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. 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.

That Bad Eartha
Studio album by
ReleasedDecember 1953, 1954, 1956
RecordedMarch 1953 at The Manhattan Center, New York and October 1953 at RCA Victor Studio No. 2
Genre
Length37:01
Language
  • English
  • French
  • Spanish
  • Turkish
  • Swahili
Label (UK)
Producer
Eartha Kitt chronology
That Bad Eartha
(1953)
Down to Eartha
(1955)
Professional ratings
Review scores
SourceRating
AllMusic[1]

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 and His Orchestra [citation needed].

RCA released her second album, That Bad Eartha, 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.[2]

Long-playing records 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 in 1955 at #7.[3]

Many of the songs recorded for this album, such as "C'est si bon", "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, shortly before her death in December 2008. The complete album was re-issued on CD in 1994 as part of the Bear Family Records five-CD boxset Eartha – Quake; this included "Santa Baby" and several other tracks from the same recording session not included in this album.[4]

Track listings

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RCA Victor Presents Eartha Kitt (1953)

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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 double extended play. In 2010 it was issued as a digital download in select European countries under public domain with alternate artwork by Smith & Co.[5]

10-inch Long Play

Track list and notes adapted from liner notes of original release.[6]Track lengths adapted from digital release.[7]

Side A
No.TitleLength
1."I Want to Be Evil"3:30
2."C'est si bon (It's So Good)" (Sung in French)2:59
3."Angelitos Negros" (Sung in Spanish)3:27
4."Avril au Portugal (The Whisp'ring Serenade)" (Sung in French)2:52
Total length:12:48
Side B
No.TitleLength
1."Uska Dara-A Turkish Tale" (Sung in Turkish)3:07
2."African Lullaby" (Sung in English and Swahili)2:52
3."Mountain High, Valley Low"2:36
4."Lilac Wine (Dance Me A Song)"3:45
Total length:12:20
7-inch Double Extended Play

Track list and notes adapted from liner notes of original release.[8]Track lengths adapted from digital release.[7]

Side A
No.TitleLength
1."I Want To Be Evil"3:30
2."C'est si bon (It's So Good)" (Sung in French)2:59
Total length:6:29
Side B
No.TitleLength
1."Angelitos Negros" (Sung in Spanish)3:27
2."Avril au Portugal (The Whisp'ring Serenade)" (Sung in French)2:52
Total length:6:19
Side C
No.TitleLength
1."Uska Dara-A Turkish Tale" (Sung in Turkish)3:07
2."African Lullaby" (Sung in English and Swahili)2:52
Total length:5:59
Side D
No.TitleLength
1."Mountain High, Valley Low"2:36
2."Lilac Wine (Dance Me A Song)"3:45
Total length:6:21

That Bad Eartha (EP) (1954)

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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).[9]

10-inch Extended Play
Side A
No.TitleWriter(s)Length
1."Under the Bridges of Paris"
2:41
2."Let's Do It (Let's Fall in Love)"Porter3:04
3."The Blues"Ellington3:34
4."My Heart Belongs to Daddy"Porter3:01
Total length:12:20
Side B
No.TitleWriter(s)Length
1."Sandy's Tune"2:34
2."Señor"2:58
3."Smoke Gets in Your Eyes"
  • Harbach
  • Kern
3:05
4."Salanga Dou"Scott2:26
Total length:11:03
7-inch Double Extended Play

Credits adapted from label notes of original release.[10]

Side A
No.TitleWriter(s)Length
1."Under the Bridges of Paris"
  • Cochran
  • Rodor
  • Scotto
2:41
2."Let's Do It (Let's Fall in Love)" (from the musical prod. In Paris)Cole Porter3:04
Total length:5:45
Side B
No.TitleWriter(s)Length
1."The Blues"Duke Ellington3:34
2."My Heart Belongs to Daddy"Cole Porter3:01
Total length:6:35
Side C
No.TitleWriter(s)Length
2."Sandy's Tune"
  • Jimmy Kennedy
  • Nat Simon
2:34
3."Señor"
  • Harold Adamson
  • Humberto Teixeira
2:58
Total length:5:32
Side D
No.TitleWriter(s)Length
1."Smoke Gets in Your Eyes" (from the musical prod. Roberta)
  • Otto Harbach
  • Jerome Kern
3:05
2."Salanga Dou"Tom Scott2:26
Total length:5:31
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.[11] As a result, this version with catalogue number DLP 1067, released by His Master's Voice, 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.[12] The UK version of the album was released with alternative cover artwork,[13] and was later released to a compact disk compilation.[14]

