In addition to her many album releases, Vikki Carr has played concerts for fans around the world, as well as appeared on stage, and television. She has starred in productions of South Pacific, The Unsinkable Molly Brown, and I'm Getting My Act Together and Taking It on the Road. In 2002 she starred in the Reprise production of Steven Sondheim's beloved musical Follies in Los Angeles, garnering glowing reviews from the LA Times, Hollywood Reporter, and Variety. Two years later, Los Angeles PBS affiliate, KCET, filmed a special Vikki Carr: Memories, Memorias: a salute to the English-language hits of the 1940s and 1950s originally composed by Latinos, and featuring guest appearances by Jack Jones, Pepe Aguilar and Arturo Sandoval. PBS again tapped Vikki to host and star in a production celebrating the music of Mexico, Fiesta Mexicana, which was featured on all PBS stations for their June 2008 pledge drive.
Born in El Paso, Texas, and raised in the San Gabriel Valley of California, Vikki Carr, the eldest of seven children, began performing at the tender age of four singing "Adeste Fidelis" in Latin at a Christmas program. She was signed to a contract with Liberty Records in 1961. She recorded "He's a Rebel", which first became a hit in Australia. That title was soon followed by the unforgettable release, It Must Be Him, which charged up the charts in England. A year later, the single was released in the United States and earned Carr three Grammy Award nominations. The international hit emerged again when she and the song were featured in the storyline of the Academy Award winning movie Moonstruck. After "It Must Be Him" came a string of hits, including With Pen in Hand, for which she received her fourth Grammy Award nomination, The Lesson, Can't Take My Eyes Off You, and For Once in My Life.
Her international appeal was so great that she was invited to perform at a Royal Command Performance for Queen Elizabeth II, followed by sold-out shows throughout Europe. In the States, Carr became a darling of the White House, performing regularly at State Dinners and at President Richard Nixon's 1973 Inaugural celebration. President Gerald Ford called her his "favorite Mexican dish". She also performed for Presidents Ronald Reagan, George Bush, and at the 1992 Presidential Summit hosted by President Bill Clinton.
A frequent musical guest on major network variety shows of celebrities like Dean Martin, Ed Sullivan, Perry Como, and Carol Burnett, Carr also taped six specials for London Weekend TV. As an actor, she appeared on the Bing Crosby Show, Mod Squad, Fantasy Island, and co-hosted the Mrs. America and Mrs. World of the World pageants. She was the first woman to regularly guest host for Johnny Carson on the Tonight Show. She was also a visitor and guest host on Michael Jackson's ABC radio show.
The diversity of her rich voice is impressive. She can belt out the blues or touch the heart with a soft romantic ballad. Frank Sinatra once said, "She possesses my kind of voice", Dean Martin called her "the best girl singer in the business", and Bing Crosby and Ella Fitzgerald named her among their three favorite female singers of all time. Elvis Presley was also very fond of her and even remarked on stage in Las Vegas many times that Vikki Carr was one of his favorite singers and that he liked her because "she sang from the gut" and introduced her at many of his personal appearances in which she attended.
Vikki Carr has received numerous prestigious awards, including:
- Latin Grammy Lifetime Achievement Award (2008)
- National Hispanic Media Coalition Impact Lifetime Achievement Award (2005)
- Latino Spirit Award (2003)
- Tito Guizar Award (2003)
- Trefoil Award (2002)
- Inductee of the Latino Legends Hall of Fame (2000)
- Imagen Foundation "Humanitarian Award (1998)
- Hispanic Heritage Award (1996)
- Nosotros Golden Eagle Award (1988)
- Hispanic Woman of the Year (1984)
- Star on the Hollywood Walk of Fame (1981)
- Doctorate in Law from San Diego University (1974)
- Doctorate in Fine Arts from St. Edwards University (1974)
- American Guild of Variety Artists' "Entertainer of the Year" (1972), and
- The Los Angeles Times' highly respected "Woman of the Year" (1970)
She has also earned the career achievement award of the Association of Hispanic Critics, Chicago's Ovation Award, the YWCA Silver Achievement Award, and was honored in 1990 by the City of Hope with the Founder of Hope Award. In 1991, she was presented the Girl Scouts of America Award.
Respected both as an artist and a humanitarian, Carr devotes time to many charities including The United Way, The American Lung Association, Cancer Therapy and Research Center, The Muscular Dystrophy Association, and St Jude's Hospital. For 22 years she held benefit concerts to support Holy Cross High School in San Antonio. In 1971 she established the Vikki Carr Scholarship Foundation, dedicated to offering college scholarships to Latino students in California and Texas. To date, the Foundation has awarded more than 280 scholarships totaling over a quarter of a million dollars.
