MINNIE RIPERTONFew singers of her generation had the vocal range and angelic voice of Minnie Riperton who died on 12 July, 1979, aged 31.
A trained opera singer, Ms Riperton possessed a rare five-octave range and was noted for her abilities in the whistle register. She was able to imitate instrumentation and even birds.
Signed to the famous Chess Records, Ms Riperton served an apprenticeship as a backing vocalist before achieving solo success and is best remembered for her chart-topping single “Lovin’ You.”
Tragically diagnosed with breast cancer at a young age, she campaigned tirelessly to raise awareness of the disease throughout America .
Minnie Julia Riperton was born in Chicago , Illinois , on 8 November, 1947. One of eight children she showed a gift for the arts at a young age and studied music, drama and dance at the city’s Lincoln Centre.
Ms Riperton’s original dream was to become an opera singer but as a teenager she was soon entranced by pop and soul music and she joined a girl group called The Gems. Signed to Chess Records, they had a local hit with “I Can’t Help Myself” in 1964.
The Gems continued to release songs under various names throughout the late 1960s and as The Starlets they recorded “My Baby’s Real” in 1967 which remains a Northern Soul classic.
Despite the limited commercial success of The Gems it gave Ms Riperton an opportunity to showcase her talents to the music industry and, recording as Andrea Davis, she had minor hits with “Lonely Girl” and “You Gave Me Soul.”
In 1968 she became the lead vocalist with funk-soul outfit, the Rotary Connection who released their self-titled first album in the same year. They achieved some underground notoriety but failed to achieve mainstream success.
Having married composer and songwriter Richard Rudolph, the couple spent a two year sabbatical in Florida before Riperton signed to Epic Records in 1973.
Her Stevie Wonder-produced album “Perfect Angel” was released in 1974 and went on to be one of her best selling records. The fourth single from the album, “Lovin’ You” reached number one in the US charts and number two in the UK .
Her subsequent albums, “Adventures in Paradise ” and “Stay in Love” failed to repeat the commercial success. Having been diagnosed with breast cancer, Ms Riperton’s fifth and final album “Minnie” was released in 1979.
Despite the disease and having undergone a mastectomy, she continued to tour during the final years of her life and also became a spokesperson for the American Cancer Society.
She had two children with Rudolph - a son, Marc Rudolph, and a daughter, Maya Rudolph, who is a performer on the American television programme, Saturday Night Live.
But it will be for the pureness and range of her voice that Ms Riperton will be remembered. Her ability to sing in a high register and maintain high notes for a long time helped to create some of the most beautiful songs of the era.
Her obituary in the New York Times said: “Using her voice instrumentally, she combined the forthrightness of pop and soul singing with the intricacy of jazz in a manner that managed to be both popular and intelligent."
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