Email this page
Print this page
del.icio.us
diggLast-minute stocking stuffer for devotees of Vikki Carr
Fans of Vikki Carr should be wild about her new three-disc boxed set Vikki Carr: The Ultimate Collection (EMI Records, $21.98). The set features 78 songs by the three-time Grammy winner, including her pop music hits and Spanish-language tracks, plus a few recordings previously unreleased in the U.S.
It is the first comprehensive look at the pioneering Hispanic singer's early career, according to local music expert Randy Cordova. The long-time entertainment reporter for The Arizona Republic penned the liner notes to Carr's boxed set, which includes a 16-page booklet.
"She has been an important part of the entertainment scene, particularly in the Mexican-American community," says Cordova, a Carr aficionado. "I remember seeing her on TV as a child in the '70s, and back then you almost never saw Hispanics on talk shows or variety programs. She was really a trailblazer, moving between English and Spanish before people like Linda Ronstadt and Gloria Estefan came along."
Born Florencia Bisenta de Casillas Martinez Cardona in El Paso, Texas, Carr achieved the rare feat of scoring hits on the Billboard charts for four consecutive decades. Among songs in The Ultimate Collection: It Must Be Him, With Pen in Hand, and Cuando Calienta El Sol. Ah, the sentimiento.
