History Music / MinnieRiperton

* HesitantSacrifice: On its face, "Back Down Memory Lane" is about the subject reminiscing about an old romance, but the lyrics and Minnie's singing make it clear that she's wistfully thinking about all the memories she has with her husband and family and lamenting that she will pass away soon.

Minnie Julia Riperton Rudolph (November 8, 1947 – July 12, 1979) was an American soul singer-songwriter. The youngest of eight children, began taking dancing and ballet. Once she reached high school, she began singing in the choir and, from there, signed her first professional contract at age 16 and began singing with an all-girl group called The Gems on the Chess label. After breaking from The Gems, Riperton made a complete genre switch, and joined the PsychedelicRock group Rotary Connection in 1967 and was made the lead singer in 1968. During her time with Rotary Connection, Riperton met songwriter and producer Richard Rudolph. They married in 1969 and had a child. Together, Rudolph and Riperton worked on Riperton's first solo album, 1969's ''Come to My Garden'', which met with only minimal commercial success, but a fair amount of acclaim. Specifically pointed at the track "Les Fleurs". Riperton rejoined Rotary Connection for their last album. And after finishing work with them, Riperton relocated to Gainesville, Florida, where she gave birth to her daughter, future actress and comedian Creator/MayaRudolph. Eventually, she would move to UsefulNotes/LosAngeles to become a member of Music/StevieWonder's backing group, Wonderlove.

In 1976, while working on her fourth solo album, ''Stay In Love: A Romantic Fantasy Set to Music'', Riperton found that she was suffering from breast cancer. The following year, President UsefulNotes/JimmyCarter presented her with the American Cancer Society's Courage Award, and she later became the chairwoman of the organization. In 1978, Riperton signed a new contract with Creator/CapitolRecords and began work on her last album, titled ''Minnie''. The album contained other notable tracks from her career, such as "Memory Lane" and "Lover and Friend". Her health continued to decline in 1979, and eventually she lost her battle with cancer and passed away on July 12, 1979. A year after her death, Capitol released a posthumous album, ''Love Lives Forever'', featuring her recorded vocals with various singers such as Peabo Bryson, Music/MichaelJackson and Music/StevieWonder. Today, Riperton's influence can be heard in the voices of artists such as Music/MariahCarey, Music/JillScott and Music/ErykahBadu.

Minnie Julia Riperton Rudolph (November 8, 1947 – July 12, 1979) was an American soul singer-songwriter. The youngest of eight children, began taking dancing and ballet. Once she reached high school, she began singing in the choir and, from there, signed her first professional contract at age 16 and began singing with an all-girl group called The Gems on the Chess label. After breaking from The Gems, Riperton made a complete genre switch, and joined the psychedelic rock group Rotary Connection in 1967 and was made the lead singer in 1968. During her time with Rotary Connection, Riperton met songwriter and producer Richard Rudolph. They married in 1969 and had a child. Together, Rudolph and Riperton worked on Riperton's first solo album, 1969's ''Come to My Garden'', which met with only minimal commercial success, but a fair amount of acclaim. Specifically pointed at the track "Les Fleurs". Riperton rejoined Rotary Connection for their last album. And after finishing work with them, Riperton relocated to Gainesville, Florida, where she gave birth to her daughter, future actress and comedian Creator/MayaRudolph. Eventually, she would move to Los Angeles to become a member of Stevie Wonder's backing group, Wonderlove.


After touring with Wonder, she returned to the studio to work on her second solo album, ''Perfect Angel''. Because of her work with Stevie Wonder, he agreed to help produce the album, which contained the international pop-soul hit "Lovin' You", which utilizes her noted [[https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Whistle_register whistle register]]. The year 1974 proved to be big for Riperton, as ''Perfect Angel'' would be her breakthrough to mainstream pop audiences. In 1975, she returned to the studio to produce 1975's ''Adventures in Paradise'' and, although it didn't mirror the success of ''Perfect Angel'', it was still popular with R&B audiences.

In 1976, while working on her fourth solo album, ''Stay In Love: A Romantic Fantasy Set to Music'', Riperton found that she was suffering from breast cancer. The following year, President Jimmy Carter presented her with the American Cancer Society's Courage Award, and she later became the chairwoman of the organization. In 1978, Riperton signed a new contract with Capitol Records and began work on her last album, titled ''Minnie''. The album contained other notable tracks from her career, such as "Memory Lane" and "Lover and Friend". Her health continued to decline in 1979, and eventually she lost her battle with cancer and passed away on July 12, 1979. A year after her death, Capitol released a posthumous album, ''Love Lives Forever'', featuring her recorded vocals with various singers such as Peabo Bryson, Music/MichaelJackson and Music/StevieWonder. Today, Riperton's influence can be heard in the voices of artists such as Music/MariahCarey, Music/JillScott and Music/ErykahBadu.

!!''Things I say and trope may not come clear through''

* SillyLoveSongs: She had quite a few, but none were more well-known than "Lovin' You".

Minnie Riperton was an American soul singer-songwriter. The youngest of eight children, began taking dancing and ballet. Once she reached high school, she began singing in the choir and, from there, signed her first professional contract at age 16 and began singing with an all-girl group called The Gems on the Chess label. After breaking from The Gems, Riperton made a complete genre switch, and joined the psychedelic rock group Rotary Connection in 1967 and was made the lead singer in 1968. During her time with Rotary Connection, Riperton met songwriter and producer Richard Rudolph. They married in 1969 and had a child. Together, Rudolph and Riperton worked on Riperton's first solo album, 1969's ''Come to My Garden'', which met with only minimal commercial success, but a fair amount of acclaim. Specifically pointed at the track "Les Fleurs". Riperton rejoined Rotary Connection for their last album. And after finishing work with them, Riperton relocated to Gainesville, Florida, where she gave birth to her daughter, future actress and comedian Creator/MayaRudolph. Eventually, she would move to Los Angeles to become a member of Stevie Wonder's backing group, Wonderlove.

->''You can see inside me\\

->''For all of these simple things and much more, a flower was born\\