Minnie (album)


Minnie is the fifth studio album by American R&B/jazz singer Minnie Riperton, and her first with Capitol Records.
With a new record deal under her belt and a guarantee from the label of priority marketing and promotion, Minnie went right to work on what would be her final album. With husband Richard Rudolph, Keni St. Lewis, Gene Dozier, Randy Waldman, Marlo Henderson and Bill Thedford contributing songs, the album served as Minnie’s final statement to the music world and fans, as she died of cancer two months after its release.

Background

Minnie brought son Marc and daughter Maya Rudolph into the studio to sing background on "Dancin' & Actin' Crazy," while the tender "Lover & Friend" was the perfect ode to her relationship with Richard. Minnie was at her most playful self on her remake of the Doors' "Light My Fire", a duet with José Feliciano. It's been said that the reason we don't hear José until the second half of the song is because he just happened to be at the studio when it was being recorded and popped in.
When not recording, Minnie was busy as the national spokesperson for the American Cancer Society, lobbying the cause for early breast cancer detection. As a result of her efforts, she was presented with the A.C.S. Courage Award at the White House by President Jimmy Carter. While promoting this album, TV appearances kept her busy – The Mike Douglas Show, The Merv Griffin Show, The Tonight Show. Despite her radiant and expressive face, the cameras could not hide how the cancer was ravaging her body. During her last appearance on The Mike Douglas Show, her right arm was in a fixed position from the cancer's progression.

Critical reception

AllMusic's Craig Lytle, in a 3/5 star review, commented "While Riperton's voice was as silky as the incomparable Billie Holiday's, she had the innate ability to controllably explode into higher octaves without forsaking the beauty of her voice. This admirable quality elevates her to a class of her own...This album was released in the year in which the supreme songstress passed. However, she bestowed upon the listener her gift of voice with a collection of fine songs."

Singles

The first single released from the album was "Memory Lane". A music video was filmed for the song and released on the Capitol Records home video Revised Soul which also featured Riperton's labelmates at the time, Tavares, Natalie Cole and A Taste of Honey. The video was filmed on May 25, 1979 - a little over a month before her death from cancer on July 12, 1979. Posthumous singles included "Lover and Friend" and "Dancin' & Actin' Crazy".

Personnel

;Technical
  • Charles William Bush - photography

Charts

Singles
YearTitleUS
R&B
Canada RPM
AC
1979"Memory Lane"16–
1979"Memory Lane"–14
1979"Lover and Friend"20–