GLORIA KAYE
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GLORIA KAYE | |
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| Born | March 10, 1956 Lac La Biche, Alberta, Canada |
| Nationality | Canadian |
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Gloria Kaye aka Gloria Slavka Kolmatycki, was born in Lac La Biche, Alberta,Canada, a small unassuming farming community, to Ukrainian parents and was the youngest of six siblings. Her childhood was uneventful until age three, when her brother, Paul, realized she could sing along with him and also break into harmony at will. At four years of age, Paul entered her in CFRN's SEARCH FOR TALENT. Although she was told she was too young to compete, she was allowed to sing. Not only did she win the hearts of the audience with her rendition of ‘Doggy Heaven’, she caught the attention of JACK BENBOW, the producer of the show, who invited her to appear on local television as his protege. At the age of five, Gloria and Paul recorded a Ukrainian Album which featured her vocals. When she was six, Paul (age 16) wrote a song as a tribute to seventeen students who perished in a tragic bus and train collision in Lamont, Alberta. To this day, on the anniversary of the horrible accident, local radio stations receive requests for Gloria Kaye’s, 'TEENAGE TRAGEDY'.
Career
At nine years of age, a group of Royal Canadian Mounted Police officers, lead by MIKE CERKOWNIAK , sponsored Gloria's invite to appear on national television. Gloria and her brother left farm life and travelled two thousand miles to Toronto where Gloria resided with the family of one half of the ALLAN SISTERS, who were regulars on THE TOMMY HUNTER SHOW. Over the next three years, she would appear on every variety show of that time. To date, she is the youngest singer to have been signed with RCA RECORDS in Canada. But, her first English single, recorded at age twelve, would be overshadowed by the almost simultaneously released Ukrainian version of Nancy Sinatra's hit, 'How Does That Grab You Darlin', which for reasons unknown, would become a hit in Slavic countries, charting Billboard’s records as a foreign release. Miss Kaye continued to appear on Canadian variety television, record, and perform live, but her voice would soon take her physically beyond the borders of Canada. As luck would have it, during a rehearsal at a studio in Toronto, IRA EAKER, founder of the well respected BACK STAGE MAGAZINE in New York, would enter her life. So impressed was he with her voice, he arranged to have her come to New York. At age fourteen, Gloria landed her first radio and television Coca-Cola jingle for world-wide distribution. Through her teen years, she would continue to sing jingles for many accounts. Pepsi would fly her to San Francisco to perform live at their convention. BARRY MANILOW, a jingle singer at the time, was one of the backup singers for her Pepsi version. Mere months later, his memorable song, Mandy, would propel him to stardom. Back in New York, Eaker teamed up with John Mack, and together, they arranged for Gloria to fly to London, England to audition at The Prince of Wales Theater at the behest of (Lord) Bernard Delfont, then head of EMI-Capital Records. On her sixteenth birthday, Gloria began recording an album at the infamous Abbey Road studios. EMI-Capital spared no expense, but the album would be shelved after execs concluded the songs chosen for Gloria were not, hit songs. Instead, for European release only, EMI-Capital had her record a James Bond-ish themed song for a feature movie entitled, ‘Last Tango in Paris’. ANDY WILLIAMS would do the same version for release in North America. The movie starred Marlon Brando and Gloria’s pretty face, soon splashed across Europe’s tabloids... amused readers to learn Miss Kaye was much too young to even see the x rated film. Her performance of the rangy song on the MERV GRIFFIN Show in Los Angeles garnered an unexpected nod from Griffin to take a chair and be interviewed. Returning to Canada and completing her education, the next few years found Gloria co-hosting a Canadian music variety series which also featured a young EUGENE LEVY and ANDREA MARTIN. She appeared on the ALAN THICKE show, The BOBBY VINTON Show, and shared the stage with MARILYN McCOO and PHOEBE SNOW on ANN MURRAY’S 'For Ladies Only’ television special. The Canadian Broadcasting Corporation (CBC) then offered her a one hour Super-Special entitled, 'KAYE AND GUEST’. She was asked to represent Canada at a Pacific Song Festival and did Canada proud by returning with the coveted,'Outstanding Performer’ award. The following year she co-hosted the same festival to fifty-five million viewers across the Pacific Rim. Barely out of her teens, Miss Kaye headlined NATO tours, performing for thousands of soldiers who were stationed and keeping the peace in Europe and the Middle East. At twenty-three, Gloria hosted her own Canadian ITV music series called, ROCK-IT, and had the pleasure of performing with seasoned artists such as The Fifth Dimension, Mellissa Manchester, Melba Moore, David Clayton-Thomas, Elvin Bishop, Long John Baldry.