing it synonymously a year after the extended play's release. This is now considered to be the standard track listing of ''That Bad Eartha'' in all countries except the United Kingdom, where this version was not officially released until 1958, three years after a ten-track, long play version of ''That Bad Eartha'' (EP) was released in the country as a stand-alone album. During the early 1980s this version of the album was re-issued by RCA on 12-inch in the Netherlands entitled ''"The Classics" That Bad Eartha''. In 1984, following her international commercial success with "

Where Is My Man "Where Is My Man" is a song from 1983 by the American singer and actress Eartha Kitt, which appeared on her 1984 album '' I Love Men''. The song was co-written by comedy writer Bruce Vilanch along with musicians and producers Fred Zarr and Jacque ...

", RCA re-issued this version of the album once again on 12-inch, this time also issuing the first cassette and compact disc versions of the album in Germany, Europe, and the UK. Over the course of the next two decades, RCA Victor would release at least four re-issues of the same CD version throughout Europe. By 1994 songs from the album began becoming available in CD compilations in America by numerous record companies. However, it wasn't until 2002 that a CD featuring the full album would become available, released as a two-for-one with '' Down To Eartha''. In 2006, a version of the album featuring 12 bonus tracks would be released in Italy displaying a new cover designed from an alternate shot of Kitt from the same photo shoot for her original album covers for ''Down to Eartha'' and '' Thursday's Child'', two months later it was briefly released in the US. The album has since been issued in its entirety on CD by numerous record labels, often in multi-album compilations, throughout the world, and inevitably as a digital download. As of 2007 this album falls into public domain in Europe and is issued freely, without consent from RCA or its parent company

Sony Music Entertainment Sony Music Entertainment (SME), also known as simply Sony Music, is an American multinational music company. Being owned by the parent conglomerate Sony Group Corporation, it is part of the Sony Music Group, which is owned by Sony Entertainment ...

. ;12-inch Long Play ;CD (1984)

''That Bad Eartha'' (Japanese version)

;7" Extended Play This was a seven-inch extended play released in Japan of the same name consisting of three songs from different versions of the album and "

". It was released with the same cover artwork as '' Down To Eartha'', only changing the letters to ''"That Bad Eartha"'', with the same placement and font as the album. Released by Victor of Japan, catalogue number EP-1118. ''Track list adapted from label notes of original release.''

Personnel

''Personnel adapted from

AllMusic AllMusic (previously known as All Music Guide and AMG) is an American online music database. It catalogs more than three million album entries and 30 million tracks, as well as information on musicians and bands. Initiated in 1991, the databas ...

.'' Orchestra and chorus members adapted from the liner notes of the 2006 Universe Italy CD release. ;Performance *

Anton Coppola Antonio Francesco Coppola (March 21, 1917 – March 9, 2020) was an American opera conductor and composer. He was the uncle of film director Francis Ford Coppola and actress Talia Shire, as well as the great-uncle of Nicolas Cage, Christopher ...

– Orchestra conductor (for "Monotonous") *

– vocalist *

Henri René Henri René (born Harold Manfred Kirchstein; December 29, 1906 – April 25, 1993), was an American musician who had an international career in the recording industry as a producer, composer, conductor and arranger. Early years Born in New York ...

– Orchestra conductor, (producer) *Henri René & His Orchestra – performer *

Hugo Winterhalter Hugo Winterhalter (August 15, 1909 – September 17, 1973) was an American easy listening arranger and composer, best known for his arrangements and recordings for RCA Victor. Biography Hugo Ferdinand Winterhalter was born in Wilkes-Barre, Pennsy ...

– conductor, (producer) ;;Chorus members *

Betty Allen Betty Allen (March 17, 1927 – June 22, 2009) was an American operatic mezzo-soprano who had an active international singing career during the 1950s through the 1970s. In the latter part of her career her voice acquired a contralto-like darkenin ...

– choir, chorus *Howard Hudson – choir, chorus * Ada Beth Lee – choir, chorus *

Betty Noyes Elizabeth Noyes Hand (October 11, 1912 – December 24, 1987) was a singer and actress best known for dubbing two of Debbie Reynolds' numbers in the 1952 film '' Singin' in the Rain.'' Today, this is a well-known example of dubbing in a film mu ...

– choir, chorus ;;Orchestra members *Russell Banzer – bassoon *

Milt Bernhart Milt Bernhart (May 25, 1926 – January 22, 2004) was a West Coast jazz trombonist who worked with Stan Kenton, Frank Sinatra, and others. He supplied the solo in the middle of Sinatra's 1956 recording of ''I've Got You Under My Skin'' conducted ...

