American singer with Ukrainian background Kvitka Tsisyk was born in the USA. On 4 April she would have celebrated her 65th anniversary. Her voice amazed American show business. She worked with Michael Jackson, Whitney Houston and other celebrities. However, the Ukrainians heard her songs for the first time just after her death. Kvitka released two albums in the Ukrainian language and they are still popular.
Her father was a violist. Her family lived in Lviv until 1944. After they emigrated to the US. The singer was born in New-York. When she was a little girl she learned Ukrainian traditions and national songs.
She experimented with the style – she sang from jazz to classic. She was an official voice of Coca-Cola, MacDonald’s, Ford Motors.
In 1978 her song “You light up my life” was nominated for Oscar and Gold Globus and Grammy.
In 1992 she was diagnosed with cancer. She died when she was just 44 years old.
In Ukraine there is a charitable project ‘Nezabutnia Kvitka’ translated into English as Unforgettable Flower which deals with publicizing the song of Kvitka.