From Wikipedia...
Kvitka (or "Kasey") Cisyk (Pronouced Kveetka Cheesik,Ukrainian:
Квітка Цісик, Kvitka Tsisyk;) April 4, 1953 – March 29, 1998
was an American coloratura soprano of Ukrainian ethnicity.
Cisyk, a classically trained opera singer, successfully pursued
a career in four different musical genres: popular music,
classical opera, Ukrainian folk music and commercial jingles for
radio and TV advertisements.
Cisyk recorded the version of "You Light Up My Life" heard in
the movie (Oscar and Golden Globe Awards win in 1978), sang the
"Have you driven a Ford lately?" and "You deserve a break
today!" jingles and also released two critically acclaimed
albums of Ukrainian songs.
Cisyk was the daughter of two Ukrainian immigrants; her given
name, Kvitka, is Ukrainian for "flower". Her father, Volodymyr
Cisyk, a well known Ukrainian concert violinist and teacher,
taught his daughter the violin when she was 5 years old,
grooming her for a career as a classical musician.
Cisyk attended the High School of Music & Art in New York City
and graduated in 1970. She attended Harpur College, also known
as SUNY Binghamton, for one year directly after high school. Her
sister taught piano there. In the summer of 1971, she attended a
SUNY-sponsored opera program in Ghent, Belgium. She received a
violin scholarship to the Mannes College of Music, but had
switched to classical voice training by the time of her
graduation.
Cisyk's original goal was a career as an opera singer, but her
father's death left the family without a source of income.
Needing to earn money immediately, Cisyk pursued a career as a
session singer in popular music. She drew her professional name
(Kasey) from her first and last initials.
Cisyk began singing in clubs, while submitting audition tapes to
producers and advertising agencies. She had a successful career
as a background singer in popular music, working as a backup
singer for Carly Simon and Michael Franks and for artists
produced by Quincy Jones.
Ford
Commercial Video
Cisyk achieved her widest success as a singer of the musical
jingles used in TV and radio commercials. Cisyk's recording of
the slogan "Have you driven a Ford lately?" was used in Ford
commercials from 1981 to 1998; in 1989, Ford executives
estimated that Cisyk's recording of that phrase had been heard
by 20 billion people.
During a career that lasted more than 20 years, Cisyk's skills
were so highly valued that competitors within the same industry
sought her services. Cisyk's sang the phrase "You deserve a
break today" for McDonalds, but also recorded commercials for
Burger King.
In addition to Ford, Cisyk sang for automakers General Motors
and Toyota. She recorded spots for the three national television
networks in the 1980s (ABC, NBC and CBS), four major airlines
(American, Delta, Eastern and TWA), two national retailers Sears
and JC Penney and the two most popular soft drinks: Coca-Cola
and Pepsi.
According to her New York Times obituary, "a typical day, she
later recalled, would begin with a 9 am session for Trans World
Airlines, followed by Coca-Cola at 11, Hartz Mountain at 1 pm,
Eastern Airlines at 2, Datsun at 3, L'Eggs at 5, McDonald's at
6, and, after all that, a recording session from 8:30 pm to
3 am".
Cisyk's list of commercial credits also include Mr. Pibb,
Safeway grocery stores and Starburst candies.
Cisyk's work in commercials brought her to the attention of Joe
Brooks, who worked as a composer and arranger of jingles.
Brooks, who wrote, directed and composed the score for the
movie You Light Up My Life chose Cisyk to dub the singing voice
of actress Didi Conn.
Kacey (left) on the set of "You Light Up My Life"
Didi Conn Lip Syncs to Kacey Vocal Track
Cisyk's performance of the song appears on the original
soundtrack album, and was released as a single, although she was
not listed as the performing artist in the final credits of the
film (for which she successfully sued the producers). Her single
release of the song reached No. 80 on the Billboard Hot 100
charts
The song was also recorded by
singer Debby Boone, with Brooks producing and arranging. This
recording of "You Light Up My Life", became a No. 1 single on
the Billboard chart for ten consecutive weeks. People magazine
ran a substantial article about "The real voice behind 'You
Light Up My Life" inasmuch the similarity between her and Debby
Boone's voice led many to assume the latter had sung the songs
in the movie. In a 2013 biographical essay about Cisyk, Cisyk's
second husband, Ed Rakowicz wrote, that Brooks "withheld payment
... tried to evade payment by false promises and by asking her
to be an incidental actor in his film, implying huge rewards yet
to come..." Later, (according to Rakowicz's biographical essay),
Brooks made improper advances toward Cisyk, and after being
rebuffed, didn't speak directly to her again, and continued to
evade payments to her. Rakowicz writes, "[Kasey] retained a
lawyer and sued Brooks for the fees she earned for her work on
the record and the film but accepted an award of a small sum
just to relieve herself of the torment of a prolonged legal
battle with Brooks."