– trombone *Noel Boggs – guitar *Julius Brand – violin *Sidney Brecher – viola *Frederick Buldrini – violin * Robert Byrne – trombone *

Warren Covington Warren Covington (August 7, 1921 – August 24, 1999) was an American big band trombonist. He was active as a session musician, arranger, and bandleader throughout his career. Biography Covington, who was born in Philadelphia, played early on ...

– trombone *John d'Agostino – trombone *Roland Dupont – trombone *Harold Feldman – oboe *

Arnold Fishkind Arnold Fishkind, sometimes credited as Arnold Fishkin (born July 20, 1919 – September 6, 1999,) was an American jazz bassist who appeared on over 100 albums. Early life Fishkind was born in Bayonne, New Jersey, and grew up in Freeport, Long ...

– bass *Calman Fleisig – viola *Harold Furmansky – viola *Harry Glickman – violin * Bernard Greenhouse – cello *

Johnny Guarnieri John Albert Guarnieri (March 23, 1917 – January 7, 1985) was an American jazz and stride pianist, born in New York City. Career Guarnieri joined the George Hall orchestra in 1937. He is possibly best known for his big band stints with Be ...

– piano *Allen Hanlon – guitar *Julius Held – violin *

Al Hendrickson Alton Reynolds Hendrickson (May 10, 1920 – July 19, 2007) was an American jazz guitarist and occasional vocalist. Biography When he was five years old, Hendrickson's family moved to California, where he grew up. He played early in his career w ...

– guitar *Harry Hoffman – violin *Raymond Hunoz – drums *Harry Katzman – violin *Bernard Kaufman – saxophone *Albert Klink – clarinet, saxophone *Stanley F. Kraft – violin *

Jack Lesberg Jack Lesberg (February 14, 1920 – September 17, 2005) was an American jazz double-bassist. Lesberg performed with many famous jazz musicians, including Louis Armstrong, Earl Hines, Jack Teagarden, Sarah Vaughan and Benny Goodman, with whom he ...

– bass *Arno Levitch – violin *Ivan Lopes – bongos *

Charles Magnante Charles Magnante (December 7, 1905 – December 30, 1986) was an American piano-accordionist, arranger, composer, author and educator. His artistry helped raise the image of the accordion from an instrument considered suitable only for folk ...

– accordion * James Maxwell – trumpet *George Ockner – violin *Eugene Orloff – violin *Pullman Pederson – trombone *Danny Perri – guitar *Victor Piemonte – calliope *

Jack Pleis Jack K. Pleis (May 11, 1917 – December 5, 1990) was an American jazz pianist, arranger, conductor, composer and producer. He recorded on London and Decca Records in the 1950s, and Columbia Records in the 1960s. During the course of his career, ...

– piano *Edward B. Powell – flute *Ralph Ransell – marimbas *Tommy Romersa – drums *Henry Ross – saxophone *Henry Rowland – piano *

Art Ryerson Arthur Ryerson (May 22, 1913 – October 27, 2004) was a jazz guitarist who emerged in the 1930s, playing acoustic and electric guitar, as well as the banjo. He played with jazz orchestras and bands in the 1930s and the 1940s. In the early 19 ...

– guitar *Tosha Samaroff – violin *Frank Saracco – trombone *Jack Saunders – drums *Julius Schacter – violin *William Schaffer – trombone *Herman Schertzer – clarinet, saxophone *Lucien Schmit – cello *Sam Shamper – violin *Norris "Bunny" Shawker – drums *Mock Shopnick – bass *Terry Snyder – drums *Melvin "Red" Solomon – trumpet *Sal Spinelli – violin *Phil Stephens – bass *Melvin Tax – saxophone *

Anthony Terran Anthony Terran (May 30, 1926 – March 20, 2017) was an American trumpet player and session musician. He was part of the Wrecking Crew, a group of largely uncredited session musicians in Los Angeles, California, who helped famous artists record ...

– trumpet *Stanley Webb – saxophone ;Technical *Joe Carlton – producer, (composer) *Henri René – producer, (Orchestra conductor) *Hugo Winterhalter – producer, (conductor) ;;Re-issue * Norman Blake – recreation (re-issue) * Joe Foster – producer, recreation (

Rev-Ola Records Rev-Ola Records is a British independent record label formed in 1990 that specializes in reissues, as well as select new releases. The label is headed by Joe Foster, a former child actor and musician/producer. He, along with Alan McGee and ...

re-issue) *Nicole Garcia – liner notes (re-issue) *Stella Lee – arrangement (re-issue) *Duncan MacDougald, Jr. – liner notes (re-issue) *Andy Morten – artwork, design (re-issue) *Steve Huey – liner notes (Universe Italy re-issue) ;;Composers *Harold Adamson – composer *

Henri Betti Henri Betti, born Ange Betti (24 July 1917 – 7 July 2005), was a French composer and a pianist. Pianist and composer of Maurice Chevalier from 1940 to 1945, Henri Betti is best known for composing the music of the songs ''C'est si bon'' (lyric ...

