After a long battle with colon cancer, Vicky Tafoya passed away at 57 on Aug. 24, surrounded by friends and family according to the Penrose Recording’s Instagram.
Tafoya was able to encapsulate love and heartbreak throughout her music career. Her strong voice of souldies touched many in the Riverside community. This is one heartbreak that Riverside will never quite get over.
The Penrose Record label welcomed Tafoya in 2019 after she co-founded Vicky and the Big Beat in 2001. Her vast experience in the genre and performing was a fitting addition to the label.
Traction for her solos and band grew as she collaborated with the developing Penrose Record label, founded by Bosco Mann of Daptones Records.
Matt Beld was one of many on the label who was devastated by the loss. He was not only a life-long friend but music partner to Tafoya. He played alongside her as a bassist for many years and continued to after the Penrose Record Room opened.
“She was the matriarch of the label,” Beld said.
She was a major part in his life and helped with developing the Penrose Record Room. He explained and showcased that a piece of her can be found all over the room from the blue teal curtains to the glowing Penrose sign that hangs from the small stage that she had performed on time and time again.
“She is this place. Knowing that she’ll always be here, I find great comfort in that.”
Tafoya performed her many hits not only in Southern California but state-wide leaving an impact on souldies fans.
“My deepest condolences to the Penrose Family. Vicky was a Godsend to doowop fans around the world,” said Ruben Molina, a long-time fan who commented on Penrose Recordings announcement of Tafoya’s passing.
Her story began as a young girl who would sneak into her mother’s forbidden record room.
“I would ask, oh! What are these little black circle things,” said Tafoya, in an interview I conducted with her at the Penrose Record Room last Oct.
Growing up surrounded by doo-wop, rythm and blues, her mother would eventually introduce those black circle things to her as records. Her musically inclined life heavily inspired her own music tracks and classic fashion style.
As a long time singer and former Southern California Doo-Wop society member, she had a message for aspiring singers, “Just do it. Everybody second guesses I don’t know, I don’t know. But you absolutely can,” she said. “It’s a part of me and I absolutely love it.”
She composed hits such as debut single “Forever”, oftentimes performing in her signature zoot suit or glimmering dress with a large rose in her hair. Always accompanied by a smile on her face.
“She’s leaving a legacy of love and passion behind. She was beyond generous with her talent,” Beld said.
“With every word, with every syllable she sang people could tell that she was pouring her heart into it. How lucky are we that we were in that orbit?”
There will be a tribute event in honor of Tafoya for friends, family and fans. All the funds generated will be donated to charity such as the American Cancer Society or Musicares.
The Penrose team is grieving, the event is still in the works and is subject to change.
