Slower Dancing Songs: C’est Si Bon

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Buenos tacos, y’all! Yes, it’s Taco Tuesday that feels like a Monday…even to a retired person. So let’s slower dance…not to the point where you’re knocking your chair over like @rebelann (to whom this month is dedicated) does with some of my song posts. Proving my ability to be multilingual, here’s today’s song, oui? C’est Si Bon - Eartha Kitt You younger people may have heard jokes about the “second Darrin” on Bewitched. There was an episode of Brothers in the 80s where a construction worker complained his sub-par work was “close,” and Lou replied, “So was the second Darrin.” No explanation needed, we all knew about THAT. And what does that have to do with this??? You may not remember, but there was more than one Catwoman on Batman. The most famous, of course, was Julie Newmar (who’s 92 and could probably STILL rock a black leather outfit). In the Batman movie, where the four “main” villains teamed up against Batman and Robin, Lee Meriwether did the honors as Catwoman. In the third season of the TV show, however, they went with a very bold move and cast Eartha Kitt as Catwoman. (No explanation as to why she was suddenly black, anymore than there was an explanation as to why Darrin Stephens was suddenly taller, better looking, and less anxiety-ridden. ) Eartha Kitt (sadly, the only Catwoman actor who’s passed away) had a remarkable career in everything. She was on Broadway, in TV (winning three Emmy awards), and movies. And, OH, could she sing. Every Christmas you hear her version of “Santa Baby” (if you’re lucky…if not, you hear some lame modern cover). This song was offered to French singing legend Yves Montand in 1947 but he refused it, saying it wasn’t his style. (After the song’s success, he did record it. ) After it was premiered at the Nice Jazz Festival it became a very popular song worldwide. It’s been done in French (as Kitt did here) and in English countless times. This was long forgotten by the time I was living at the roller rink in the mid-70s, but I think this would have been a wonderful song to roller skate to! C’est Si Bon Written by Henri Betti and André Hornez Recorded by Eartha Kitt From That Bad Eartha, 1953 Avec des grands “Cadillac car”: