Cristina — the New York new wave singer best known for her work on ZE Records — has died. ZE Records co-founder Michael Esteban confirmed the sad news via Facebook, with those close to the singer revealing she died from COVID-19 complications earlier today. She was 61.
Born Cristina Monet-Palaci, she married ZE Records co-founder Michael Zilkha in the early '80s after the imprint was launched in 1978. Performing as simply Cristina, she went on to record a series of cult-classic records for the imprint, including the songs "Things Fall Apart" and the John Cale-produced "Disco Clone," as well as her beloved covers of Peggy Lee's "Is That All There Is?" and the Beatles' "Drive My Car."
In 1980, Christa released her debut album Doll in the Box, which was followed by the Don Was-produced Sleep It Off in 1984. She was married to Zilkha until 1990. After briefly living in Texas following a hiatus from music, Cristina moved back to New York following their divorce.
While she spent much of her later years writing, often on music, her '80s work has gone on to amass a cult following among modern listeners. You can find some tribute posts, as well as some Cristina highlights, below.
Born Cristina Monet-Palaci, she married ZE Records co-founder Michael Zilkha in the early '80s after the imprint was launched in 1978. Performing as simply Cristina, she went on to record a series of cult-classic records for the imprint, including the songs "Things Fall Apart" and the John Cale-produced "Disco Clone," as well as her beloved covers of Peggy Lee's "Is That All There Is?" and the Beatles' "Drive My Car."
In 1980, Christa released her debut album Doll in the Box, which was followed by the Don Was-produced Sleep It Off in 1984. She was married to Zilkha until 1990. After briefly living in Texas following a hiatus from music, Cristina moved back to New York following their divorce.
While she spent much of her later years writing, often on music, her '80s work has gone on to amass a cult following among modern listeners. You can find some tribute posts, as well as some Cristina highlights, below.
