July 19: Vikki Carr- “It Must Be Him” - is 72-years-old today.

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Born Florencia Bisenta de Casillas Martinez Cardona in El Paso, Texas, and raised in the San Gabriel Valley of California, Vikki Carr, the eldest of seven children, began performing at the age of four singing "Adeste Fidelis" in Latin at a Christmas program. 

After taking the stage name "Vikki Carr," she signed with Liberty Records in 1962. She recorded “He 's A Rebel,” which first became a hit in Australia. That title was soon followed by “It Must Be Him,” which charged up the charts in England. 

Her first album, also named It Must Be Him, was nominated for three Grammy Awards. The title track reached No. 3 on the Billboard Hot 100 in the United States in 1967. "It Must Be Him" sold over one million copies, and was awarded a gold disc. (The song was also featured in the storyline of the Academy Award winning movie Moonstruck.)

Vicki had two other songs make the US Top 40: 1968's "The Lesson" and 1969's "With Pen in Hand.” Around this time, Dean Martin called her "the best girl singer in the business.”

Carr had 10 singles which made the US pop charts and 13 albums which made the US pop album charts. In the 1980s and 1990s Carr had enormous success in the Latin music world, winning Grammy Awards for Best Mexican-American Performance in 1986 for her album Simplemente Mujer; Best Latin Pop Album in 1992 for Cosas del Amor; and Best Mexican-American Performance in 1995 for Recuerdo a Javier Solis.

In the 1990s, she also received Grammy nominations for the discs Brindo a La Vida, Al Bolero, A Ti and Emociones.  Her numerous Spanish-language hit singles include "Total,” "Discúlpame,” "Déjame,” "Hay Otro en Tu Lugar,” "Esos Hombres,” "Mala Suerte" and "Cosas del Amor.” The latter song spent more than two months at No. 1 on the US Latin charts in 1991, her biggest Spanish-language US hit.

Vicki's Spanish-language albums have been certified gold and platinum in Mexico, Chile, Puerto Rico, Venezuela, Costa Rica, Colombia and Ecuador. In 1999 she taped a PBS TV special, Vikki Carr: Memories, Memorias, in which she performed popular bilingual tunes from the 1940s and 1950s.

Vikki Carr and former NASA astronaut José Hernández will receive CHCI's 2011 Medallions of Excellence for Leadership and Community Service at CHCI’s 34th Annual Awards Gala on September 14, 2012 in Washington, D.C. The CHCI Gala is the pinnacle celebration of the outstanding accomplishments made by Latinos who have not only succeeded in their individual careers, but that also serve as positive role models and empower Latino youth.

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For more about Vicki, visit her Website at -

http://www.vikkicarr.com/

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