"This Bitter Earth" is a 1960 song made famous by rhythm and blues singer Dinah Washington. Written and produced by Clyde Otis, 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. The song is a key piece in the 1978 film Killer of Sheep by director Charles Burnett.
Charts
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.
- 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.
- 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.
- 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".
- 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
