On the occasion of UNESCO's celebration of the World Day for Audiovisual Heritage 2026, the United Music Foundation pays tribute to Anita Kerr (1927–2022) and her husband and manager Alex Grob (1935–2025) by preserving a selection of recordings from their personal archives, in close collaboration with Anita’s daughters, Kelly and Suzanne.
Singer, arranger, composer, conductor and producer, Anita Kerr was one of the pioneering figures of American recorded music and played a fundamental role in the creation of the Nashville Sound. Her distinctive vocal arrangements became part of the sound of an era, alongside artists including Elvis Presley, Roy Orbison, Perry Como, Brenda Lee, Chet Atkins, Jim Reeves, Eddy Arnold, Hank Snow and many others.
Anita Kerr also enjoyed an extensive recording career, both under her own name and with The Anita Kerr Singers. Beginning in 1967, her celebrated collaboration with Rod McKuen and The San Sebastian Strings produced The Sea, followed by The Earth, The Sky and a series of albums combining McKuen’s words with music composed, arranged and conducted by Anita. Decades later, their work would even find a new audience when Madonna sampled Why I Follow the Tigers for Drowned World/Substitute for Love, the opening track of her album Ray of Light (1998).
A pioneer for women in the recording industry, Anita’s remarkable career earned her three Grammy Awards, a Special ASCAP Award recognising her contribution to the birth and development of the Nashville Sound, and a NARAS Governors Award for her outstanding contribution to American music. She was also the first woman to conduct the Royal Philharmonic Orchestra and to compose, arrange and conduct the score for a major Hollywood motion picture (Limbo, 1972).
Alex Grob was Anita’s husband, manager and professional partner. The couple made Geneva their home in 1970, from where they continued their international musical activities. Together, in 1975, they founded Mountain Studio inside the Montreux Casino, creating a recording studio that became part of international music history and was acquired by Queen in 1979. In 1985, Anita composed and conducted Piano, Piano, the entry of her adopted country at the Eurovision Song Contest.
For this year’s World Day for Audiovisual Heritage, Kelly and Suzanne have entrusted the United Music Foundation with a selection of tapes from Anita Kerr and Alex Grob's personal archives, including master tapes and recordings unheard for decades. The tapes, dating from the late 1960s and early 1970s and recorded at 7.5 ips (19 cm/s) and 15 ips (38 cm/s), are being carefully preserved and transferred at high resolution, ensuring that the remarkable legacy of Anita Kerr and Alex Grob can be heard and rediscovered by future generations.
