Eartha Kitt and Me... — Vinyl Magic

We're all rejected people, we know what it is to be refused, we know what it is to be oppressed, depressed, and then, accused, and I am very much cognizant of that feeling. Nothing in the world is more painful than rejection.
Eartha Kitt

That Bad Eartha (1953) signed by Eartha — ***That Bad Eartha (1953)*** signed by Eartha

A man has always wanted to lay me down but he never wanted to pick me up.
Eartha Kitt

Santa Baby (1953) signed by Eartha — ***Santa Baby (1953)*** signed by Eartha

An actor, chanteuse, and performer, I saw Eartha Kitt for the first time in the mid 1980s at the Paramount Hotel's Supper Club in New York City. A red velvet chaise lounge was placed in the center of the stage. No mere prop or an affectation, Eartha was draped languorously on the chaise, and she sang some of her best known songs: "C'est Si Bon" in French, "Uska Dara" in Turkish, "I Want To Be Evil" in English, and "Angelitos Negros" in Spanish. Fluent in four languages, she sang in seven, and Eartha seduced the entire audience, male and female, with her sensuous, provocative and sultry stage presence.

At The Plaza (1965) signed by Eartha — ***At The Plaza (1965)*** signed by Eartha

She lived an incredible life. Born on a plantation in South Carolina, Eartha became a dancer with Katherine Dunham in New York City in 1943, performed on Broadway in the 1950s, had six Top 40 hits, and played Cat Woman on the popular Bat Man TV series in 1967. Her career was abruptly derailed by her comments at a White House luncheon in 1968. When Lady Bird Johnson asked her about the Vietnam War, Kitt replied, "You send the best of this country off to be shot and maimed. No wonder the kids rebel and take pot." She spent the next ten years performing mostly in Europe and Asia. Evidently the Black List didn't end with Senator Joe McCarthy in the 1950s, nor did it begin with James Spader In 2013.

Eartha Kitt Revisited (1960) signed by Eartha — ***Eartha Kitt Revisited (1960)*** signed by Eartha

In the early 1990s, I saw her perform another riveting show at Blues Alley in Washington, DC and met with her backstage. I handed her some albums to sign and I told her how beautiful she looked on Revisited. Eartha replied, “You know that white dress was one of my favorites. I had a three week engagement at “The Talk Of The Town” in London, and I wore it every night. Of course, I sent the dress to the cleaners each day to keep it fresh. On the last night, my straps broke! That was quite a show,” she laughed. I told her how I wished I were there. She smiled demurely and thought I was kidding. I was not. I was hoping that her straps would break that night and every subsequent night. And I wasn't alone, Eartha was mesmerizing and smoldering well into her seventies.

I Love Men (1984) signed by Eartha — ***I Love Men (1984)*** signed by Eartha

She once said, "I do not have an act. I just do Eartha Kitt....I want to be whoever Eartha Kitt is until the gods take me wherever they take me." She was the original Material Girl, except she had real talent.