… and unfortunately, it would be Minnie Riperton’s last performance before her death from terminal cancer. During this time, Gloria also met Emmy award winning film composer, Richard Bellis, from Los Angeles. They married and for the first few years, Gloria continued to commute between Toronto, New York, and LA, recording in Canada and appearing in venues across the United States, such as opening for BOB NEWHART in Atlantic City. Above all else, Gloria was an entertainer. One Florida press agent wrote, “ She smokes across the stage like Tina Turner.” Another wrote, “ When she sings John Lennon’s, ‘Mother’, she cries. When she performs ‘If You Go Away’, you cry.” The Florida press voted her ‘Nightclub Entertainer of the Year’, garnering her a Carbonell award. Her version of, ‘Mother’, captured live on Canadian television when she was younger, garnered her an ACTRA nomination, and her version can be viewed on YOUTUBE.
But soon after, Gloria’s health suddenly began to waiver. Taking the stage one night, with the glare from the stage lights and a thirteen piece band blaring behind her, Gloria experienced nausea and searing pain behind her left eye. It would be the start of a nightmare that would puzzle doctors and take years to diagnose. Making a move from congested LA to Santa Barbara, the headaches and burning neck pain only continued to escalate in quantity and severity… with excruciating episodes lasting up to six consecutive days. The multitude of examining physicians, tests and medications over the next few years would prove to be frustrating and un-nerving. Neurologists ran down their lists of migraine medications. None seemed to help for long and Gloria found herself at a crossroads. She couldn’t foresee a singing career with a health issue so uncontrollable. Not only did she fear having episodes in the middle of jobs, she became increasingly fearful of simply leaving the house. Eventually, Gloria was diagnosed with unusual ‘Neck Migraines’, seemingly triggered by a visible but unknown spinal injury. Meds, along with a chiropractor licensed in the use of an Activator (a milder manipulation to traditional chiropractic) finally helped give Gloria a better sense of control over her pain. Concentrating on her career again, it was dismal to find the music industry had changed drastically. Musical variety television had gone the way of dinosaurs, and, since a record deal in the United States seemed to elude her, Gloria turned even more to song writing. She’s written for movies starring Julie Andrews, Sally Field, Melissa Gilbert, Elizabeth Moss, James Garner…and YouTube has the young Olsen Twins line dancing to COWGIRL WANNABE, a song she wrote and also sang for their movie, HOW THE WEST WAS FUN. And then one day, Mike Cerkowniak, the man who convinced members of the Edmonton Royal Canadian Mounted Police to sponsor her at age nine, called to ask if they could meet. Over forty years had passed and he was one of only two surviving sponsors left. He felt Gloria should finally know the full story of the challenges they had faced on behalf of her young life. Gloria was deeply moved by what she learned. At age fifty, Gloria Kaye stared into a glare of lights, shook off her fears, and walked onto the stage of the Alex theater in Los Angeles. With a forty piece orchestra and a forty voice Ukrainian choir waiting on stage, she was going back to her roots, performing songs from her recently recorded album of Ukrainian Christmas carols... and one she penned herself, called, Sowing Kindness. This was her tribute to the RCMP and her brother, Paul, who allowed a little farm girl to follow a dream. She had performed for people from all walks of life… from rodeo riders to royalty, and even though this would be her last live performance, her songs and voice can still be heard on various television and feature films, and on many Disney Theme Park attractions throughout the world.
References
External links
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