|
|
|||||||||
Biography of Nikka Costa
by Jon Merrill
NIKKA COSTA (real name Domenica) was born on June 4, 1972. She is the daughter of the late Don Costa, who produced many big hit records in the 1950s, including the classic #1 hit "Diana" by Paul Anka, and many of Frank Sinatra's hits on Capitol. Don Costa had some chart hits of his own, including "Never On Sunday." Nikka was raised in Los Angeles, but she was born in Tokyo, while her family was over there during the Tokyo Music Festival.
When Nikka was about 7 or 8, she recorded an album produced by her father called "Nikka Costa." Although Nikka is American, this album was released only overseas and not in the U.S. Shortly after, she recorded her second album, "Fairy Tales," which again was not released in the States. This little girl had an absolutely astonishing voice for someone so young, and this voice was noticed and praised around the world. Her first album went platinum in Europe, Israel, South America, and Central America. Nikka remembers opening for The Police in Chile in front of 300,000 people when she was 8 years old.
It should be noted that one of her best early songs, "So Glad I Have You," was co-written by Nikka herself and her mother Terry Ray Costa.
I became familiar with Nikka Costa's music in the 1980s because I had friends in Canada and Lebanon who knew I was the fan club president for the Broadway show of "Annie" and thought I would be interested to hear an outstanding voice on a young kid, and so they sent me tapes of her albums. Nikka had even recorded very nice versions of "Tomorrow" and "Maybe" from "Annie" on these first two albums. I was amazed at the quality of Nikka's voice, but of course I had no way of obtaining these old albums which were not available in the United States.
Nikka's single "Out Here On My Own" was a big hit in the Netherlands and other places in Europe, and it looked as if she was on the verge of a long string of hits. However, her father Don passed away in January 1983 (Quincy Jones did the eulogy at the funeral) when Nikka was 10, and that seemed to bring a halt to her singing career. Nothing more was heard from Nikka for many years, and many wondered if she would ever record again.
Then, when Nikka was a teenager, she released a "comeback" album, appropriately titled, "Here I Am, Yes It's Me." This album, recorded for a German label, was widely released all over the world--except in the U.S. where she had never had any following anyway. Whereas her first two albums were more in an adult contemporary vein, this one was more pop-rock oriented,somewhat similar in style to that of the brilliant and extraordinarily talented American teenage singer of the same era, Debbie Gibson.
I first heard this album in late 1990 when a fellow Nikka fan from Lebanon found the album by chance in Paris and sent me a tape of it. To this day, over 10 years later, I still count this album as just about the best I have ever heard by anyone. I could not believe how incredibly good the "Here I Am, Yes It's Me" album was. I immediately realized that I was perhaps one of her ONLY fans in the United States, solely on the strength of this amazing album. "Renegade (Take My Breath Away)," the opening cut on the album, is easily just about the best record I have ever heard by any artist in my whole life and has finally climbed its way up to the very top of my lifetime Top 540 Hall of Fame of favorite songs (elsewhere in my Web site).
Interestingly enough, Nikka says she recorded "Here I Am, Yes It's Me" purely to fulfill a contractual obligation and was not even particularly proud of her work on it. Oh, well, I guess that makes me odd, because I personally thought it was superb, and it is because of that album that I created this Web page about Nikka a few years ago. I guess some other fans must have thought it was great too, because cuts from the decade-old album are still being played on the radio in Brazil and the Middle East.
I found out much later that in 1981 Frank Sinatra had recorded a song called "To Love A Child" in Los Angeles for First Lady Nancy Reagan's To Love A Child foundation, with Don Costa producing. There was a children's chorus on this song led by none other than Nikka Costa, who had one solo verse but was credited on the record. It was also performed by Sinatra and Nikka on the East Lawn of the White House. This is the ONLY record ever released in the U.S.A. prior to 2001 with Nikka on it. Currently, the only place this song is available is on Sinatra's multi-CD box set on Reprise records (although I found a small-hole promo pressing of the 45 rpm record of it on eBay in 1999).
