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.
This Year's Santa Baby
Eartha Kitt Lyrics
Jump to: Overall Meaning ↴ Line by Line Meaning ↴
But December is here
Santa Baby, so hurry down the chimney tonight
Santa Baby, that Cadillac is falling apart, won't start
A private plane would be smart
Santa Baby, so hurry down the chimney tonight
Though the yacht was rather sheik
Last week it sprang a leak
And so please, now, hold your breath
Buy me the Queen Elizabeth
Santa Baby, that sable's really not in the pink
Just think, how I'd look in white mink
Santa Baby, and hurry down the chimney tonight
Santa Darlin, I need some land so please be my host
To most of the Florida coast
Santa Baby, and hurry down the chimney tonight
Santa Cutie, and please help out my pet charity
You see, Naturally that's me
Santa Cutie, so hurry down the chimney tonight
Bring a nice big Christmas box
Filled with plain old ordinary common stocks
And please trim up my tree this Yule
With one large pear shaped swimming pool
Santa Baby, for every little trinket you give
I live, be appreciative
Santa Baby, and hurry down the chimney tonight
Hurry down the chimney tonight
There's only 365 days till Christmas...
In Eartha Kitt's song "This Year's Santa Baby," the singer is addressing Santa Claus with a list of extravagant requests. The singer reflects on the previous year's gifts and expresses appreciation for them, but also acknowledges that some of them have fallen apart or are no longer fashionable. The song mentions a Cadillac that won't start and a yacht that has sprang a leak. The singer wants Santa Claus to buy her the Queen Elizabeth, which is a clearly unrealistic request. Additionally, she mentions that her sable fur is not in good condition and requests a new fur, the white mink.
The requests become increasingly outlandish as she asks for a piece of land on the Florida coast and a pear-shaped swimming pool to decorate her tree. With each request, she flirts with Santa, calling him "Santa Baby" and "Santa Darlin'" which highlights the playfulness and flirtatious nature of the song. She even asks for Santa to donate to her pet charity, which turns out to be herself, and to bring her a box full of ordinary stocks. The song ends with the singer reminding Santa that there are only 365 days until Christmas, implying that she expects him to work on fulfilling her requests all year.
Line by Line Meaning
Santa Baby, I must admit that you were a dear last year
I must confess that you were very kind to me last Christmas
But December is here
However, it's already December, and I need your help again
Santa Baby, so hurry down the chimney tonight
Please come quickly down the chimney tonight, Santa
Santa Baby, that Cadillac is falling apart, won't start
My Cadillac is completely broken and unable to start
A private plane would be smart
So, I think a private plane would be a smart investment
Though the yacht was rather sheik
Even though the yacht used to be stylish
Now it's really shot
It's in really bad shape now
Last week it sprang a leak
It even had a leak last week
And so please, now, hold your breath
So, please hold your breath for my next request
Buy me the Queen Elizabeth
Buy me the Queen Elizabeth ship, Santa
Santa Baby, that sable's really not in the pink
My sable fur coat is not in good condition, Santa
Just think, how I'd look in white mink
Imagine how great I would look in a white mink coat
Santa Baby, and hurry down the chimney tonight
Please, hurry down the chimney tonight, Santa
Santa Darlin, I need some land so please be my host
I need some land, Santa, please help me out and be my host
To most of the Florida coast
I need land on most of the Florida coast
Santa Baby, and hurry down the chimney tonight
Hurry down the chimney tonight, Santa
Santa Cutie, and please help out my pet charity
Santa, please help me support my favorite pet charity
You see, Naturally that's me
Because supporting animals is natural for me
Santa Cutie, so hurry down the chimney tonight
Hurry down the chimney tonight, Santa Cutie
Bring a nice big Christmas box
Bring a large Christmas gift box
Filled with plain old ordinary common stocks
Fill it with ordinary common stocks
And please trim up my tree this Yule
Also, please decorate my Christmas tree this year
With one large pear shaped swimming pool
And add a large, pear-shaped swimming pool to the decorations
Santa Baby, for every little trinket you give
For every small gift you give me, Santa
I live, be appreciative
I am grateful and appreciative
Santa Baby, and hurry down the chimney tonight
Please, hurry down the chimney tonight, Santa
Hurry down the chimney tonight
Hurry down the chimney tonight, Santa
There's only 365 days till Christmas...
There's only one year until the next Christmas
Contributed by Alice B. Suggest a correction in the comments below.
Hadam10Rose
Didn't even know this sequel existed until last year. Radio randomly play the two in a row.
Jim Bannon
Funny I was turned onto this gem and when I started a radio show this year I put both versions on. Most people have not heard this one and it is so playful it’s fun for the listener.
The Jupiter 2
THIS really is a rarity. I think the reason it didn't catch on was because it was too wordy and descriptive about what went wrong with last years presents and what she wants them exchanged for. The first version in 1953 was funnier because she just went through her list of what she wanted and the list was funny.
MY Christmas is never complete until I hear her sing the original version and then I miss her so much that i just wind up listening to a ton of her recordings, esp. her beautiful beautiful French songs. It still saddens me on Christmas in that she passed away on a Christmas morning and all the radio and TV stations played her orig. song repeatedly with each broadcast, even after midnight
R I P Eartha Kitt. we are still singing and playing your music into 2016 :)
Gerald Colsher
Eartha was the best. A pre catwoman voice.
matty binder
Both versions great, can hear Catwoman in each note. Eartha was the best.
Boots Armstrong
I got lucky and have this on a cd but on that cd they list the title as "Santa Baby". You would never know it's part II. Glad to learn the correct title and year it was released.
Peter Emmert
Much better rhyme structure than the original
Robert Tsikretsis
Love it.Barry Manilow has a great version of “Baby it’s Cold Outside) with K.T.Oslin. Check it out on YouTube.👍👍👍
Yung Dynamic
You can hear it in her voice that she didnt want to record this lol
A.K.
Queen Elizabeth is still here, seven decades later....