Name: Four Classic Albums: Down to Eartha/St. Louis Blues/That Bad Eartha/Thursday's Child
Brand: Traditions Alive
SKU: 1399497
Price: 12.56 USD
Availability: InStock

Four Classic Albums

Rating

Album: Four Classic Albums: Down to Eartha/St. Louis Blues/That Bad Eartha/Thursday's Child
#	Song Title		Time
	Disc 1
1)	I Want to Be Evil	More Info...
2)	C'est Si Bon	More Info...
3)	Angelitos Negros	More Info...
4)	Avril Au Portugal (The Whispering Serenade)	More Info...
5)	Let's Do It (Let's Fall in Love)	More Info...
6)	My Heart Belongs to Daddy	More Info...
7)	Uska Dara (A Turkish Tale)	More Info...
8)	African Lullaby	More Info...
9)	Mountain High, Valley Low	More Info...
10)	Lilac Wine	More Info...
11)	Under the Bridges of Paris	More Info...
12)	Smoke Gets in Your Eyes	More Info...
13)	I Wantcha Around	More Info...
14)	Do You Remember?	More Info...
15)	Looking for a Boy	More Info...
16)	I've Got That Lovin' Bug Itch	More Info...
17)	Oh John! (Please Don't Kiss Me)	More Info...
18)	Strangers in the Starlight	More Info...
19)	The Day the Circus Left Town	More Info...
20)	Apres Moi	More Info...
21)	The Heel	More Info...
22)	Mambo De Paree	More Info...
23)	Lately	More Info...
24)	Hey Jacque	More Info...
25)	Annie Doesn't Live Here Anymore	More Info...
26)	Somebody Bad Stole De Wedding Bell (Who's Got De Ding Dong)	More Info...
27)	This Year's Santa Baby	More Info...

Album: Four Classic Albums: Down to Eartha/St. Louis Blues/That Bad Eartha/Thursday's Child
#	Song Title		Time
	Disc 1
1)	I Want to Be Evil	More Info...
2)	C'est Si Bon	More Info...
3)	Angelitos Negros	More Info...
4)	Avril Au Portugal (The Whispering Serenade)	More Info...
5)	Let's Do It (Let's Fall in Love)	More Info...
6)	My Heart Belongs to Daddy	More Info...
7)	Uska Dara (A Turkish Tale)	More Info...
8)	African Lullaby	More Info...
9)	Mountain High, Valley Low	More Info...
10)	Lilac Wine	More Info...
11)	Under the Bridges of Paris	More Info...
12)	Smoke Gets in Your Eyes	More Info...
13)	I Wantcha Around	More Info...
14)	Do You Remember?	More Info...
15)	Looking for a Boy	More Info...
16)	I've Got That Lovin' Bug Itch	More Info...
17)	Oh John! (Please Don't Kiss Me)	More Info...
18)	Strangers in the Starlight	More Info...
19)	The Day the Circus Left Town	More Info...
20)	Apres Moi	More Info...
21)	The Heel	More Info...
22)	Mambo De Paree	More Info...
23)	Lately	More Info...
24)	Hey Jacque	More Info...
25)	Annie Doesn't Live Here Anymore	More Info...
26)	Somebody Bad Stole De Wedding Bell (Who's Got De Ding Dong)	More Info...
27)	This Year's Santa Baby	More Info...

