Minnie (album)

Minnie is the fifth and final studio album by American R&B/jazz singer Minnie Riperton. She died of cancer two months after its release. This was also her first album for 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.[2] 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.

Minnie
Studio album by
Minnie Riperton
ReleasedMay 9, 1979
Recorded6 March – September 1978 A&M Studios
Los Angeles
Genre
Length35:47
LabelCapitol
Producer
Minnie Riperton chronology
Stay in Love
(1977)		 Minnie
(1979)		 Love Lives Forever
(1980)
Professional ratings
Review scores
SourceRating
Allmusic[1]

Background

Minnie brought son Marc and daughter Maya Rudolph into the studio to sing background on "Dancin' & Actin' Crazy," while the tender "Lover & Friend" (featuring a reunion with Stevie Wonder, once again under the pseudonym of El Toro Negro) was the perfect ode to her relationship with Richard.[3] Minnie was at her most playful self on her remake of the Doors' "Light My Fire", a duet with José Feliciano (who had a hit with his own version of this rock classic in 1968). 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.[4]

When not recording, Minnie was busy as the national spokesperson for the American Cancer Society,[5] 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.[6] While promoting this album, TV appearances kept her busy – The Mike Douglas Show, The Merv Griffin Show, The Tonight Show.[7] 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.[8]

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.[9] Posthumous singles included "Lover and Friend" and "Dancin' & Actin' Crazy".

Track listing
Side One
No.TitleWriter(s)Length
1."Memory Lane"Minnie Riperton, Richard Rudolph, Keni St. Lewis, Gene Dozier4:23
2."Lover and Friend"Riperton, Richard Rudolph, Keni St. Lewis, Gene Dozier4:13
3."Return to Forever"Rudolph, Randy Waldman4:07
4."Dancin' & Actin' Crazy"Rudolph, Randy Waldman6:03
Side Two
No.TitleWriter(s)Length
5."Love Hurts"Riperton, Richard Rudolph, Marlo Henderson3:35
6."Never Existed Before"Riperton, Richard Rudolph, Bill Thedford4:17
7."I'm a Woman"Riperton, Richard Rudolph, Bill Thedford4:00
8."Light My Fire" (featuring José Feliciano)Jim Morrison, Ray Manzarek, Robby Krieger, John Densmore5:09

Personnel

Charts
Chart (1979)[10] Peak
position
Australia (Kent Music Report)[11] 60
U.S. Billboard Pop Albums 29
U.S. Billboard Black Albums 5

Singles

Year Title US
R&B[12]
1979 "Memory Lane" 16
"Lover and Friend" 20

References
  1. Allmusic review
  2. Minnie Riperton - Petals: The Minnie Riperton Collection (CD liner notes) The Right Stuff/Capitol Records 7243 5 29343-2
  3. Minnie Riperton - Petals: The Minnie Riperton Collection (CD liner notes) The Right Stuff/Capitol Records 7243 5 29343-2
  4. Minnie Riperton - Petals: The Minnie Riperton Collection (CD liner notes) The Right Stuff/Capitol Records 7243 5 29343-2
  5. youtube.com.
  6. The Answer News: Minnie Riperton
  7. Minnie Riperton - Petals: The Minnie Riperton Collection (CD liner notes) The Right Stuff/Capitol Records 7243 5 29343-2
  8. youtube.com.
  9. "Minnie Riperton: "Memory Lane" (May 25, 1979)". youtube.com. Google Inc. Retrieved 2018-09-16.
  10. "Minnie > Charts & Awards > Billboard Albums". Allmusic. Retrieved 2009-02-13.
  11. Kent, David (1993). Australian Chart Book 1970–1992 (illustrated ed.). St Ives, N.S.W.: Australian Chart Book. p. 252. ISBN 0-646-11917-6.
  12. Whitburn, Joel (2004). Top R&B/Hip-Hop Singles: 1942-2004. Record Research. p. 490.
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