The Encyclopedia of Dead Rock Stars (350 page)

She was once described by no less than Orson Welles as ‘the most exciting woman alive’, and the fabled director’s chance discovery of this little-known chanteuse in Paris was a key factor in her rise to prominence. Mixed-race Kitt had survived a difficult upbringing - she was even uncertain of her natural parentage; yet she earned herself a scholarship at the Katherine Dunham stage and dance school, and her natural talent enabled her to find work in Europe. With Welles casting her as Helen of Troy in his 1950 staging of
Dr Faustus,
Kitt gathered widespread plaudits for her talents, not to mention a series of spots on the club circuit when she returned to New York.

Eartha Kitt by now had perfected her legendary ‘purring vamp’ routine, winning herself a recording contract after an extraordinary, show-stealing performance at Broadway’s
New Faces of 1952 Revue.
Her somewhat Americanized version of ‘C’est Si Bon’ later became a Top Ten hit on the pop charts. The singer’s first pair of albums,
RCA Victor Presents Eartha Kitt
and
That Bad Eartha
(both 1953) secured Top Five chart placings, as did her memorable rendition of ‘Santa Baby’ that Christmas. But Kitt was always destined to be much, much more than merely a recording artist.

With the hits drying up after 1956 - plus the increasing demands made upon her as an actress and performer -Kitt threw herself further into cabaret and screen work (she was notably -and perfectly - cast as Catwoman in TV’s
Batman).
Her acting work was to dominate her professional life throughout the 1960s and ‘70s. During 1968, however, the star reportedly reduced Lady Bird Johnson to tears with some scathing remarks about the continued presence of US soldiers in Vietnam -comments which are now seen by many to be both sage and pertinent. At what might politely be described as a ‘delicate’ time for the US government, Kitt’s behaviour was considered outrageous, and the singer found herself blacklisted both by record labels and nervous event organisers for some years. The CIA also attempted to discredit Kitt - denouncing her as a ‘moral-free nymphomaniac’ - a move that prompted the artist to move back to Europe for the next decade. (Kitt’s much misunderstood 1974 tour of pro-apartheid South Africa was tempered by the fact that, where possible, she played to integrated audiences.)

While she continued to flourish in Europe, she found little success on the charts again - until the dance music craze saw her pop up with an excellent version of ‘Where Is My Man?’ (1983) that not only restored her US profile by rising into the Dance Top Ten, but also gave her an unlikely Top Forty hit in Britain. The singer’s only additional foray into the UK listings was 1989’s bizarre cut ‘Cha Cha Heels’ with Scottish high-NRG act Bronski Beat (although given Kitt’s continued appeal within the gay scene, perhaps this wasn’t such a surprise).

A constant stream of television and movie bookings - not to mention tireless human rights activism - maintained Eartha Kitt’s popularity into the new century, while her distinctive vocal style positively smoldered with the onset of age. For some time, it appeared that she would even overcome 2006’s colon cancer diagnosis. However, it was not to be: Kitt passed away on Christmas Day 2008, at her home in Weston, Connecticut.

Golden Oldies #85

Delaney Bramlett

(Pontotoc, Mississippi, 1 July 1939)

Delaney & Bonnie (& Friends)

(The Shindogs)

US singer, songwriter and multi-instrumentalist Delaney Bramlett will primarily be remembered as one half of Delaney & Bonnie, the husband and wife duo that attracted some of rock’s biggest names to their collective.

Bramlett moved from Mississippi to California (via the navy), working as a session musician and playing alongside noted bluesman Leon Russell in TV house band, The Shindogs. Working with such crossover artists as Mac Davis and J J Cale, Bramlett had made something of a name for himself, but it was meeting former teenage ‘Ikette’ Bonnie O’Farrell in 1967 that was to prove the life-changer. The powerful singer provided a much-needed focal point for Delaney’s music; they also married later that year. The newlyweds gradually found their way as a duo, signing first with Stax, then Elektra, and their unique blend of blues and folk rock began to gather an audience.

‘I do not have an act. I just do “Eartha Kitt”. That little urchin cotton-picker from the south.’

