Vikki Carr

Vikki Carr (born Florencia Bisenta de Casillas-Martinez Cardona,^[1] July 19, 1941) is an American vocalist who has had a singing career for over four decades. Originally from El Paso, Texas, born to parents of Mexican descent, she has performed in a variety of musical genres, including country, jazz, and pop while her greatest success has come from singing in Spanish. She established the Vikki Carr Scholarship Foundation in 1971.

Career

Cardona was born in El Paso, Texas. After taking the stage name 'Vikki Carr', she signed with Liberty Records in 1962. Her first single to achieve success was "He's a Rebel", which in 1962 reached #5 in Australia and #115 in the United States. Producer Phil Spector heard Carr cutting the song in the studio and immediately recorded a cover version billed to the Crystals that reached #1 in the United States. In 1966, Carr toured South Vietnam with actor/comedian Danny Kaye to entertain American troops there. The following year her album It Must Be Him was nominated for 3 Grammy Awards. The title track reached #3 on the Billboard Hot 100 in the United States in 1967, sold over 1 million copies, and received a gold disc.^[2] She had two other songs make the US Top 40: 1968's "The Lesson" and 1969's "With Pen in Hand". Around this time, Dean Martin called her "the best girl singer in the business". Carr had 10 singles that made the US pop charts and 13 albums that made the US pop-album charts.

Vikki Carr in 1968

In 1968 she taped six specials for London Weekend TV. She appeared on various television programs, such as ABC's The Bing Crosby Show in the 1964–1965 season. In 1970, she was named "Woman of the Year" by the Los Angeles Times. She guest-hosted The Tonight Show Starring Johnny Carson in 1973. Carr married Michael Nilsson, a paint company executive, on August 20, 1979.^[3] She received a star on the Hollywood Walk of Fame in 1981. Carr also achieved the rare feat of singing for five presidents during her career: Richard Nixon, Gerald Ford, Ronald Reagan, George Bush, and Bill Clinton.

In the 1980s and 1990s Carr had enormous success in the Latin music world, winning Grammy Awards for Best Mexican-American Performance in 1986 for her album Simplemente Mujer; Best Latin Pop Album in 1992 for Cosas del Amor; and Best Mexican-American Performance in 1995 for Recuerdo a Javier Solis.^[4] She also received Grammy nominations for the discs Brindo a La Vida, Al Bolero, A Ti (1993) and Emociones (1996). Her numerous Spanish-language hit singles include "Total", "Discúlpame", "Déjame", "Hay Otro en Tu Lugar", "Esos Hombres", "Mala Suerte" and "Cosas del Amor". The last song spent more than two months at No. 1 on the US Latin charts in 1991, her biggest Spanish-language US hit. Her Spanish-language albums have been certified gold and platinum in Mexico, Chile, Puerto Rico, Venezuela, Costa Rica, Colombia and Ecuador. She also voiced Georgette in the Latin American dub of Disney's Oliver and Company.

In 1999 she taped a PBS TV special, Vikki Carr: Memories, Memorias, in which she performed popular bilingual tunes from the 1940s and 1950s. Her guests were Pepe Aguilar, Arturo Sandoval, and Jack Jones. In 2001, she released a bilingual holiday album, The Vikki Carr Christmas Album.

In 2002, she appeared to great acclaim in a Los Angeles production of the Stephen Sondheim musical Follies, which also featured Hal Linden, Patty Duke, and Harry Groener. In 2006, Carr made a cameo appearance in a straight-to-video thriller called Puerto Vallarta Squeeze. In 2008, Carr hosted a PBS TV special, Fiesta Mexicana, which celebrated the music and dance of Mexico. Later that year, she was honored with a Lifetime Achievement Award from the Latin Recording Academy. She marked the occasion with an appearance on the Latin Grammy telecast in which she performed "Cosas del Amor" with Olga Tañón and Jenni Rivera.

In 2014, Vikki was invited by producer Gerry Gallagher to record with Latin rock legends El Chicano as well as Alphonse Mouzon, Brian Auger, Alex Ligertwood, Salvador Santana, Ray Parker Jr., Lenny Castro, Siedah Garrett, Walfredo Reyes Jr., Pete Escovedo, Peter Michael Escovedo, Jessy J, Marcos J. Reyes, and David Paich and is featured on a remake of the Latin classic "Sabor A Mi" from Gallagher's most recent studio album due out in 2017.

Charitable work

Carr devotes time to many charities including the United Way, the American Lung Association, the Muscular Dystrophy Association, and St. Jude's Hospital. For 22 years she held benefit concerts to support Holy Cross of San Antonio Middle and High School in San Antonio, Texas. In 1971, she established the Vikki Carr Scholarship Foundation, dedicated to offering college scholarships to Hispanic students in California and Texas. To date, the Foundation has awarded more than 280 scholarships totaling over a quarter of a million dollars.

Discography

Albums

Singles

1960s and 1970s

• Years represent year of release, not necessarily the chart peak year.

1980s to the present

Cultural references

• In the "Family Guy" episode Total Recall, Peter is envious of his wife Lois, after she becomes very popular among his friends. After she comments "one of them drives a Volvo", referring to a "trapeze people", a joke which makes no sense, everyone but Peter laughs. He remarks, "So what? She can name a kind of car. Big whoop, I can do that too… Vikki… Vikki Carr".
• At a State Dinner, November 12, 1974, Don Penny was dancing with Betty Ford while President Gerald Ford was dancing with Vikki Carr. Ms. Carr innocently said to him, “What’s your favorite Mexican dish?” And he said, “You are.” Mrs. Ford was not amused.^[5]
• In the movie "Moonstruck" Rose says "Now he's going to play that damn Vikki Carr record, and when he comes to bed he won't touch me."^[6]

References

External links

Wikimedia Commons has media related to Vikki Carr.

• Official website
• Vikki Carr official fan club (fan site)
• Vikki Carr Exclusive Booking Agents ~ Paradise Artists
• Vikki Carr on IMDb
• Vikki Carr at Billboard.com
• "In the Spotlight with Vikki Carr" hosted by Ron Roberts. A one-hour monthly internet radio program streaming worldwide, devoted to the music of Vikki Carr: 3:00 – 4:00pm NYT, with rebroadcasts as per the program schedule.