Back Down Memory Lane with Minnie Riperton
Minnie Riperton was born November 8, 1947, in Chicago, Illinois, to Daniel and Thelma Riperton. At a young age, Riperton, the youngest of eight children, began taking dancing and ballet. As a youth she studied music, drama and dance at Chicago’s Lincoln Center, and which also included a career in opera.
Once she reached high school, she began singing in the Hyde Park A Capella Choir. From there, she signed her first professional contract (age 16) and began singing with an all-girl group named The Gems on the Chess label. After breaking from The Gems, Riperton made a complete switch; she joined the psychedelic rock group The Rotary Connection in 1967 and was installed as the lead singer in 1968.
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 Perfect Angel, which contained the international pop hit "Lovin' You". "Lovin' You", as the story is told, was originally supposed to be a lullaby for her then two-year-old daughter, Maya.
The year 1974 proved to be big for Riperton, as her album Perfect Angel was certified gold by the RIAA. 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 popular with R&B audiences. The album contained the song "Inside My Love", which has now become a classic with younger 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. In 1978 Riperton signed a new contract with Capitol Records and began work on her last album, titled Minnie. The album contained the hits "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, Michael Jackson and Stevie Wonder. Today, Riperton's influence can be heard in the voices of Mariah Carey, Chanté Moore, and Christina Aguilera. Her son, Marc Rudolph, is a music engineer. Her daughter, Maya Rudolph, is a regular cast member on "Saturday Night Live" (1975).
Replies to This Discussion
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Permalink Reply by MsMerising on
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Great timing with the Minnie Riperton 'Unsung' tribute.
I just finished interviewing one of Minnie's old bandmates for a series I am writing on the making of her albums. Some magical quotes. I'll let you know when the articles are ready (but be patient - it won't be for quite some time :). -
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Permalink Reply by Edie Antoinette on
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This sounds intriguing. are you by chance the same MsMerising that is affiliated with Nikos???
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Yes, I am! I wrote the reviews for the artists Sylvia St. James & Sylvia Striplin at www.funkmysoul.gr :)
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Oh my goodness! I've read your reviews! *edie just fainted* LOL
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You're silly :P Excuse me, I've been off the radar for the last 18 months so I didn't reply. Family issues made me (reluctlantly) pack up life in Los Angeles and head to Australia for several years. Am terribly homesick and am only now beginning to get some time to myself outside of my responsibilities to get back into some reviews/interviews etc Hope all has been well with you :)
M
x
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Very nice! I did a nice blog on our dear Minnie at 360 and had forgotten to bring it over. You stirred my memory for which I'm grateful. I'll put it up as a complement of your's. Thanks again!
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Permalink Reply by Tonya Anderson on
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Thanks for helping me. I really enjoy reading your discussion pages, and they are set up much more professional than mines LOL!. I love her music. Can you do a blog on Shirley Horn? Im not familiar with her. Thanks.
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I already did a blog on Shirley Horn. You can find it in the Jazz Lounge.
http://msoldschool.ning.com/group/jazzcuffs/forum/topics/jazz-divas...
The Minnie Riperton is here in the Discussions:
http://msoldschool.ning.com/group/thephyllishymangroup/forum/topics...
~E
ps: hush that talk about mine are so much mor professional! Your's are wonderful. We're a team and I'm loving everything everybody offers...shooot! LOL Love You! -
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Permalink Reply by Shelley "SoleMann" King on
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Minnie is truly missed...What a beautiful voice she had.
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Yes indeed Sole...yes indeed. :(
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Edie Antoinette
Entr'acte
Norman Brown — Night Drive- Norman Brown — Feeling
- Norman Brown — Still
- Miles Davis — miles 1
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- Marvin Gaye — I Met A Little Girl
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The history of the Butlers/Raw Soul is dense, but for all of us music nerds, that's normal. It is not totally clear what year the Butlers actually formed but they released their first single in 1963 on Liberty Records. That single was "She Tried To Kiss Me" and another single followed on Guyden entitled "Lovable Girl." After the Guyden single the Butlers took a break not recording another record until the single "Laugh, Laugh, Laugh" was released on the Phila label in 1966. The group also backed Charles Earland and Jean Wells on one Phila single ("I Know She Loves Me").
As you might be noticing, the Butlers were doing a fair amount of recording but not achieving much success. The group's recordings sold regionally but never had the promotion to make an impact on the national scene. After the single with Phila, the Butlers moved to the Fairmount label (part of the Cameo-Parkway family) and released a handful of singles, some being reissued singles of the past. The Butlers were with Fairmount for 1966-67 and then moved to Sassy Records. Sassy released the group's greatest single (in my opinion) "Love (Your Pain Goes Deep)" b/w "If That's What You Wanted." A copy of that 45 sold for just under $500 last summer on eBay. Even though that isn't that much in the world of record collecting--it's still a hefty sum. The Butlers released another single on Sassy ("She's Gone" b/w "Love Is Good") that appears to be even
harder to come by then the "Love (Your Pain Goes Deep)" single.
The true history become a bit blurred here as the AMG biography states that the Butlers last record was released on C.R.S. in 1974 (". However, between 1971 and that single, Frankie Beverly formed a group called Raw Soul and released a number of singles. Some of the songs recorded by Beverly during this period are "While I'm Alone," "Open Up Your Heart," (both on the Gregor label) and "Color Blind." "Color Blind" was released by the Eldorado label and rerecorded by Maze. Beverly's big break came when Marvin Gaye asked Raw Soul to back him on a tour. Gaye helped Beverly/Raw Soul get a contract at Capitol. Beverly decided to take the group in a different direction, a name change occurred, and Maze was created.
The above isn't the most complete history of Beverly but hopefully someone will know a way to get in touch with the man or his management because a comprehensive pre-Maze history needs to be done on Frankie Beverly (his real name is Howard, by the way). Below you'll find every Frankie Beverly (pre-Maze) song available to me right now ("Color Blind" will be up soon).
If you have a song that is not included below, shoot it over to funkinsoulman (at) yahoo.com and it will go up in the next Frankie Beverly post (later this week--highlighting Maze). Also, if you have any more information please share your knowledge. The Butlers material has been comp-ed sporadically (usually imports) but the entire Maze catalog has been reissued and is available.
Enjoy. "She Kissed Me" (Fairmount, 1966 or 1967)
"I Want To Feel I'm Wanted" (not sure which label or year)
"Laugh, Laugh, Laugh"
(Phila, 1966)
"Because Of My Heart" (Fairmount, 1966 or 1967)
"Love (Your Pain Goes Deep)" (Sassy, 1967)
"If That's What You Wanted" (Sassy, 1967)
Frankie Beverly is one of those cats that has lasting power. He started in the music business doing a tour with doo wop group the Silhouettes and then formed his own group called the Blenders. The Blenders never recorded a single, Beverly wouldn't appear on wax until forming the Butlers a few years later. Along with Beverly, the Butlers included Jack "Sonny" Nicholson, Joe Collins, John Fitch, and Talmadge Conway.
Beverly would later enjoy great success fronting Maze and Conway would become a
well-known penning Double Exposure's
"Ten Percent" and the Intruders' "Memories Are Here To Stay."
While Maze is a phenomenal group, Beverly's work before that group will always stand out as his best (imo).
The Butlers produced tunes that most Northern Soul fans would kill for and Raw Soul gave the funksters something to pursue. The Butlers recorded their first single in 1960 titled "Loveable Girl". Left to right John Fitch, T Conway, Frankie Beverly, Sonny Nicholson and Joe Collins.
12/6/46 - 9/10/24
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