Born in tiny North, South Carolina to Mamie Kitt, who was of Cherokee and African-American descent, and an American father (surname Kitt) of German and Dutch descent, she was raised by her maternal aunt Anna Mae Riley, whom she believed was her mother up until after Riley's death, when she was sent to live in New York City with her real mother.
Kitt began her career as a member of the Katherine Dunham Company and made her film debut with them in Casbah (1948). A talented singer with a distinctive voice, her hits include Let's Do It, C'est Si Bon (It's So Good), Just an Old Fashioned Girl, Monotonous, Love for Sale, I'd Rather Be Burned as a Witch, Uska Dara, Mink, Schmink, Under the Bridges of Paris, and arguably her most recognizable hit, the sexily sung Christmas song Santa Baby. She sang quite a few songs in French, a language she picked up during her years performing in Europe, but she never lost her American accent, which made her French songs sound rather amusing to native French speakers. She dabbled in other languages as well, which she demonstrated in many of the live recordings of her cabaret performances.
In 1950, Orson Welles gave her her first starring role, as Helen of Troy in his staging of Dr. Faustus. A few years later, she was cast in the revue New Faces of 1952, introducing "Monotonous", "C'est Si Bon" and "Santa Baby", three songs with which she continues to be identified. During her run, 20th Century Fox filmed a version of the play. Welles and Kitt allegedly had a torrid affair during her run in Shinbone Alley, which earned her the nickname by Welles as "the most exciting woman in the world". In 1958, Kitt made her feature film debut opposite Sidney Poitier in The Mark of the Hawk. Throughout the rest of the 1950s and early 1960s, Kitt would work on and off in film, television and on nightclub stages. In the late 1960s television series Batman, she played Catwoman after Julie Newmar left the role. This was the role for which she would best be remembered, owing to her purring feline drawl.
In 1968, however, Kitt encountered a substantial professional setback after she made anti-war statements during a White House luncheon that reportedly made First Lady Lady Bird Johnson weep uncontrollably. Professionally exiled from the U.S., she devoted her energies to overseas performances before returning to New York in a triumphant turn in the Broadway spectacle Timbuktu! (a version of the perennial Kismet set in Africa) in 1978. In the musical, one song gives a 'recipe' for mahoun, a preparation of cannabis, in which her sultry purring rendition of the refrain "constantly stirring with a long wooden spoon" was distinctive.
In 1984, she returned to hit music with a dance song, Where Is My Man; the first certified Gold record of her career. Kitt found new audiences in nightclubs across the country, including a whole new generation of gay male fans, and she responded by frequently giving benefit performances in support of HIV/AIDS organizations.
In 2000, Kitt again returned to Broadway in the short but notable run of the revival of the 1920s-themed, The Wild Party, opposite Mandy Patinkin and Toni Collette. In 2003, she replaced Chita Rivera in Nine. In recent years she had also appeared as the Wicked Witch in the North American national touring company of The Wizard of Oz.
One of her more unusual roles was as Kaa the python in a 1994 BBC Radio adaptation of The Jungle Book. Kitt lent her distinctive voice to the role of Yzma in Disney's The Emperor's New Groove and also did other voiceover work such as the voice of Queen Vexus on the animated TV series My Life as a Teenage Robot. She continued her role as Yzma on the spin-off TV series of The Emperor's New Groove, The Emperor's New School.
In recent years, Kitt's annual appearances in New York made her a fixture of the Manhattan cabaret scene. She took the stage at venues such as the Ballroom and, more recently, the Café Carlyle to explore and define her highly stylized image, alternating between signature songs (such as "Old Fashioned Millionaire"), which emphasized a witty, mercenary world-weariness, and less familiar repertoire, much of which she performed with an unexpected ferocity and bite that presented her as a survivor with a seemingly bottomless reservoir of resilience - her version of Here's to Life, frequently used as a closing number, was a sterling example of the latter. This side of her later performances is reflected in at least one of her recordings, Thinking Jazz, which preserves a series of performances with a small jazz combo that took place in the early 1990s in Germany, and which includes both standards (Smoke Gets in Your Eyes) and numbers (such as Something May Go Wrong) that seem more specifically tailored to her talents; one version of the CD includes as bonus performances a fierce, angry Yesterdays and a live take of "C'est Si Bon" that good-humoredly satirizes her sex-kitten persona.
Personal life
Kitt was married to John William McDonald, an associate of a real-estate investment company, from 1960 to 1965. They had one child, a daughter, Kitt (b. 1962, married Charles Lawrence Shapiro); and two grandchildren, Jason and Rachel Shapiro.
Eartha Kitt died of colon cancer on Christmas Day, December 25, 2008.
Cha Cha Heels
Eartha Kitt Lyrics
Jump to: Overall Meaning ↴ Line by Line Meaning ↴
Are you ready heels? Stop stomping!
Here I am looking for crime I'm looking for some action
What I have a million times will give you satisfaction
So don't you mess around with me you won't know what to do
'Cause I'll put on my cha cha heels and walk all over you.
Gimme gimme cha cha heels.
All I want is cha cha heels
Gimme gimme cha cha heels
If I don't get my cha cha heels
I'll walk all over you.
Dressed up just for trouble to do what must be done
I'm gonna burst your bubble, the fun has just begun
So don't you mess around with me you won't know what to do
'Cause I'll put on my cha cha heels and walk all over you.
(chorus)
I'm all dressed up and ready to fall in love!
I'm all dressed up. Gimme Gimme Gimme!
Going back to Boise I'm itching for a fight
I'm looking for a lover who loves my dynamite
So don't you mess around with me you won't know what to do
'Cause I'll put on my cha cha heels and walk all over you.
(chorus)
Are you ready heels? Stop stomping!