Many years passed, and Nikka grew up, married, and moved to Australia. Fortunately, for her fans, she began to record again. In 1996 or early 1997 she put out an album in Australia called "Butterfly Rocket" and several singles from it. It was critically acclaimed Down Under, and word of it began to leak out to the world, thanks to the Internet, and Nikka fans eagerly ordered the album. Meanwhile, the album earned Nikka a nomination for Best New Artist at the Australian Recording Industry Awards. It was very different from the others she has done and a far cry from "Out Here On My Own," but she wanted everyone to know that she is all grown up and wanted everyone to see her and listen to her in that way now. But there was no mistaking her superb voice, and once again Nikka was being heard on radio, but only in Australia. On her Australian album, her vocal intensity reminds me a lot of the late, great, Janis Joplin. Neither of Nikka's first two albums that she did in her childhood have ever been re-released on CD, and I suspect Nikka would just as soon have it that way, since she is an adult now and wants fans to pay attention to her modern rock-soul style.
In 1997 Nikka played some club dates in Los Angeles. I tried very hard to track down her booking agent so that I could find our her performance schedule, but by the time I made contact with the club, Nikka and her husband had moved to Austin, Texas, and he had joined the police force there. However, later on they were back in Australia, and her husband re-entered the music business working with Leonardo's Bride on their album Angel Blood.
In early 2001 Nikka released "Everybody Got Their Something" on Virgin/Cheeba records. It is her first album released in the USA, and there was a lot of interest in the album among American listeners, many of whom had never heard of her before. Her song "Like a Feather" was featured in a Tommy Hilfiger commercial, and Nikka performed the song on The Chris Rock Show on HBO in November 2000. I didn't even know she was going to be on TV, but the next day I was flooded with e-mails from people who had seen Nikka for the first time and had found this Web page and contacted me to find out more about her.
Finally, the Nikka Costa story has come full circle, all the way from her early albums to her current USA release. It is hoped she will meet with lots of success with her album, which has received a lot of critical acclaim among music critics.
Having had this Web page on Nikka up since 1996, it is nice for me to know that at last, USA listeners are hearing her for the first time! Now that she is a hit in America, there are numerous Web sites on Nikka's current career now (check them out by searching at Altavista or Google), but continue scrolling down on this page for some pictures and info on her early career.
-- Jon Merrill, state of Pennsylvania, United States of America, 2001.
Nikka in the early days
Nikka today
Nikka's early record sleeves from Europe and South America
This song was recorded by Frank Sinatra and a children's chorus, for which Nikka was the lead. Up until 2001, this was the only record released in the USA with Nikka's name on it.
A Spanish version of "Jimmy" from the "Here I Am, Yes It's Me" album.
A Spanish version of "Renegade (Take My Breath Away)" from the "Here I Am, Yes It's Me" album.
Recorded in Italy a year after "Here I Am, Yes It's Me," and was the last song she recorded until 1996.
Information on the Songs on Nikka's Albums
First Album - "Nikka Costa" - produced by Don Costa (Nikka's father), Tony Renis, and Danny B. Besquet; arranged and conducted by Don Costa
1. Someone To Watch Over Me - written by George Gershwin and Ira Gershwin; featured in a Broadway show called "Oh, Kay." Gertrude Lawrence had a #2 hit on the song in 1927. Willie Nelson had an album in the 1970s with this as the title song.
2. I Believe In Love - written by Danny B. Besquet and Ronald Jackson. Besquet is a co-producer of the album.
3. (Out Here) On My Own - written by Michael Gore and Lesley Gore for the movie "Fame." Nikka covered the Irene Cara #19 hit from 1980 featured on the film's soundtrack. Lesley Gore had a #1 hit with It's My Party in 1963 and several other top 10 hits. Michael is Lesley's brother. This song by Nikka was a major single hit in Europe in 1982.
