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/
San Francisco
Vikki Carr Lyrics
Jump to: Overall Meaning ↴ Line by Line Meaning ↴
This great big world to make a place you love
My home up on the hill
I find I love you still
I've been away but now I'm back to tell you
San Francisco
Open your golden gate
San Francisco
Here is your wandering one
Saying I'll wander no more
Other places only make me love you best
Tell me you're the heart of all the golden west
San Francisco
Welcome me home again
I'm coming home
To go roaming no more
In Vikki Carr's song "San Francisco," she sings about her love for the city by the bay. She explains that although the world is vast and filled with various locations, it only takes a tiny corner to make a place that someone loves. Carr's home up on the hill is that place for her, and even though she has been away, she loves the city more than ever. The chorus is a love letter to San Francisco, as she asks the city to open its golden gate and let her in without hesitation. She points out that San Francisco is a city that doesn't turn strangers away, and she is the wandering one that is coming back home. Carr ends the song by saying that San Francisco is the heart of all the golden west and welcomes her home again to go wandering no more.
Line by Line Meaning
It only takes a tiny corner of
Even a small area in this big world can become a place you cherish.
This great big world to make a place you love
A large, expansive world can be made small by finding a place to love in it.
My home up on the hill
The singer's home is located on a hill, which may hold emotional significance to them.
I find I love you still
The artist realizes they still hold love for a person or place they left.
I've been away but now I'm back to tell you
After leaving, the artist has returned to express their feelings.
San Francisco
Name of the city being addressed in the song.
Open your golden gate
The singer is asking San Francisco to open up and accept them once again.
You let no stranger wait outside your door
San Francisco is welcoming to outsiders and doesn't keep them waiting outside.
Here is your wandering one
The artist is referring to themselves as a wanderer who has come back to San Francisco.
Saying I'll wander no more
The artist is making a commitment to settle down and stop roaming.
Other places only make me love you best
The singer has visited other places, but San Francisco is the one they love the most.
Tell me you're the heart of all the golden west
The artist is asking San Francisco to confirm that it is the central hub of the western United States.
Welcome me home again
The singer is asking San Francisco to welcome them back like they are coming home again.
I'm coming home
The singer is returning to San Francisco.
To go roaming no more
The singer's return to San Francisco marks their decision to settle down and stop wandering.
Lyrics © Universal Music Publishing Group, Sony/ATV Music Publishing LLC
Written by: Walter Jurmann, Gus Kahn, Bronislaw Kaper
Lyrics Licensed & Provided by LyricFind