Performer Notes

Personnel: Eartha Kitt (vocals); Danny Perri, Perry Botkin and His Orchestra, Allen Hanlon, Earl Backus, Sebastian Mure, Art Ryerson, Al Caiola, Al Hendrickson, Noel Boggs, Tony Mottola, Barney Kessel, Vincent Terri, Bob Bain (guitar); Fred T. Tavares (steel guitar); Ann Mason Stockton (harp); Gerald Vinci, Mischa Russell, Frederick Buldrini, Harry Glickman, Julius Held, George Kast, George Ockner, Arno Levitch, Rubin Davis, Sam Shamper, Henry Hill , Felix Slatkin, Seymour Miroff, Harry Hoffman, Julius Brand, Harry Melnikoff, Erno Neufeld, Benny Gill, Kurt Dieterle, Lou Raderman, Tosha Samaroff, Eugene Orloff, Murray Kellner, Sal Spinelli, Albert Muenzer, Stanley F. Kraft, Arthur Tabachnick, Oscar Chasow, Max Tarr, Max Tartasky, Julius Schacter, Maurice Hershaft, Dan Lube, David Frisina, Israel Baker, Harvey Shapiro , Paul Shure, Harry Katzman, Harry Bluestone (violin); David Sterkin, Harold Furmansky, Richard Dickler, Sidney Brecher, Carl A. Racine, Alfred Barr, Alvin Dinkin (viola); Cy Bernard, Armand Kaproff, Lucien Schmit, Bernard Greenhouse , Sidney Edwards, Alan Shulman, Eleanor Slatkin (cello); Alfonso Sanchez, Edward B. Powell (flute); Charles Magnante, Art Van Damme (accordion); Romeo Penque, Al Klink, Hymie Schertzer (clarinet, saxophone); Eddie Rosa, F.L. Howard, Matty Matlock (clarinet); Harold Feldman (oboe); Russell Banzer (bassoon, saxophone); Jules Jacob, Henry Ross, Mile Mangus, Aldo Del Missler, Dale Issenhuth, Salvator Franzella, Stanley Webb , Melvin Tax, Jules Kinsler, Al Howard, Ray McKinstry, Abraham Richman, Bernard Kaufman, Harry Klee, Babe Russin, Nuncio "Toots" Mondello, George Berg, Arthur "Skeets" Herfurt, Wilbur Schwartz (saxophone); Manny Klein, James Maxwell, Manuel Stevens, Melvin "Red" Solomon, William Guy, Louis Oles, Charlie Margulis, Anthony Terran, Shorty Rogers, Yank Lawson, John McClanian Best Jr., Bernie Glow (trumpet); Fred Klein, Ottavio de Rosa, James Buffington (French horn); Milt Bernhart, Robert Alexander , Roland Dupont, John d'Agostino, Elmer "Moe" Schneider, Pullman Pederson, Frank Saracco, William Schaffer, Lou McGarity, Robert Byrne, Warren Covington, Cutty Cutshall, Lloyd Ulyate (trombone); Paul "Scooby" Smith (piano, celesta); Eddie Cano, Stanley Wrightsman, Henry Rowland, Jack Pleis, Sanford Gold, Johnny Guarnieri, Arnold Ross (piano); Edwin Cole (organ); Victor Piemonte (calliope); Lou Singer (marimba, drums, percussion); Mac Ceppos, Ralph Ransell (marimba); Dale Anderson, Raymond Hunoz, Hubert Anderson, Jack Saunders, Norris "Bunny" Shawker (drums, percussion); Tommy Romersa, Frank Guerrero, William Rodriguez, Harry Bruer, Jimmy Crawford , Larry Bunker, Nick Fatool, Phil Kraus , Terry Snyder, Cliff Leeman, Irving Cottler (drums); Ray Romero, Ramon "Mongo" Santamaria, Milt Holland (congas); Ramon Rivera, Ivan Lopes, Francisco Pozo, Alvin Stoller (bongos); Guillermo P‚rez (claves); Mike Pagone (timbales); R. Stevens, M. Smith, Thurl Ravenscroft (background vocals).
Liner Note Author: Hugh Palmer.
Recording information: 03/12/1953-12/10/1957.
Eartha Kitt recorded for RCA Victor Records from 1953 to 1957, an association that produced five albums and assorted singles. The bulk of this material is contained on this two-CD set from the British reissue label Avid, which takes advantage of the 50-year copyright limit on recordings in Europe to assemble the collection, mastered from old records, without having to take the trouble to get permission or pay a licensing fee. (Sony BMG continues to claim copyright on the material in the U.S.). The first of the four "classic" albums to be included is what is referred to the as the "American version" of That Bad Eartha. It might be more accurate to describe it as the 12" LP version of That Bad Eartha, which differed considerably from the initial ten-inch LP version. Back in the early 1950s, the ten-inch LP, containing eight tracks, was the industry standard, and RCA released two Kitt albums in that format, RCA Victor Presents Eartha Kitt and That Bad Eartha, in 1953. By the middle of the decade, however, the 12-inch LP supplanted its shorter cousin, and RCA released an album called That Bad Eartha in 1955 in that format. Confusingly, it actually contained the eight tracks from RCA Victor Presents Eartha Kitt plus only four of the eight tracks from the ten-inch version of That Bad Eartha. That is the "American version" found here. Next come the 12 tracks that made up Kitt's 1955 album, Down to Eartha. After a couple of non-LP singles tracks end the first disc, the second begins with Kitt's biggest hit, "Santa Baby," followed by her 1956 album Thursday's Child and her 1958 album St. Louis Blues, then a couple of more non-LP singles tracks bring the collection to an end. In the material, Kitt establishes herself as an exotic, sophisticated chanteuse, capable of singing in many languages and styles. Several songs exploit her promiscuous gold-digger image. The St. Louis Blues tracks take a different tack, however. The album was recorded to commemorate Kitt's appearance in a film biography of W.C. Handy by the same name, and on it she sang mostly Handy-composed blues songs backed by a Dixieland jazz band. This material is not really her forte, but she handles it capably enough. Kitt did a lot more recording after this, but these are the tracks that established her persona, and her most commercially successful performances are here. ~ William Ruhlmann