Uska Dara
"Uska Dara" ("A Turkish Tale") is a 1953 song made famous by Eartha Kitt, and also recorded by Eydie Gormé.[1] It is based on the Turkish folk song "Kâtibim" about a woman and her secretary traveling to Üsküdar. On early American recordings, this adaptation is credited to Stella Lee.[2]
Kitt first heard the song "Kâtibim" at a local bar when she was in
RCA Victor in 1953.[5] Kitt later performed the song in the 1954 film New Faces, and included the song in her cabaret act, in which she culminated the number with a belly dance.[6][7] The song appears on her albums RCA Victor Presents Eartha Kitt (1953) and That Bad Eartha
(1955).
The 1978
Boney M uses part of the melody of "Kâtibim
", and mimics the line "Oh! those Turks" (as "Oh! those Russians") at the end of the song.
References
- ^ "Coral Records 78rpm numerical listing discography: 60500 - 61000". 78discography.com.
- ^ Thomas S. Hischak, The Tin Pan Alley Song Encyclopedia (2002), page 382: "'Uska Dara (A Turkish Tale)' (1953) is a spirited novelty number by Stella Lee that is adapted from a Turkish song sometimes titled 'Üsküdara.' Although Eydie Gorme introduced the song with a successful record, in America the piece is most associated with Eartha Kitt, who sang it both in a grossly misrepresented English translation and an atrociously mispronounced Turkish, had a bestselling disc, and kept it in her nightclub act for years. Kitt reprised the number in the movie New Faces (1954)."
- ^ Isler, Hilal (October 1, 2018). "The Surprising Story of Eartha Kitt in Istanbul". Theparisreview.org.
- ^ "RCA Victor 20-5000 - 5500 78rpm numerical listing discography". 78discography.com.
- ^ ""New Pop Records," Time Magazine, May 18, 1953". Time.com. Archived from the original on December 22, 2008. Retrieved May 1, 2021.
- ISBN 978-1-4116-7188-1.
- ^ Holden, Stephen (October 24, 1990). "Review/Pop; Still Growling and Prowling (Published 1990)". The New York Times.
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