The mischievous Ms K

And this was no ordinary audience. The group generally toured as ‘Delaney & Bonnie & Friends’, such was the variety of other musicians to become involved. Eric Clapton was an early follower, touring with Bramlett and O’Farrell in 1969. This series of concerts spawned the album
On Tour with Eric Clapton
(1970), and the pair went on to contribute songs to Clapton’s solo debut album. Despite this, Delaney & Bonnie’s own album sales proved sluggish until signing briefly with Apple (while still at Elektra, to both labels’ chagrin). This move was thanks to a meeting with soon-to-be-ex-Beatle George Harrison, who had also joined the pair on stage and to whom Bramlett taught slide guitar - directly inspiring composition of the transatlantic chart-topper ‘My Sweet Lord’ (1971). Others to work with the Bramletts included the Allman brothers, Bobby Whitlock, Gram Parsons, Dave Mason, Rita Coolidge and, once again, Russell. After many records (including two Top Twenty singles in 1971), and several songwriting credits for others - most notably, ‘Superstar’, which became a gold-selling hit for The Carpenters - Bramlett and O’Farrell went their separate ways, divorcing in 1972. (The pair begat vocalist Bekka Bramlett, best known for her work with Fleetwood Mac.)

Bramlett continued to record both solo and with ‘friends’ into the seventies. Although he issued a number of fleetingly popular albums for a variety of labels, his lasting work is undoubtedly that written, recorded or performed with O’Farrell. Delaney Bramlett died on 27 December 2008, after complications from gall bladder surgery.

See also
George Harrison (
November 2001)

Lest We Forget

Other notable deaths that occurred sometime during 2008:

Eddy Arnold
(revered singer who scored countless country number ones with songs like 1965’s ‘Make the World Go Away’, which also gave him a Billboard Top Ten hit; born Henderson, Tennessee, 15/5/1918; natural causes, 8/5–one week shy of his ninetieth birthday)

Dan Bennie
(doo-wop second tenor with The Reflections, who scored a US Top 10 hit with 1964’s ‘(Just Like) Romeo and Juliet’; born St Johnstone, Scotland, 13/3/1940; illness, 7/4)

Pete Carter
(British pianist/guitarist/drummer/sax player with chart stars Emile Ford & The Checkmates, who hit UK #1 with 1959’s ‘What Do You Want to Make Those Eyes at Me For’–he also worked with The Bachelors, Jet Harris and Cliff Richard; born Farcet, Huntingdonshire, 1935; illness, 8/12)

Opal Courtney Jr
(pioneering US singer with vocal band The Spaniels, who scored pop/R & B hits with ‘Baby It’s You’ and ‘Goodnite Sweetheart, Goodnite’ in 1953-54–they later toured with the Winter Dance Party that proved fatal for Buddy Holly et al; born Gary, Indiana, 22/11/1936; heart attack, 18/9–just eighteen months after the death of leader ‘Pookie’ Hudson)

Les Crane
(US radio/TV host who interviewed The Rolling Stones and Bob Dylan–he scored a Billboard Top Ten hit in 1971 with the Grammy-winning ‘Desiderata’; born Lesley Stein, Long Beach, New York, 3/12/1933; natural causes, 13/7)

Jerry Finn
(US punk/alternative producer who worked with Offspring, Green Day, Rancid, Bad Religion, Pennywise, Blink-182 and Morrissey; born 31/3/1969; his life support was switched off after a brain haemorrhage the previous month, 21/8)

Alan Gordon
(revered US pop songwriter who penned a number of songs for The Turtles, including the 1967 #1 ‘Happy Together’–he also played with The Magicians and wrote for Gary Lewis & The Playboys, Petula Clark, Three Dog Night, The Lovin’ Spoonful and Barbra Streisand; born Natick, Massachusetts, 22/4/1944; cancer, in Scottsdale, Arizona, 22/11)

Russ Hamilton
(UK pop singer/songwriter who scored 1957 Top Five hits in the UK with ‘We Will Make Love’ and in the US with b-side ‘Rainbow’; born Ronald Hulme, Liverpool, 19/1/1932; natural causes, in North Wales, 11/10)

Kenny MacLean
(Scottish-Canadian bassist/ songwriter with new wave/pop band Platinum Blonde, who scored an indigenous #1 with 1985’s ‘Crying Over You’; born Glasgow, 9/1/1956; heart failure at his Yonge Street apartment–just days after issuing a third solo album, 24/11)

Miriam Makeba
(‘The Empress of African Song’–she bagged a major US hit with 1962’s ‘Pata Pata’, sang with The Skylarks and was briefly married to Hugh Masakela; born Prospect Township, Johannesburg, 4/3/1932; heart attack, 9/11)

Johnny ‘Dizzy’ Moore
(Jamaican ska/reggae trumpeter who was a founding member of the legendary Skatalites–also a member of The Cavaliers and The Soul Vendors; born Kingston, 5/8/1938; colon cancer, 16/8)