Minnie

We were wannabe bad-asses, walking across the hot asphalt playground of Caldwell Elementary school in July 1979 when somebody---I don't even remember who--came up to us.

"Y'all heard? Minnie Riperton dead." We hadn't heard. And our bravado took the afternoon off when we did.

Breast cancer. She was 31. That honey sweet soprano voice that kissed the stratosphere--silenced.

...but, as it turns out, not forgotten. Thirty years after Minnie's death, people still worship the voice and the music. More than a few Soul Closet readers have emailed me: "You need to put some Minnie on there." And so today I have. The Closet closes for the week with the great Ms Riperton singing "Reasons."

While the backing track is identical to the album, the vocals are sung differently here than on wax, leading me to believe she sang it live here on Soul Train (the synch is off, as is often the case with YouTube vids), but she hits some outrageous notes with astonishing ease.

..and what the heck? It's Friday: Here's Minnie preforming "Lover & Friend."


And a live performance on the old "Mike Douglas Show", singing "Seeing You This Way." Check out how well she handles herself in the interview with Douglas at the song's end.


..and also from "Mike Douglas," a live performance of "Loving You."