Credits adapted from liner notes of original release.[13]

Side A
No.TitleWriter(s)Length
1."Under the Bridges of Paris"
  • Cochran
  • Scotto
  • Rodor
2:41
2."Let's Do It (Let's Fall in Love)" (from the musical production In Paris)Cole Porter3:04
3."The Blues"Duke Ellington3:34
4."C'est Si Bon"2:58
5."My Heart Belongs to Daddy"Cole Porter3:01
Total length:15:18
Side B
No.TitleWriter(s)Length
1."Monotonous" (from New Faces)3:47
2."Sandy's Tune"
  • Jimmy Kennedy
  • Nat Simon
2:34
3."Señor"
  • Harold Adamson
  • Humberto Teixeir
2:58
4."Smoke Gets in Your Eyes" (from Roberta)
  • Otto Harbach
  • Jerome Kern
3:05
5."Salanga Dou"Tom Scott2:26
Total length:14:50

That Bad Eartha (LP) (1956)

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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,[11] three years after a ten-track, long play version of That Bad Eartha (EP) was released in the country as a stand-alone album.[13] 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.[15] In 1984, following her international commercial success with "Where Is My Man", RCA re-issued this version of the album once again on 12-inch,[16] this time also issuing the first cassette and compact disc versions of the album in Germany, Europe, and the UK.[17] Over the course of the next two decades, RCA Victor would release at least four re-issues of the same CD version throughout Europe.[18][19][20][21] By 1994 songs from the album began becoming available in CD compilations in America by numerous record companies.[4][22] 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.[23][24] The album has since been issued in its entirety on CD by numerous record labels,[25] often in multi-album compilations, throughout the world,[12] and inevitably as a digital download.[26][27][28] 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.[12][29]

12-inch Long Play
Side A
No.TitleWriter(s)Length
1."I Want to Be Evil"
  • Lester Judson
  • Raymond Taylor
3:31
2."C'est si bon"2:58
3."Angelitos Negros"
3:27
4."Avril au Portugal (The Whisp'ring Serenade)"
2:53
5."Let's Do It (Let's Fall in Love)"Cole Porter3:04
6."My Heart Belongs to Daddy"Cole Porter3:01
Total length:18:54
Side B
No.TitleWriter(s)Length
1."Uska Dara" (A Turkish Tale)Traditional3:08
2."African Lullaby"William Greaves2:52
3."Mountain High, Valley Low"
  • Bernie Hanighen
  • Raymond Scott
2:36
4."Lilac Wine"James Shelton3:45
5."Under the Bridges of Paris"
2:41
6."Smoke Gets in Your Eyes"3:05
Total length:18:07
CD (1984)
No.TitleWriter(s)Length
1."I Want to Be Evil"
  • Lester Judson
  • Raymond Taylor
3:31
2."C'est si bon"2:58
3."Angelitos Negros"
3:27
4."Avril au Portugal (The Whisp'ring Serenade)"
2:53
5."Let's Do It (Let's Fall in Love)"Cole Porter3:04
6."My Heart Belongs to Daddy"Cole Porter3:01
7."Uska Dara" (A Turkish Tale)Traditional3:08
8."African Lullaby"William Greaves2:52
9."Mountain High, Valley Low"
  • Bernie Hanighen
  • Raymond Scott
2:36
10."Lilac Wine"James Shelton3:45
11."Under the Bridges of Paris"
2:41
12."Smoke Gets in Your Eyes"3:05
Total length:37:01
Bonus tracks (2006)[23]
No.TitleWriter(s)Length
13."Annie Doesn't Live Here Anymore" (B-side of "I Want To Be Evil")2:54
14."Two Lovers" (B-side of "Uska Dara")John Rox2:46
15."Señor"2:58
16."Santa Baby" (Non-album single)
  • Joan Javits
  • Tony Springer
3:26
17."Oh John! (Please Don't Kiss Me)" (from Down To Eartha)
2:48
18."Salangadou"Tom Scott2:26
19."Sandy's Tune"2:34
20."The Blues"Duke Ellington3:34
21."Lovin' Spree" (Non-album single)
  • Joan Javits
  • Philip Springer
2:58
22."Somebody Bad Stole de Wedding Bell" (B-side of "Lovin' Spree")David Mann2:50
23."Looking for a Boy" (from Down To Eartha)3:03
24."Lonely Girl" (unreleased)Bobby Troup3:04
Total length:72:02

