Sadly, late on Christmas Day we learned that Eartha Kitt, the singer of Santa Baby, had passed away. She was 81. My generation became acquainted with her as Catwoman on the old Batman TV show. The following generation knows her — her voice, anyway — as Yzma in The Emperor’s New Groove. Her actual working career spans seven decades.
Here’s some vintage Eartha for you:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=tQ5VaBgXzuM
Even as she got older, she was a fantastic performer with a great sense of timing:
The world has lost a great performer.