Kvitka « Cassie » Cisyk (Ukrainian: Квітка Цісик, born April 4, 1953, Queens, New York – died March 29, 1998, New York City) was an American soprano singer best known to the Ukrainian-speaking world for her two albums of Ukrainian folk and pop songs, « Kvitka, Songs of Ukraine » and « Kvitka, Two Colors ».
Her name, Kvitka, is Ukrainian for « flower ».
In the English-speaking world she was known as the voice behind commercial messages for products such as Coca-Cola, American Airlines, Mr. Pibb, Sears, JC Penney, Safeway grocery stores and Starburst candies. She did a lot of work for Ford, and sang the slogan « Have you driven a Ford lately? » In the 1970s she also recorded two movie soundtracks, « You Light Up My Life » (1977 Oscar Winning song) and « The One and Only ».
Her father, Wolodymyr Cisyk, a concert violinist and teacher, taught her to play the violin when she was 5 years old. Her greatest love was Ukrainian song, and 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 dedicated to « the spirit of the Ukrainian soul, whose wings can never be broken. » Today, songs from both albums can be heard on radio in Ukraine. Both albums where nominated for a Grammy Award in 1990.
Both « Song of Ukraine » and « Two Colors » were family projects. Kvitka’s husband, Ed Rakowicz, a recording engineer, produced them. Her sister Maria was a concert pianist and teacher.
Cisyk Cisyk attended the High School of Music & Art in New York City and graduated in 1970.
Kvitka Cisyk Rakowicz died from breast cancer in 1998, six days before her 45th birthday.
Albums -
Kvitka, Songs of Ukraine 1980
Kvitka, Two Colors 1989
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