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/
Total
Vikki Carr Lyrics
Jump to: Overall Meaning ↴ Line by Line Meaning ↴
Cuantos sueños forjé
En mis noches de infancia
Mi primera ilusión
Y mis cuitas de amor
Son recuerdos del alma
Una tarde me fui
Pues lo quiso el destino
Pero mi corazón
Se quedo frente al mar
En mi viejo san Juan
Adiós (adiós, adiós)
Borinquen querida (tierra de mi amor)
Adiós (adiós, adiós)
Mi diosa del mar (mi reina del palmar)
Me voy (ya me voy)
Pero un día volveré
A buscar mi querer
A soñar otra vez
En mi viejo san Juan
Pero el tiempo pasó
Y el destino burló
Mi terrible nostalgia
Y no pude volver
Al san juan que yo amé
Pedacito de patria
Mi cabello blanqueó
Y mi vida se va
Ya la muerte me llama
Y no quiero morir
Alejado de ti
Puerto rico del alma
Adiós (adiós, adiós)
Borinquen querida (tierra de mi amor)
Adiós (adiós, adiós)
Mi diosa del mar (mi reina del palmar)
Me voy (ya me voy)
Pero un día volveré
A buscar mi querer
A soñar otra vez
En mi viejo san Juan
The Spanish lyrics of Vikki Carr's "Total" express a yearning for the home and comforts of old San Juan, Puerto Rico. The opening lines speak to the singer's dreams and childhood memories, hinting at a sense of longing that permeates the entire song. In the second stanza, the singer reveals that they left for a foreign nation, likely the United States, but their heart remained in San Juan. The chorus is a farewell to this beloved city and invokes its beauty and importance to the singer.
The final stanza reveals that the singer is now an older person, with gray hair and the looming specter of death. This sense of impending loss only reinforces their desire to return to the place they consider their true home. The lyrics are evocative and emotional, painting a vivid picture of a person struggling with the pain of displacement and the longing for the familiarity of their past.
Line by Line Meaning
En mi viejo san Juan
The singer is talking about San Juan, a place where she spent her childhood and has fond memories of
Cuantos sueños forjé
She had many dreams in San Juan
En mis noches de infancia
These dreams were formed during her childhood nights
Mi primera ilusión
One of her earliest dreams
Y mis cuitas de amor
Her first love and heartbreaks are also part of her memories
Son recuerdos del alma
All of these memories are deep in her soul
Una tarde me fui
At some point in her life, she left San Juan
Hacia a extraña nación
She went to a foreign land
Pues lo quiso el destino
It was what destiny had in store for her
Pero mi corazón
Although she physically left San Juan, emotionally she was still there
Se quedo frente al mar
Her heart stayed by the sea
Adiós (adiós, adiós)
Goodbye
Borinquen querida (tierra de mi amor)
Beloved Puerto Rico, her homeland of love
Mi diosa del mar (mi reina del palmar)
Personifications of the sea and palm trees in Puerto Rico
Me voy (ya me voy)
She is leaving
Pero un día volveré
She plans to return
A buscar mi querer
To find her love
A soñar otra vez
To dream again
En mi viejo san Juan
Back in San Juan
Pero el tiempo pasó
Time passed by
Y el destino burló
Fate played a trick on her
Mi terrible nostalgia
She's filled with a great sadness
Y no pude volver
She couldn't return
Al san juan que yo amé
To the San Juan she loved
Pedacito de patria
Part of her homeland
Mi cabello blanqueó
Her hair turned grey
Y mi vida se va
Her life is slipping away
Ya la muerte me llama
Death is calling her
