Category: Eartha Kitt

Eartha Kitt & Bronski Beat – Cha Cha Heels (UK 12″)

Burning The Ground Exclusive 1989

Pioneering gay band Bronski Beat meets gay Icon Eartha Kitt who has precisely the qualities that make for a true Gay Icon: A history of anguish, abandonment, and alienation, mixed with a campy and sexually audacious stage act along with the necessary elements of artifice and aggrandizement. Plus, there is that unique, sultry purr of a voice. Kitt appeared at many LGBTQ fundraisers and she spent a great deal of her time dedicating herself to working with the Gay Men’s Health Crisis and other HIV/AIDS charities. Her 1989 single Cha-Cha Heels, recorded with Bronski Beat, was thumping away at the dance clubs during the worst years of the plague and the club kids and the older clones fell in love with Kitt.

In 1989, Jonathan Hellyer became Bronski Beat’s lead singer, and the band extensively toured the U.S. and Europe with backup vocalist Annie Conway. They achieved one minor hit with the song “Cha Cha Heels”, a one-off collaboration sung by American actress and singer Eartha Kitt, which peaked at 32 in the UK. The song was originally written for movie and recording star Divine, who was unable to record the song before his death in 1988.

SIDE A:
Cha Cha Heels (12 Inch Version) 6:40
Effects [Additional Wacky Bits] – Danny Hyde
Engineer – Danny Hyde, Graham Bonnett
Engineer [Assisted By] – Peter Lorimer, Rob Miller (4)
Keyboards – Rod Gammons, Steve Bronski, Willi Mowat
Mixed By – Graham Bonnett, Rod Gammons
Programmed By [Atari / C-Lab Programming] – Rod Gammons
Programmed By [MMT8 Programming] – Steve Bronski
Programmed By [Yamaha QXI Programming] – Larry Steinbachek
Vocals – Eartha Kitt, Jonathan Hillyer
Written-By – Larry Steinbachek, Steve Bronski

Cha Cha Heels (Radio Mix) 3:48
Effects [Additional Wacky Bits] – Danny Hyde
Engineer – Danny Hyde, Graham Bonnett
Engineer [Assisted By] – Peter Lorimer, Rob Miller (4)
Keyboards – Rod Gammons, Steve Bronski, Willi Mowat
Mixed By – Graham Bonnett, Rod Gammons
Programmed By [Atari / C-Lab Programming] – Rod Gammons
Programmed By [MMT8 Programming] – Steve Bronski
Programmed By [Yamaha QXI Programming] – Larry Steinbachek
Vocals – Eartha Kitt, Jonathan Hillyer
Written-By – Larry Steinbachek, Steve Bronski

SIDE B:
My Discarded Men 3:39
Arranged By – Rod Gammons
Backing Vocals, Whistling – Jonathan Hillyer
Double Bass – Peter
Engineer – Peter Lorimer
Finger Snaps – Peter*, Peter Lorimer, Steve Bronski
Mixed By – Peter Lorimer, Rod Gammons
Trombone – Peter Lorimer
Vocals – Eartha Kitt
Written-By – Eartha Kitt, Rod Gammons, Steve Bronski

VINYL GRADE:
Vinyl: Near Mint
Sleeve: Near Mint

RELEASE INFORMATION:
Label: Arista – 612331, Arista – 612 331
Format: Vinyl, 12″, 45 RPM
Country: UK
Released: 1989
Genre: Electronic
Style: Synth-pop

CREDITS:

NOTES:
“Cha Cha Heels”: Recorded and Re-mixed digitally at Berwick Street Studios, London.

A Starcoast Production

Manufactured in England

Buy the 12″ at DISCOGS

VINYL TRANSFER & AUDIO RESTORATION:
-DjPaulT
burningtheground.net

THE GEAR:
Turntable: Technics SL-1200MK7
Cartridge/Stylus:  Ortofon 2M Black PnP MkII
Turntable Isolation Platform: ISO-Tone™ Turntable Isolation Platform
Platter: Pro Spin Acrylic Mat
Stabilizer: Pro-Ject Record Puck
Phono Pre-amp: Pro-Jec Tube Box DS2
Tubes: Genalex Gold Lion 12AX7 ECC83/B759 Gold Pins Vacuum Tube – Matched Pair
DAC: Alpha Design Labs GT40a USB DAC
Record Cleaning: VPI HW 16.5 Record Cleaning Machine
Artwork Scans: Epson Workforce WF-7610 Professional Printer/Scanner