4. Grown Up World - written by Don Costa, Terry Ray Costa, and Nikka Costa. A family effort by Nikka and her dad and mom.
5. Theme From "Ice Castles" (Through The Eyes Of Love) - written by Marvin Hamlisch and Carole Bayer Sager for the movie. Hamlisch was famous for adapting Scott Joplin's piano music for the movie "The Sting" in 1974 and having a #3 hit with The Entertainer.
6. Go Away, Little Boy - written by Jerry Goffin and Carole King. The prolific American songwriting team had dozens of hits including this song (originally Go Away, Little Girl), which was a #1 U.S. hit in 1963 for Steve Lawrence. Carole King is best known for the album "Tapestry" and the big #1 hit single from it, It's Too Late, in 1971.
7. It's Your Dream - written by Teddy Randazzo. Randazzo charted with a few U.S. hits including The Way Of A Clown in 1960. It is supposed that Nikka's father Don Costa knew Randazzo and probably produced that hit for him and maybe others long before Nikka was born.
8. Maybe - written by Martin Charnin and Charles Strouse. This song was the opening number for Andrea McArdle in the Broadway show of "Annie," which ran in New York from 1977 to 1983 and in many countries around the world. A 20th anniversary revival ran on Broadway in 1997.
Nikka with her mother and father
Photo by Marva Marrow and Jonathan Exley
9. Bubble Full of Rainbows -written by Tony Renis and Jan Marrow. Renis co-produced this album with Danny B. Besquet and Nikka's dad.
10. Chained To The Blues - written by Terry Ray Costa, Nikka's mom.
11. You - written by Paul Anka/Sammy Cahn. Don Costa produced Anka's first hit, Diana, in 1957, which hit #1 in the U.S. and all over the world and is one of the biggest selling singles worldwide of all-time. (P.S. Diana is one of my all-time Top 10 favorite records - Jon Merrill.)
12. So Glad I Have You - written by Terry Ray Costa and Nikka Costa, the mother-daughter team. This is my personal favorite of the songs in Nikka's two childhood albums.
Second Album - "Fairy Tales" - produced by the same three men, and arranged by Don Costa, except for Stay Daddy Stay and Morning Comes, which were produced by Danny B. Besquet.
1. First Love - written by Teddy Randazzo/Roger Joyce. See comments about Randazzo above.
2. I Believe In Fairy Tales - written by Teddy Randazzo and Roger Joyce. See comments about Randazzo above.
3. Without You - written by Nikka's parents, Don Costa and Terry Ray Costa.
4. My Boyfriend's Back - written by Bob Feldman, Jerry Goldstein, and Richard Gottehrer. This was a huge #1 hit in the U.S. in 1963 by The Angels. The American songwriting team wrote this song after hearing an argument between a high school boy and a high school girl in which they used almost exactly what became the first two lines of the song.
Nikka with her producers, Tony Renis and Danny B. Besquet
Photo by Marva Marrow and Jonathan Exley
5. Morning Comes - written by Danny B. Besquet and Ronnie Jackson. Jackson played guitar on this album.
6. He's My Clown - written by Don Costa, Terry Ray Costa, and Jimmy Ford.
7. Stay, Daddy, Stay - written by Danny B. Besquet and Ronnie Jackson.
8. Trick Or Treat - written by Teddy Randazzo and Victoria Pike.
9. Candy Man - written by Leslie Bricusse and Anthony Newley. This was a big #1 hit in the U.S. by Sammy Davis, Jr., which just happened to be #1 on the charts exactly when Nikka was born, June 4, 1972.
10. Time On My Side - written by David Lawrence.
11. Someone Who Needs Me - written by Terry Ray Costa and Dean Andre.
12. Tomorrow - written by Martin Charnin and Charles Strouse for the musical "Annie" (see comments above under Maybe on Nikka's first album). Tomorrow is one of the best known and best loved songs on the planet, thanks to its being the big hit song from the enormously popular musical.