Y no quiero morir
She doesn't want to die
Alejado de ti
Away from Puerto Rico
Puerto rico del alma
Puerto Rico is in her soul
Lyrics © O/B/O APRA AMCOS
Written by: SEBASTIEN AKCHOTE
Lyrics Licensed & Provided by LyricFind
IlzeLoveYou
Pretendiendo humillarme pregonaste
El haber desdeñado mi pasión
Y fingiendo una honda pena
Imaginaste
Que moriría de desesperación
Total
Si me hubieras querido
Ya me hubiera olvidado de tu querer
Ya vez
Que fue tiempo perdido
El que tú has meditado para ahora decirme
Que no puede ser
Pensar que llegar a quererte
Es creer que la muerte se pudiera evitar
Total
Si no tengo tus besos
No me muero por eso
Yo ya estoy cansada de tanto besar
Pensar que llegar a quererte
Es creer que la muerte se pudiera evitar
Total
Si no tengo tus besos
No me muero por eso
Yo ya estoy cansada de tanto de besar
Vivi sin conocerte
Puedo vivir sin ti
María Fernanda Ordaz Mejia
Pretendiendo humillarme pregonaste
el a ver desdeñado mi pasion
Y fingiendo una onda pena
Imaginaste
Que moriria de desesperacion
Total
Si me hubieras querido
ya me hubiera olvidado de tu querer
Continúa después del anuncio
Ya vez
Que fue tiempo perdido
El que tu has meditado para ahora decirme
Que no puede ser
Pensar que llegar a quererte
Es creer que la muerte se pudiera evitar
Total
Si no tengo tus besos
No me muero por eso
Yo ya estoy cansada de tanto besar
Pensar que llegar a quererte
Es creer que la muerte se pudiera evitar
Total
Si no tengo tus besos
No me muero por eso
Yo ya estoy cansada de tanto de besat
Vivir sin conocerte
O no vivir sin ti
Joel Ortega Quiroz
Ya no tenemos artistas de está calidad y con esta voz....solo una vez en la vida y afortunados los que pudimos ver esta artista en su plenitud.
Cesar Humphrey A
Vivimos en éstos tiempos en una Degradación Cultural que nunca imaginamos. 😢
Ro C
De las mejores voces femeninas de las que sólo cierras los ojos y tu mente vuela para disfrutar la melodía
Jose Dominguez
WOW! Distinguida Dama !! En toda la extensión de la palabra,, y añadiendole un talento e interpretación sublime! 👏🏻👏🏻👏🏻👌✌️♥️
Maria de Jesus Garcia Nava
Ya no tenemos cantantes con esa voz exelente cantanta
Juventino Ramirez Estrada
El acento propio de una cantante estadounidense que canta en español y que enamora su estilo tan hermosa... Grande es Viki Carr
Randy Roe
She is absolutely amazing
Huge career in 60s US Pop
Later made huge impact in Latin music !
I love her ❤
Gorgeous & talented
One of the best voices in our lifetime.
IlzeLoveYou
Pretendiendo humillarme pregonaste
El haber desdeñado mi pasión
Y fingiendo una honda pena
Imaginaste
Que moriría de desesperación
Total
Si me hubieras querido
Ya me hubiera olvidado de tu querer
Ya vez
Que fue tiempo perdido
El que tú has meditado para ahora decirme
Que no puede ser
Pensar que llegar a quererte
Es creer que la muerte se pudiera evitar
Total
Si no tengo tus besos
No me muero por eso
Yo ya estoy cansada de tanto besar
Pensar que llegar a quererte
Es creer que la muerte se pudiera evitar
Total
Si no tengo tus besos
No me muero por eso
Yo ya estoy cansada de tanto de besar
Vivi sin conocerte
Puedo vivir sin ti
oscar ramos
HE TENIDO LA BENDICION DE VERLA EN CONCIERTO UN PAR DE VECES ES UNA MARAVILLA DE MUJER ADEMAS SENCILLA Y HUMILDE COMO SOLO ELLA PUEDE SER , GRACIAS VIKKY CARR POR LA EXTRAORDINARIA MUSICA, LOS AUTOGRAFOS Y LAS FOTOS QUE ME PERMITIO TOMAR CON USTED, UN SALUDO DE SAN DIEGO CALIFORNIA!!
Waleska Hepp
Qué afortunado has sido!