Per Wikipedia, Kvitka “Kacey” Cisyk (Ukrainian: Квітка Цісик; Квітослава-Орися Цісик, Kvitka Tsisyk; April 4, 1953 – March 29, 1998) was an American coloratura soprano of Ukrainian ethnicity. Cisyk, a classically trained opera singer, achieved success in four musical genres: popular music, classical opera, Ukrainian folk music, and commercial jingles for radio and TV advertisements. Cisyk recorded “You Light Up My Life” for the film of the same title (Oscar and Golden Globe Awards win in 1978), sang the “Have you driven a Ford lately?” and “You deserve a break today!” jingles, and released two critically acclaimed albums of Ukrainian songs.
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.[1] 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”.[1]
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, 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.[1]
Both Songs of Ukraine and Two Colors were family projects. Cisyk’s second husband, Ed Rakowicz, a recording engineer, produced Kvitka Two Colors; her first husband, Jack Cortner[15] arranged and conducted them both. Her sister, Maria Cisyk, a concert pianist and teacher, performed the solo piano selections on the record, and her mother, Iwanna, made sure her Ukrainian pronunciation was perfect.
