This Bitter Earth

"This Bitter Earth" is a 1960 song made famous by rhythm and blues singer Dinah Washington.^[1] Written and produced by Clyde Otis,^[2][3] it topped the U.S. R&B charts for the week of 25 July 1960 and also reached #24 on the U.S. pop charts.^[4] The song is a key piece in the 1977 film Killer of Sheep by director Charles Burnett.^[5]

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.^[4]
• In 1992, Jazz/R&B singer Miki Howard recorded a remake of this song 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.^{[citation needed]}
• 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]}
• In 2009, Dinah Washington's voice was remixed with an orchestral piece, "On the Nature of Daylight" by Max Richter, for the closing titles on Martin Scorsese film Shutter Island.^[6]
• 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 film Shutter Island starring Leonardo DiCaprio.
• In 2012, a remixed version of this song to Max Richter's "On the Nature of Daylight" (as in Martin Scorsese's film Shutter Island) was featured as the accompanying track to the launch trailer of The Secret World, an MMORPG from developer Funcom and published by Electronic Arts.

Notes and references