That Bad Eartha (Japanese version)

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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 "Santa Baby". 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.[30]

Track list adapted from label notes of original release.[30]

Side A
No.TitleLength
1."Uska Dara-A Turkish Tale"3:08
2."Santa Baby"3:26
Total length:6:34
Side B
No.TitleLength
1."C'est Si Bon"2:58
2."Monotonous"3:47
Total length:6:45

Personnel

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Personnel adapted from AllMusic.[31] Orchestra and chorus members adapted from the liner notes of the 2006 Universe Italy CD release.[32]

Release history

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Region Date Format Label Edition
United States May 1953[6] 10-inch LP RCA Victor RCA Victor Presents Eartha Kitt
1954[8] 2×7″ Double EP
195?[33] RCA
France 1954 10-inch LP[34] RCA Victor
United States 10-inch EP, 2×7″ Double EP[35] That Bad Eartha (EP)
United Kingdom 1955[36] 10-inch LP (UK version) His Master's Voice That Bad Eartha (LP)
United States 1956 12-inch LP (standard version) RCA Victor[37]
South Africa RCA, Teal Records[38]
Canada Unknown[39] RCA Victor
United Kingdom 1958 RCA[40]
RCA Victor[41]
Germany RCA[42]
Europe
Mexico Unknown[43] RCA Victor
Japan Unknown[30] 7-inch EP (Japanese version) Victor That Bad Eartha
Netherlands 1980[15] 12-inch LP (re-issue) RCA Victor "The Originals" That Bad Eartha
Germany 1984 12-inch LP (re-issue),[44] cassette (standard version), CD (standard version)[17] (re-issued 1988–1989,[18] 1992–1993, 1998,[19] 2003[20][21] all under the original catalog #ND-89439) RCA That Bad Eartha (LP)
United Kingdom RCA, BMG Records (dist)
Europe RCA, BMG Ariola (dist)
United States 2002[45] CD (standard version) BMG Special Products That Bad Eartha / Down to Eartha
Japan Unknown[46] CD (standard version) RCA Records That Bad Eartha (LP)
Italy 30 January 2006 CD (bonus track version)[24][32] Universe Italy
United States 21 March 2006 Universe USA
Netherlands (CRREV189) 27 November 2006 (ret)[47] (imp)[47] (imp)[48] / 4 December 2006 (lis)[25] CD (standard version) (reconstructed artwork) Rev-Ola
Australia (CRREV189) Rev-Ola, Red Eye (dist)[47]
United Kingdom (CRREV189) Rev-Ola
Germany (189) 30 Jan 2007[49] CD (standard version) (reconstructed artwork) Rev-Ola, Bear Family (dist)[50]
United Kingdom / Ireland
(CR 228)
20 November 2007 (lis)[51] / 3 December 2007 (ret)[52] CD (standard version) (reconstructed artwork) (UK re-issue / IE first distributed issue), digital download (standard edition) (reconstructed artwork)[53][54] Rev-Ola, Cherry Red (dist)[55]
Spain (CR 228) 3 December 2007 (ret)[26] Digital download (standard version) (reconstructed artwork) Rev-Ola
Canada (CR 228) 11 December 2007 (ret)[56] CD (standard version) (reconstructed artwork) [import]
Austria 2008 CD (UK version)[57] Vocalation That Bad Eartha & Down to Eartha
United Kingdom 2009
United Kingdom / Ireland 16 February 2009 (ret)[28] / 19 February 2009 (lis)[12] 2xCD (standard version),[12] digital download (standard version)[28][58] Avid Easy Four Classic Albums (That Bad Eartha / Down to Eartha / Thursday's Child / St. Louis Blues)
Canada 16 February 2009 (ret)[27] digital download (standard version)
United States 11 May 2010 (ret)[59] 2xCD (standard version) [import]
Ireland 2010[5] digital download Smith & Co RCA Victor Presents Eartha Kitt
Europe /
North America (imp)[60]
9 July 2013[61][62] 4xCD Box Set (standard version) [remastered] Real Gone Jazz 7 Classic Albums (That Bad Eartha / Down to Eartha / Thursday's Child / St. Louis Blues / The Fabulous Eartha / Bad But Beautiful / The Romantic Eartha)