Debbie Boone's
Version
Cisyk also
recorded lead vocals for the soundtracks of the movies "The One
and Only" and "Circle of Two". She also contributed backing
vocals to the Carly Simon songs used on the soundtrack for the
movie "Working Girl".
As the daughter of Ukrainian immigrants, Cisyk was raised with
Ukrainian music, and she is well known in the Ukrainian-speaking
world for her two albums of Ukrainian songs. According to Cisyk
she recorded these albums because her colleagues often asked her
to “show them something Ukrainian, but there were no records
worthy of being shown”.
In 1980 she recorded her first album, Kvitka, Songs of Ukraine
which won top honors in the 1988 Ukrainian Music Awards.
Her second album, Kvitka, Two Colors, was released in 1989. was
dedicated to "the spirit of the Ukrainian soul, whose wings can
never be broken." Today, songs from both albums continue to be
heard on radio in Ukraine.
Both albums were nominated for a Grammy Award for Best
Contemporary Folk Album.
Both Songs of Ukraine and Two Colors were family projects.
Cisyk's second husband, Ed Rakowicz, a recording engineer,
produced them; her first husband, Jack Cortner arranged and
conducted them. Her sister Maria Cisyk, a concert pianist and
teacher, performed the solo piano selections on the record, and
her mother, Ivanna, made sure her Ukrainian pronunciation was
perfect.
Kvitka Cisyk Rakowicz died from breast cancer on March 29, 1998,
six days before her 45th birthday. She is survived by her
husband, Edward J. Rakowicz and son, Edward W. (born 1991), her
sister Maria Cisyk's daughters Lesia Merley Hill and Samantha
Merley; her uncle, Wasyl Lew, with his wife, Oksana, and their
daughters, Khristina, Olesia, Ruta and Maya Lew.
Because of her contribution to Ukrainian music a yearly music
festival is held and a street was named in her honour in Lviv,
Ukraine.
For the singer’s 60th birthday anniversary Ukrainian Inter TV
channel made a documentary film "Kvitka. Single copy voice”. The
film authors have investigated the phenomenon of the singer with
the help of her relatives and close friends: husband Ed Rakowicz,
son Eddie, family from Lviv and the United States, workmates and
fans. On April 4, 2013 premieres of the film took place in Kyiv,
Lviv, Ternopil, Ivano-Frankivsk, Odesa, Luhansk and Chernovtsy.
The film was released on Inter TV channel on April 5, 2013.
Recordings
Solo albums
-
Kvitka, Songs of Ukraine
1980
-
Kvitka,
Two Colors
1989
Credits/participations
Artist |
Song/Album/Film Title |
Year |
Credit/Participation |
Michel
Camilo |
Forbidden Fruit |
1994 |
Vocals (Background) |
Flying
Monkey Orchestra |
Back
in the Pool |
1993 |
Vocals, Choir, Chorus |
Sadao
Watanabe |
Earth
Step |
1994 |
Vocals (Background) |
Sesame
Street |
Sesame
Road |
1993 |
Vocals, Voices |
Carole
King |
City
Streets |
1989 |
Vocals (Background) |
Various Artists |
Working Girl |
1988 |
Vocals (Background) |
Michael Franks |
The
Camera Never Lies |
1987 |
Vocals (Background) |
Neal
Fox |
A
Painting |
1977 |
Vocals (Background) |
Michael Franks |
Skin
Dive |
1985 |
Vocals (Background) |
Michael Franks |
Passionfruit |
1983 |
Vocals (Background) |
Marvin
Stamm |
Stammpede |
1983 |
Vocals |
Roberta Flack |
I'm
the One |
1982 |
Vocals, Vocals (Background) |
Michael Franks |
Objects of Desire |
1982 |
Vocals (Background) |
David
Sanborn |
Voyeur |
1982 |
Vocals, Vocals (Background) |
Various Artists |
You
Light Up My Life |
1977 |
Vocals, Vocals (Background) |
Michael Franks |
Indispensable |
1988 |
|
Michael Johnson |
Lifetime Guarantee |
1984 |
Solo, Background vocals |
Spyro
Gyra |
Freetime |
1981 |
Backing vocals |
Small
Voices Calling |
Sounds
of a Better World |
2000 |
Vocals |