"My voice is a gift and a gift is nothing unless you can share it. The Foundation is one of the ways that I am able to share my gift", said Carr. "The Foundation seeks to help young Mexican-American students achieve their goals through a college education, something I myself was never able to do."
Official website: http://www.vikkicarr.com/
Cosas Del Amor
Vikki Carr Lyrics
Jump to: Overall Meaning ↴ Line by Line Meaning ↴
El hombre que yo quiero se me va
Lo estoy perdiendo, estoy sufriendo
Llorando de impotencia no puedo retenerlo
Amiga, mientras quede una esperanza
Tú tienes que luchar por ese amor
Si él es el hombre de tu vida
Que vale todo si se lucha por amor
¿Cómo puedo hacer?
Entrega todo
Todo se lo di
Intenta un modo
No es posible que se pueda querer más
Pensando así lo perderás
¿Y si él se va?
Lo habrás perdido
¿Qué me quedará?
Lo que has vivido
Tu consejo no me aleja del dolor
Son cosas del amor
Amiga yo no sé qué esta pasando
Será que habrá encontrado otra mujer
Ya no es el mismo, su indiferencia
La siento por las noches, rechaza mi presencia
Amiga no será que has descuidado
La forma de buscarlo en el amor
Quizás la casa, la rutina
Se ha convertido en tu enemiga
Y estás cobrando un alto precio por tu error
¿Cómo puedo hacer?
Entrega todo
Todo se lo di
Intenta un modo
No es posible que se pueda querer más
Pensando así lo perderás
¿Y si él se va?
Lo habrás perdido
¿Qué me quedará?
Lo que has vivido
Tu consejo no me aleja del dolor
Son cosas del amor
The lyrics of "Cosas Del Amor" by Vikki Carr describe the pain of a woman who is losing the man she loves. She confides in her friend that she is suffering and unable to hold onto him. Though there is still a glimmer of hope, the friend advises her to fight for his love and never give up. She must try her best to keep him, and if she truly loves him, she must do everything she can to hold onto him. The chorus repeats the sad phrase, "Son cosas del amor," or "these are things of love," suggesting this is the way love often works: full of uncertainty and heartbreak.
As the song progresses, the lyrics reveal that the woman's lover has become distant and uninterested. The friend encourages her to consider her own actions and wonder if she has neglected the relationship. The mundane routine of their life together may have contributed to his growing indifference. However, the woman's pain is still real, and no matter the reason for their troubles, the friend's advice does not erase the hurt she is feeling. In the end, the lyrics express the confusing and heartbreaking nature of love and its ability to change and disappear unexpectedly.
Line by Line Meaning
Amiga, tengo el corazón herido
Friend, my heart is wounded
El hombre que yo quiero se me va
The man I love is leaving me
Lo estoy perdiendo, estoy sufriendo
I'm losing him, I'm suffering
Llorando de impotencia no puedo retenerlo
Crying in helplessness, I cannot keep him
Amiga, mientras quede una esperanza
Friend, as long as there's hope
Tú tienes que luchar por ese amor
You have to fight for that love
Si él es el hombre de tu vida
If he is the man of your life
No te des nunca por vencida
Never give up
Que vale todo si se lucha por amor
Everything is worth it if you fight for love
¿Cómo puedo hacer?
How can I do it?
Entrega todo
Give everything
Todo se lo di
I gave him everything
Intenta un modo
Find a way
No es posible que se pueda querer más
It's not possible to love more
Pensando así lo perderás
Thinking like that, you will lose him
¿Y si él se va?
And if he leaves?
Lo habrás perdido
You will have lost him
¿Qué me quedará?
What will I have left?
Lo que has vivido
What you've lived
Tu consejo no me aleja del dolor
Your advice doesn't take away my pain
Amiga yo no sé qué está pasando
Friend, I don't know what's happening
Será que habrá encontrado otra mujer
Maybe he's found another woman
Ya no es el mismo, su indiferencia
He's not the same, his indifference
La siento por las noches, rechaza mi presencia
I feel it at night, he rejects my presence
Amiga no será que has descuidado
Friend, maybe you've neglected
La forma de buscarlo en el amor
The way of looking for him in love
Quizás la casa, la rutina
Maybe the house, the routine
Se ha convertido en tu enemiga
Has become your enemy
Y estás cobrando un alto precio por tu error
And you're paying a high price for your mistake
Son cosas del amor
These are things of love
Lyrics © Universal Music Publishing Group, Sony/ATV Music Publishing LLC
Written by: Roberto Livi, Rudy Perez
Lyrics Licensed & Provided by LyricFind