References

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  1. ^ "That Bad Eartha". AllMusic. All Media Guide. Retrieved 12 August 2011.
  2. ^ Whitburn, Joel (2002). Joel Whitburn's Pop Hits 1940–1954: Singles & Albums (2nd ed.). Record Research Inc. ISBN 0-898201-52-7.
  3. ^ "Eartha Kitt Under The Bridges of Paris Official Charts Company". Official Charts Company. Retrieved 17 August 2012.
  4. ^ a b "Eartha-Quake 5 CD Set – Eartha Kitt". Earthakittfanclub.com. Retrieved 12 August 2011.
  5. ^ a b RCA Victor Presents Eartha Kitt (digital), Apple Inc. and iTunes.com/ie, retrieved 26 June 2014
  6. ^ a b "RCA Victor Presents Eartha Kitt 10". discogs. Retrieved 17 June 2014.
  7. ^ a b "RCA Victor Presents Eartha Kitt". Apple Inc. and iTunes. Retrieved 17 June 2014.
  8. ^ a b "RCA Victor Presents Eartha Kitt Double EP". discogs. Retrieved 17 June 2014.
  9. ^ "That Bad Eartha 10". discogs. Retrieved 17 June 2014.
  10. ^ "That Bad Eartha Double EP". discogs. Retrieved 17 June 2014.
  11. ^ a b "That Bad Eartha 12" (UK)". discogs. Retrieved 18 June 2014.
  12. ^ a b c d e "Four Classic Albums (UK)". AllMusic. Retrieved 18 June 2014.
  13. ^ a b c "That Bad Eartha 10" (UK)". discogs. March 1955. Retrieved 17 June 2014.
  14. ^ "That Bad Eartha / Down to Eartha (UK) CD". earthakittfanclub.com. Retrieved 18 June 2014.
  15. ^ a b "That Bad Eartha (LP) (NL)". discogs. 14 November 1980. Retrieved 18 June 2014.
  16. ^ "That Bad Eartha German re-issue". discogs. 14 November 1984. Retrieved 18 June 2014.
  17. ^ a b "That Bad Eartha (CD) (Germany)". discogs. Retrieved 18 June 2014.
  18. ^ a b "Catalog #ND-89439 (1989)". earthakittfanclub.com. Retrieved 19 June 2014.
  19. ^ a b "Catalog #ND-89439 (June 30, 1998) [note: entry displays incorrect album art]". AllMusic. Retrieved 19 June 2014.
  20. ^ a b "Catalog #ND-89439 (September 2, 2003)". AllMusic. Retrieved 19 June 2014.
  21. ^ a b "Catalog #ND-89439 (November 11, 2003)". AllMusic. Retrieved 19 June 2014.
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  30. ^ a b c "That Bad Eartha Japan EP". eBay. Retrieved 18 June 2014.
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  32. ^ a b "That Bad Eartha (Bonus Tracks) (CD)". © 1997-2014 barnesandnoble.com Ilc. Retrieved 18 June 2014.
  33. ^ "RCA Victor Presents Eartha Kitt 2×7" RCA (no Victor)". earthakittfanclub.com. Retrieved 18 June 2014.
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  35. ^ "That Bad Eartha (EP) releases". discogs. Retrieved 18 June 2014.
  36. ^ "That Bad Eartha (UK Version)". discogs. March 1955. Retrieved 19 June 2014.
  37. ^ "That Bad Eartha (LP) (US)". discogs. Retrieved 18 June 2014.
  38. ^ "That Bad Eartha (LP) (SA)". discogs. Retrieved 18 June 2014.
  39. ^ http://www.gemm.com/store/SUPERECORD/item/KITT-EARTHA-THAT-BAD-EARTHA-LP/764081960 [dead link]
  40. ^ "That Bad Eartha (LP) (UK) (RCA Label)". discogs. Retrieved 18 June 2014.
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