Eartha Kitt's song "Cha Cha Heels" is a sassy and confident tune about a woman who is all dressed up and ready for some action, looking for trouble and a lover who can keep up with her. The lyrics are playful and flirtatious, with a bit of an edge to them. The singer is clearly a woman who knows what she wants and is not afraid to go after it.
The song opens with the singer announcing that she is "all dressed up and ready to fall in love." She then commands her heels to stop stomping, perhaps indicating her eagerness to get moving and find some excitement. She declares that she is "looking for crime" and "looking for some action," suggesting that she is ready for anything that comes her way. The singer then makes a bold statement, saying that what she has to offer will give her potential lover "satisfaction" a million times over. She warns him not to mess around with her, because she will put on her cha cha heels and walk all over him. The chorus repeats the lines "Gimme gimme cha cha heels / All I want is cha cha heels / Gimme gimme cha cha heels," with the singer claiming that she will walk all over anyone who doesn't give her what she wants.
In the second verse, the singer is still dressed up and looking for trouble. She claims to be "dressed up just for trouble to do what must be done" and announces that she is going to "burst [her potential lover's] bubble" because the fun has just begun. Once again, she warns him not to mess around with her, as she will walk all over him in her cha cha heels. The chorus repeats once again.
The final verse sees the singer heading back to Boise, Idaho, and itching for a fight. She declares that she is "looking for a lover who loves [her] dynamite" and warns him not to mess around with her or he'll get what's coming to him. The song ends with the playful refrain of "Are you ready heels? Stop stomping!"
Overall, "Cha Cha Heels" is a song about a woman who knows what she wants and is not afraid to go after it. The lyrics are cheeky and fun, with a hint of danger and excitement. The song is a testament to Eartha Kitt's talent as a performer, with her sultry voice and confident delivery making the lyrics come to life.
Line by Line Meaning
I'm all dressed up and ready to fall in love.
I'm ready to start a new powerful adventure.
Are you ready heels? Stop stomping!
Get prepared to help me win the game.
Here I am looking for crime I'm looking for some action
I'm looking for something thrilling to do.
What I have a million times will give you satisfaction
I've already been successful many times and can offer you a satisfying experience.
So don't you mess around with me you won't know what to do
Do not underestimate me, I'm very capable.
'Cause I'll put on my cha cha heels and walk all over you.
If needed, I'll take charge and dominate you.
Gimme gimme cha cha heels.
I'm eager to wear my dancing shoes, cha cha heels.
All I want is cha cha heels
I'm passionate about my cha cha heels, they are my favorite accessory.
If I don't get my cha cha heels, I'll walk all over you.
Without my cha cha heels, I will be angry and may unintentionally harm others.
Dressed up just for trouble to do what must be done
I'm willing to cause trouble in order to achieve my goals.
I'm gonna burst your bubble, the fun has just begun
I'm going to challenge you and this exchange is just getting started.
I'm all dressed up. Gimme Gimme Gimme!
I am anticipating the next adventure, so let's get started!
Going back to Boise I'm itching for a fight
I'm looking for conflict and arguments, and that is what I will find in Boise.
I'm looking for a lover who loves my dynamite
I'm searching for someone who will appreciate my personality and dynamism.
Lyrics © O/B/O APRA AMCOS
Lyrics Licensed & Provided by LyricFind
@Wolfhoundersful
I'm all dressed up and ready to fall in love.
Are you ready heels? Stop stomping!
Here I am looking for crime I'm looking for some action
What I have a million times will give you satisfaction
So don't you mess around with me you won't know what to do
'Cause I'll put on my cha cha heels and walk all over you.
Gimme gimme cha cha heels.
All I want is cha cha heels
Gimme gimme cha cha heels
If I don't get my cha cha heels
I'll walk all over you.
Dressed up just for trouble to do what must be done
I'm gonna burst your bubble, the fun has just begun
So don't you mess around with me you won't know what to do
'Cause I'll put on my cha cha heels and walk all over you.
Gimme gimme cha cha heels.
All I want is cha cha heels
Gimme gimme cha cha heels
If I don't get my cha cha heels
I'll walk all over you.
I'm all dressed up and ready to fall in love!
I'm all dressed up. Gimme Gimme Gimme!
Going back to Boise I'm itching for a fight
I'm looking for a lover who loves my dynamite
So don't you mess around with me you won't know what to do
'Cause I'll put on my cha cha heels and walk all over you.
Gimme gimme cha cha heels.
All I want is cha cha heels
Gimme gimme cha cha heels
If I don't get my cha cha heels
I'll walk all over you.
Are you ready heels? Stop stomping!
@Mike-df1ye
Eartha's wonderful tribute to Divine, who had just died the year before. I was fortunate to meet Divine once in the mid-1980s. Both he and Eartha were absolutely beloved and absolute legends. I remember dancing to this song in the clubs back in the day. Great memories...
@terrenceragin5555
There was no one like Eartha Kitt
@01zegar
she didnt want rercord it...but it gives her alot of money like this is my live, she didnt want to record this.Jazz was her life. it was 80s everybody needed disco
@SteveL-qw4rp
she was a great singer voice actress and a great person
@ron-waynehoekstra7007
We were young and beautiful together for a while in the 80s . Oh just one more round on the Merry go Round , please dear God .
@NeilBHINRGBOY
Would have been amazing too have heard Divine singing this
@koannhanchau7893
Merci pour votre partage.elle est belle.cette chanson. c'est la première fois j'entends. Ea r tha Kitt forever❤️❤️❤️🌹👍
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@WhippetOut
The Divine Eartha Kitt. Both legendary. Two icons.
@RideOnTime1
Beyond camp. ❤
@SallyWilliams
Remembering Eartha, today on her Birthday. A Legend