1953–1998
Kvitka Cisyk
American singer of Ukrainian descent
An American singer of Ukrainian descent, born in New York to a family of emigrants from Lviv. Known as a voice of American advertising and film soundtracks, and in Ukraine for her two albums of Ukrainian songs.
Key accomplishments
- Recorded the song “You Light Up My Life” for the film of the same name (1977)
- The voice of advertising songs for Ford, Coca-Cola, McDonald’s and other companies
- The albums Kvitka: Songs of Ukraine (1980) and Two Colors (1989)
Who she was
Kvitka Cisyk was born in 1953 in Queens, New York, to a family of Ukrainian emigrants who had lived in Lviv until 1944. Her father, the violinist Volodymyr Cisyk, taught her music from early childhood. She attended a Ukrainian studies school and Plast camps (Plast is the Ukrainian scouting movement), and later studied violin and classical singing in New York.
Her story
From the mid-1970s Cisyk focused on studio work: she sang in radio and TV commercials and as a backing vocalist for Carly Simon, Linda Ronstadt, Michael Bolton and others. In 1977 she recorded the song “You Light Up My Life” for Joe Brooks’s film of the same name. In the film the heroine sings with her voice, but her name was not included in the credits. The version that became a chart hit was a different recording of the song, by Debby Boone. The song itself won an Oscar.
Cisyk became one of the most sought-after singers of advertising songs in the United States. At her own expense she recorded two albums of Ukrainian songs: Kvitka: Songs of Ukraine (1980) and Two Colors (1989). In 1983 she visited Ukraine unofficially. She died of cancer in New York in 1998.
Why it matters today
Kvitka Cisyk introduced many listeners to Ukrainian song, and her albums are still heard in Ukraine today. Streets in Lviv and other cities are named after her, and a memorial museum dedicated to her operates in Lviv.
