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/
You Don't Have To Say You Love Me
Vikki Carr Lyrics
Jump to: Overall Meaning ↴ Line by Line Meaning ↴
You said you would always stay
It wasn't me who changed but you and now you've gone away
Don't you see that now you've gone
And I'm left here on my own
That I have to follow you and beg you to come home
You don't have to say you love me just be close at hand
Believe me, believe me I can't help but love you
But believe me I'll never tie you down
Left alone with just a memory
Life seems dead and quite unreal
All that's left is loneliness there's nothing left to feel
You don't have to say you love me just be close at hand
You don't have to stay forever
I will understand believe me, believe me
You don't have to say you love me just be close at hand
You don't have to stay forever
I will understand, believe me, believe me
In Vikki Carr's song "You Don't Have to Say You Love Me," the lyrics tell the story of a person who is left alone by their loved one. The person being addressed in the song used to say they would always stay when the singer said they needed them, but now they've changed and left. The singer is left with nothing but memories and loneliness, and now they must follow their loved one and beg them to come home.
The central message of the song seems to be that the singer still loves their ex-partner, but they are not trying to hold onto them. Instead, they are acknowledging that their loved one is allowed to leave and that they won't try to tie them down. The repeated refrain of "you don't have to say you love me, just be close at hand" shows that the singer is willing to take whatever she can get, as long as her ex-partner is still a part of her life.
Line by Line Meaning
When I said I needed you
I expressed my dependence on you
You said you would always stay
You replied that you would remain with me
It wasn't me who changed but you and now you've gone away
It was not me who altered, it was you, and you have left me
Don't you see that now you've gone
Can't you grasp that you have departed
And I'm left here on my own
And now I am deserted
That I have to follow you and beg you to come home
That I am obligated to trail after you imploring you to return
You don't have to say you love me just be close at hand
You need not declare love, merely remain nearby
You don't have to stay forever I will understand
You are not required to remain indefinitely, I will accept it
Believe me, believe me I can't help but love you
Trust me, trust me, I am unable to curb my adoration for you
But believe me I'll never tie you down
However, believe me, I will never restrict you
Left alone with just a memory
Deserted, only recalling the past
Life seems dead and quite unreal
Existence appears faint and unreal
All that's left is loneliness there's nothing left to feel
All that endures is somber solitude, devoid of emotions
You don't have to say you love me just be close at hand
You need not profess love, just be present
You don't have to stay forever
You need not remain interminably
I will understand believe me, believe me
I will accept it, trust me, trust me
You don't have to say you love me just be close at hand
You need not declare love, merely remain nearby
You don't have to stay forever
You are not required to remain indefinitely
I will understand, believe me, believe me
I will accept it, trust me, trust me
Lyrics © O/B/O APRA AMCOS
Written by: Giuseppe Donaggio, Simon Napier-Bell, Vito Pallavicini, Vicki Heather Wickham
Lyrics Licensed & Provided by LyricFind
@edge1289
I’ve always thought that Vikki Carr was a gorgeous woman and the emotions she delivers is unparalleled. I have always loved Vikki Carr!
@conniewolf7300
me too!
@donovan9564
My congratulations yo Vicky carr
@donovan9564
Vikki car forever again and again forever
@donovan9564
I like Discúlpame
@piev5060
moi aussi !
@judyraich8355
Many singers have sung this song, but Vicki's voice is the best!!!
@paulcarter6146
Dusty spring fields was close.
@leeengelsman1855
Dusty's voice was better in a number of ways.
@marknesemeier3882
She’s so beautiful, the way she delivers a song is ultimately heavenly, the passion and emotion id unparalleled.