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Minnie Julia Riperton-Rudolph

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Minnie Riperton

November 8, 1947 – July 12, 1979

was an American singer-songwriter best known for her 1975 single "Lovin' You" and her five-octave vocal range.  She grew up in Chicago's Bronzeville neighborhood on the South Side. As a child, she studied music, drama, and dance at Chicago's Lincoln Center. In her teen years, she sang lead vocals for the Chicago-based girl group, The Gems.   The daughter of Daniel and Thelma Riperton, the youngest of eight children. At the age of three, she started modern dance lessons, followed by ballet lessons at 5. Her voice lessons began at the age of nine and she was developing her operatic chops at 11. Her goal at a very young age was to become a famous singer. She studied opera under Marion Jeffries. She spent months and months learning how to breathe and listening to and holding vowels. Eventually, she began singing operas and operettas along with a show tune every so often. As a freshman, she sang in the acapella choir of Hyde Park High School.   She left school early to make $10 a song, singing backup at local studios. Some reports indicate that Minnie signed her first contract at 14, while others report her to be 16. Despite her natural talent (a pure five to six-octave soprano) for opera, she was more attracted to "Rock N Roll" and the promise of touring. She would inevitably discontinue her classical training to follow her dream of being a famous vocalist. It would, however, be her classical training, which brought her the success she sought. She signed a recording contract with the "Gems" at Chess Studios, and in 1967 she joined the "rock/jazz/vocal ensemble" Rotary Connection. The style of the Rotary Connection was very progressive-- somewhere between rock, jazz, pop, and experimental. She was with the Rotary Connection when she met the love of her life, her husband, Richard Rudolph. They had two children, Maya, and Marc, whose names are included in the names of two of her songs. Maya is the name of the girl in the tale of "Love And Its Glory," and a personal reference to both can be found towards the end of "Lovin' You.” She sings to Marc in "Wouldn't Matter Where You Are."
Her early affiliation with the legendary Chicago-based Chess Records afforded her the opportunity to sing backup for various established artists such as Quincy Jones, Roberta Flack, Freddie Hubbars, Etta James, Fontella Bass, Ramsey Lewis, Bo Diddley, Chuck Berry, and Muddy Waters. While at Chess, she also sang lead for the experimental rock/soul group Rotary Connection, from 1967 to 1971.

In 1969, she recorded the album "Come To My Garden" which was released in 1971., On April 5, 1975, she reached the apex of her career with her no. 1 single, "Lovin' You". The single was the last release from her 1974 gold album entitled Perfect Angel followed by the album "Adventures in Paradise".


In January 1976, she was diagnosed with breast cancer and underwent a radical mastectomy. By the time of diagnosis, cancer had metastasized and she was given about six months to live. Despite the grim prognosis, she continued recording and touring. She was one of the first celebrities to go public with her breast cancer diagnosis but did not disclose she was terminally ill.

In 1977, she became a spokesperson for the American Cancer Society. She continued on a crusade to get the word out to as many women as possible. Since tennis was her game, you would find her at almost all the celebrity tournaments for charity.  A year later, she would become that organization's National Education chairwoman.

In 1978, she received the American Cancer Society's Courage Award which was presented to her at the White House by President Jimmy Carter. Her "experience" (as she referred to her illness) would give her yet another reason for her life ... lending her celebrity and compassion for others to become a spokesperson for breast cancer awareness, the need for self-examination, and the benefit of early detection.

Within weeks after her surgery, she appeared for the taping of the Ebony Music Awards. When she received her "Ebby," she later revealed, she was overcome by the knowledge of how lucky she was to have made it through the ordeal she and her family had gone through.

In addition to being a mother, wife, activist, fundraiser, lecturer, wife, and mother, she signed with Capitol Records, a contract that gave her the creative freedom and production quality that she desired. During the summer of 1978, creating what would be her last album, simply entitled "Minnie."

She passed away in her husband’s arms on July 12, 1979, at 31 years of age.

Continued Rest In Power