– composer *Joe Carlton – composer, (producer) *

Dorcas Cochran Dorcas Cochran (c. 1903 – July 6, 1991) was an American lyricist and screenwriter. She is also referenced by her married name, Dorcas Cochran Jewell. Biography As a lyricist, her best-known song was " Again," which had multiple recorded ver ...

– composer *

Fred Ebb Fred Ebb (April 8, 1928 – September 11, 2004) was an American musical theatre lyricist who had many successful collaborations with composer John Kander. The Kander and Ebb team frequently wrote for such performers as Liza Minnelli and Chita Riv ...

– composer *

Duke Ellington Edward Kennedy "Duke" Ellington (April 29, 1899 – May 24, 1974) was an American jazz pianist, composer, and leader of his eponymous jazz orchestra from 1923 through the rest of his life. Born and raised in Washington, D.C., Ellington was based ...

– composer *

George Gershwin George Gershwin (; born Jacob Gershwine; September 26, 1898 – July 11, 1937) was an American composer and pianist whose compositions spanned popular, jazz and classical genres. Among his best-known works are the orchestral compositions ' ...

– composer *

Ira Gershwin Ira Gershwin (born Israel Gershovitz; December 6, 1896 – August 17, 1983) was an American lyricist who collaborated with his younger brother, composer George Gershwin, to create some of the most memorable songs in the English language of the 2 ...

– composer *

Bernie Hanighen Bernard D. Hanighen (April 27, 1908 in Omaha, Nebraska – October 19, 1976 in New York City, New York) Attended Hackley School (Tarrytown, New York) - Class of 1926, also attended Harvard University - Class of 1930. He was an American songwrit ...

– composer *

Otto Harbach Otto Abels Harbach, born Otto Abels Hauerbach (August 18, 1873 – January 24, 1963) was an American lyricist and librettist of nearly 50 musical comedies and operettas. Harbach collaborated as lyricist or librettist with many of the leading Broa ...

– composer * André Hornez – composer *Joan Javits – composer *Lester Judson – composer *

Jimmy Kennedy James Kennedy (20 July 1902 – 6 April 1984) was a Northern Irish songwriter. He was predominantly a lyricist, putting words to existing music such as "Teddy Bears' Picnic" and "My Prayer" or co-writing with composers like Michael Carr, Wi ...

– composer *

Jerome Kern Jerome David Kern (January 27, 1885 – November 11, 1945) was an American composer of musical theatre and popular music. One of the most important American theatre composers of the early 20th century, he wrote more than 700 songs, used in over ...

– composer *Jacques Larue – composer *Manuel Alvarez Maciste – composer * Dave Mann – composer *

Cole Porter Cole Albert Porter (June 9, 1891 – October 15, 1964) was an American composer and songwriter. Many of his songs became standards noted for their witty, urbane lyrics, and many of his scores found success on Broadway and in film. Born to ...

– composer *John Rox – composer * Tom Scott – composer *

Vincent Scotto Vincent Scotto (21 April 1874 – 15 November 1952) was a French composer. Biography Early life Vincent Scotto was born on 21 April 1874 in Marseille to Pasquale Scotto d'Aniello and Antonia Intartaglia, from the island of Procida, north of th ...

– composer *James Alan Shelton – composer *

Nat Simon Nat Simon (6 August 1900, in Newburgh, New York – 1979) was an American composer, pianist, bandleader and songwriter. From the 1930s to 1950s his songs were used in over 20 films. Between 1931 and 1940 he also took part in the musical Vaudeville r ...

– composer *

Harold Spina Harold Spina (21 June 1906 – 18 July 1997) was an American composer of popular songs. His best-known work happened in the early 1930s, when he collaborated with lyricists Johnny Burke and Joe Young on songs such as "Annie Doesn't Live Her ...

– composer *Philip Springer – composer *Tony Springer – composer * Raymond Taylor – composer *

Humberto Teixeira Humberto Cavalcanti de Albuquerque Teixeira (5 January 1915 – 3 October 1979) was a Brazilian lawyer, politician, musician, and composer, mostly known for his partnership with musician Luiz Gonzaga. Together, they wrote one of the most impor ...

– composer *

Bobby Troup Robert William Troup Jr. (October 18, 1918 – February 7, 1999) was an American actor, jazz pianist, singer, and songwriter. He wrote the song " Route 66" and acted in the role of Dr. Joe Early with his wife Julie London in the television progr ...

– composer * Joe Young – composer *Traditional – composer

Release history

References

{{Authority control 1953 debut albums 1953 albums 1954 albums 1955 albums 1956 albums Pop albums by American artists Eartha Kitt albums RCA Victor albums His Master's Voice albums French-language albums Albums conducted by Henri René