Junk Box Jury

“Never My Love” taken from the album “Vikki!” on (Liberty LBS 83099E) 1968

Vicki Carr | Vikki! | (Liberty) | There was a time, not too long ago, when the Pepe Callahan Mexican-Irish Band featured an exceptional female vocalist. She sang with such style and vocal magnetism that she could lift audiences into the palm of her hand, then put them away in her pocket. She called herself Carlita, and opened with Pepe’s band at the Chi Chi Club in the desert resort, Palm Springs. The Mexican-Irish Band never set any attendance records at the Chi Chi, but the young singer began to attract more and more people who enjoyed the bubbling excitement and enthusiasm of a girl who made every night seem like opening night.

The Chi Chi was just a beginning — the first small place in an endless montage of night clubs and singing engagements. The first small place that brings back vivid thoughts . . . the place you remember. It was far from glamorous and it had no orchestras or rollicking revues. All of that came later. But it made no difference to Carlita that the Chi Chi wasn’t the Cocoanut Grove and that the Pepe Callahan Mexican-Irish Band wasn’t a big band headliner. The way she sang, she could have been performing for the Queen.

When Carlita left the Chi Chi Club, she left the Mexican-Irish Band behind as well as her Mexican stage name — she became Vikki Carr. She toured the Nevada hot spots — Reno, Las Vegas and Lake Tahoe — and generated enough enthusiasm to record a demonstration disk and sign a record contract.

There are many sides to Vikki’s vocal style. Each cut of this album will make you an intimate friend with a small part of Vikki — you feel the moods she leaves behind in every song she sings. She shows here what she can do with a group of songs that demand vocal variety — and that’s what makes a singer great. She takes everything from “No Sun Today” to “Never My Love” to “Lazy Day,” a song made popular by the strobe light singing style of Spanky And Our Gang. Then there’s her emotional treatment of Glen Campbell‘s hit “By The Time I Get To Phoenix” —she tells the story behind the story.

The hassle finally pays off for some singers — and it has paid off for Vikki Carr. The singing tours, the one night stands, the indigestion from restaurant food. The times you tried to grab a meal after the closing show, but the pressure wouldn’t ease and the tension tied your stomach up in knots. The time in some town when the flu hit hard, but you still did three shows with the help of aspirin and orange juice. Tension is a partner that travels with a singer who really wants to sing.

The Mexican-Irish Band is far behind Vikki Carr now. But she still sings with the feeling and excitement that captivated the Palm Springs audiences on her first singing engagement. Does she ever think of the lean days? Of course. When the ovation thunders at the Sahara Hotel and faces beam and the world cries “Encore” — that’s when she remembers Pepe Callahan and the Chi Chi Club . . . she remembers and she’s grateful. When you sing your heart out, how can you miss?

Any questions and feedback about the material posted on my website let me know by using the contact form provided.

cost of record: £1
from: charity shop