‘Santa Baby’ brings back 70 years of memories

One of the most famous secular Christmas songs of all time – “Santa Baby” – observes its 70th anniversary this Christmas season. The tune was originally performed in 1953 by American vocalist Eartha Kitt with Henri René and His Orchestra. It was an instant hit. 

Written by Joan Javits and Philip Springer, “Santa Baby” is described as a “tongue-in-cheek look at a Christmas list addressed to Santa Claus by a woman who wants extravagant gifts” such as a luxurious sable fur coat, a brand new light blue convertible automobile and holiday decorations from Tiffany’s.

 

Music critics gave mixed reviews to the recording released by RCA Victor, with some calling the lyrics too suggestive for a holiday-themed song. The record was banned by some radio stations in 1953. 

Entertainment writer Matthew Trzcinski commented: “Springer said the song stood out at the time because no one had thought to compose a song about a mistress asking her lover for the gifts she wanted.” 

Kitt McDonald Shapiro, Eartha Kitt’s only child, said her mother “never grew tired of singing ‘Santa Baby,’ and her fans never grew tired of requesting it.”

 

Now a holiday classic, “Santa Baby” has been covered by many artists from different genres over the years. Shapiro said: “My mother’s version is still the one most associated with the season. And being quite biased, I think it also happens to be the best.” 

Ironically, Eartha Kitt died on Christmas Day 2008 at age 81. “It is a strange yet heartwarming feeling to be in a store this time of year and suddenly hear your mother singing in the rotation of holiday songs that fills the air,” Shapiro noted. 

Eartha Mae Keith was born in 1927 in the small community of North, located in Orangeburg County, S.C. She was raised by a relative named Mamie Kitt in the Harlem neighborhood of New York City. In high school, Eartha Kitt excelled in the performing arts. In 1943, she became a member of the Katherine Dunham Company, a troupe of dancers, singers, actors and musicians – the nation’s first African-American modern dance company.

 

A singer with a distinctive voice, Eartha Kitt began performing throughout Europe in the late 1940s and became fluent in French, German and Dutch languages. She was “discovered” in 1950 by theatrical director Orson Welles, who launched Eartha Kitt’s acting career.

 

Over the years, several writers have tried to calculate the price tag for all the presents that Eartha Kitt put on her “Santa Baby” wish list. In addition to the aforementioned items, she asked Santa for a yacht, the deed to a platinum mine, a penthouse (referred to in the song as a mere “duplex”), blank checks and a pricey ring.

 

Philip Bump, a columnist with The Washington Post, calculated in 2018 that the eight gifts would cost about $1 billion. Yet, the estimate is fuzzy, because listeners receive no clue about the number of blank checks Santa intends to fork over. Nor do we get a sense of Santa’s “cash reserves.” 

Bump said he learned a lot during his research. For one thing, “a sable is a small weasel-like animal that mostly lives in Siberia’s Barguzin region within Russia.” Sable coats are among the world’s most expensive furs. 

Bump observed that most of the world’s platinum production is in South Africa, and occasionally, platinum mines there do go up for sale.

 

The most luxurious convertible in the 1954 model year was a Cadillac Series 62 Coupe deVille convertible that was listed for $4,261. In today’s market, that car’s value is about $85,000.