SOFTWARE:
Recording/Editing: Adobe Audition 3.0 (Recording)
Down Sampling/Dither: iZotope RX Advanced 2
Artwork Editor: Adobe Photoshop CS5
Click Removal: Manual
FLAC/MP3 Conversion: dBpoweramp
M3U Playlist: Playlist Creator

RESTORATION NOTES:
All vinyl rips are recorded @ 32bit/float
FLAC (Level Eight)
Artwork scanned at 600dpi

**24bit FLAC Only Available For Seven Days!


Password: burningtheground

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Eartha kitt – Where Is My Man (US 12″)

BURNING THE GROUND EXCLUSIVE 1983

A. Front

DISCO FRIDAY!

“Where Is My Man” is the title of a song from 1983 by the American singer and actress Eartha Kitt, which appeared on her 1984 album I Love Men The song was co-written by comedy writer Bruce Vilanch along with musicians and producers Fred Zarr and Jacques Morali.

The song was first released in France as a single where it was wildly successful. The song features Kitt singing in a low, seductive-sounding voice. Included in the song are some sounds that have come to be associated with Kitt, including a purring sound similar to one she made while portraying Catwoman on the 1960s TV series Batman. The lyrics to the song detail specific things the singer expects to receive from her future lover, such as a trip to Saint-Tropez and shopping at Tiffany’s.

The title failed to find release in the United States until the producers’ attorneys (the firm of Grubman, Indursky, Shindler) introduced the title to their client, New York based Streetwise Records. Streetwise Records released the title in late 1983 in the United States to the dance and club markets. It was Kitt’s first recording released in the United States after her ostracism and self-imposed exile to Paris following her outspoken objection to the Vietnam War at a White House function in 1968, and it became her biggest-selling single in 30 years.

In the United Kingdom, “Where Is My Man” reached the Top 40 on the UK Singles Chart, where it peaked at #36. This was her first UK Hit single in 28 years, the previous chart entry, “Under The Bridges of Paris” dating from 1955. The single was also a hit in dance clubs around the world peaking at #5 in Sweden and #22 in Netherlands. In the US, the song made the Top 10 on the Billboard Hot Dance Club Play chart, peaking at #7 and remaining on the survey for 14 weeks.

SIDE A:
Where Is My Man (Vocal) 6:24
Remix – Steve Thompson

SIDE B:
Where Is My Man (Instrumental) 5:10
Remix – Steve Thompson

VINYL GRADE:
Vinyl: Near Mint
Sleeve: Near Mint

CHARTS:

Year Single Chart Position
1983 Where Is My Man U.S. Billboard Hot Dance/Club Play #7

 

RELEASE INFORMATION:
Label: Streetwise ‎– SWRL 2217
Format: Vinyl, 12″, 33 RPM
Country: US
Released: 1983
Genre: Electronic
Style: Disco
Credits: Arranged By – F. Zarr*, J. Morali*
Engineer – B. Scheniman*
Engineer [Assisted By] – M. Pollack*
Executive Producer – Henri Belolo
Mastered By – Herbie Jr.*
Producer – Jacques Morali
Strings – H. Ott*
Written-By – B. Vilanch*, F. Zarr*, J. Morali*

NOTES:
Produced for Can’t Stop Productions, Inc.
Recorded & Mixed at Power Station, NYC.
Jacket made in Canada
Special versions from the LP “I LOVE MEN”

Find The 12″ On DISCOGS

B. Back

EQUIPMENT USED:
Turntable: Pro-Ject Debut III
Cartridge: Ortofon Super
Stylus: Ortofon OM Stylus 30
Bellari VP130 Tube Phono Preamp
Soundcard: ESI Juli@
VPI HW 16.5 Record Cleaning Machine
Brother MFC-6490CW Professional Series Scanner

SOFTWARE USED:
Adobe Audition 3.0 (Recording)
Adobe Photoshop CS5
ClickRepair
dBpoweramp
Playlist Creator

RESTORATION NOTES:
All vinyl rips are recorded @ 32bit/float
Downsampled to 24bit/96kHz and16bit /44kHz using iZotope RX Advanced 2
FLAC (Level Eight)
MP3 (320kbps)
Artwork scanned at 600dpi