This Bitter Earth
| "This Bitter Earth" | |
|---|---|
| Song | |
| A-side | "I Understand" |
"This Bitter Earth" is a 1960 song made famous by rhythm and blues singer Dinah Washington.[2] Written and produced by Clyde Otis,[3][4] it peaked to #1 on the U.S. R&B charts for the week of July 25, 1960, and also reached #24 on the U.S. pop charts.[5] The song is a key piece in the 1978 film Killer of Sheep by director Charles Burnett.[6]
Charts
| Chart (1960) | Peak position |
|---|---|
| US Billboard Top Pop Songs | 24 |
| US Billboard Hot R&B Songs | 1 |
Other recordings
- In 1964, Aretha Franklin released a cover on her album Unforgettable: A Tribute to Dinah Washington for Columbia Records.
- In May 1970, The Satisfactions released a version, reaching #36 on the U.S. R&B charts.[5]
- In 1992, R&B/soul singer Miki Howard recorded a version that appears on her 1992 album, Femme Fatale.
- In 2004, break-core musician Venetian Snares used vocals from this song in his own composition with the same title on his mini-album Moonglow / This Bitter Earth.[7]
- In 2006, Gladys Knight released her début album for the Verve Records label, Before Me, including this song as the sixth track.
- In 2007, R&B/Dance singer Deborah Cox made a remake of this song on her album Destination Moon.[citation needed]
- On June 10, 2010, this was danced to on So You Think You Can Dance, in a routine choreographed by Mia Michaels.
- In February 2010, this song was featured on the soundtrack for the Martin Scorsese film Shutter Island, in the form of a mash-up with Max Richter's "On the Nature of Daylight".[8]
- In 2012 the Max Richter mashup was featured as the accompanying track to the launch trailer of The Secret World, an MMORPG from developer Funcom, published by Electronic Arts.
- Pedro Ruy-Blas (2014)
Notes and references
- ^ Dinah Washington — "I Understand"/"This Bitter Earth" (7" Vinyl Single).discogs
- ^ The Essential Dinah Washington - The Great Songs
- ^ Clyde Otis Music Group Beginnings
- ^ BMI entry from This Bitter Earth
- ^ a b The Marvels By Marv Goldberg, Marv Goldberg's R&B Notebooks, 2007
- ^ Killer of Sheep by Kenneth Turan, Los Angeles Times, April 6, 2007.
- ^ Venetian Snares "This Bitter Earth".bandcamp
- ^ Bradley Bambarger (March 12, 2010). "Shutter Island soundtrack casts eerie spell". New Jersey On-Line.