- Well they aren’t one sublte yet important difference occurs in love songs. On slo jams, in Soul music the singer is usualy found “begging for sex”. In FUNK music the singer is usualy found “demamding sex”.
Minnie Riperton doesn’t ever “beg” for anything, she demands to be satisfied. Nobody in their right mind could ever refuse her. She demands not only the attention of the listener, but also whoever it is she is writing the song about.
Most of the time when people think about FUNK names like P-Funk, James Brown, Hendrix, Sly Stone and others will rolloff their lips. Ask about female FUNK artists and they will quickly say Chaka Kahn & then start thinking…..then say Teena Marie….& then usually it’s followed by silence.
- People have forgotten all about Minnie because her life ended so quickly. For my money she was funkier than either Chaka or Teena. The beauty of good Funk music is that it represents both power & sensitivity, while making you….. …..think all at the same time !! Minnie’s music was extremely powerful, she always had very strong musicians such as Stevie Wonder playing behind her. Check out that SCORCHING guitar solo on “Every Time He Comes Around. The sensitivity in her lyrics is enough to make me laugh or cry during the same song, depending on my mood at the moment.
- I really am a fan of Minnie although not at first.One of my homegurls used to love her and play her records all the time. I resisted and said I could not stand her. It wasn’t until the 80’s that I started digging her and appreciating her talent. Her range and her style are unique and the only singer who comes close is another one of my favorites Mariah Carey. I remember so well the articles and pictures in Jet and Ebony magazines. I get the strangest feeling when I hear “Memory Lane”…it takes my back down memory lane.
- The music of “Minnie Rip” holds a special place in my heart.I have owned copies of the albums “Perfect Angel” & Adventures in Paradise” since they first came out. When I “lost” my record collection years later, these two albums were the first two that I looked to replace. I have listened to both of them hundreds of times over. I find myself reaching for these two often. In good times and in bad times, just hearing Minnie’s voice can raise my spirts and help me to deal better with the world around me.
She wrote most of her own material and the content of ….. her songs feels so real to me, it seems as though Minnie is having a personal conversation with the listener as opposed to singing at them.
- Minnie Ripperton was a phenomenal talent. She defintely had the vibes! No telling where she would have taken us!! My favorite song was “Loving You”. That song always brings a smile to my face. I also enjoy “Memory Lane”. Nothing wrong with a stroll in that direction. Well, Minnie was a great loss to many of us. The memory of her is sweet! The songbird’s mystical talent will continue to move me…It’s nice that you paid her some respect!!!!
- The fact that I have listened to her songs over & over again throuought the years is testimony in my mind to the sheer intelect that Minnie poured in to the lyrics of her songs. Her music has always caused me to think about people, relationships and situations in a very deep and personal way. I have learned much about myself and the people around me by analyzing her lyrics.
I can’t reccomend her music highly enough !!
- I was always under the impression that Stevie Wonder discovered Minnie Riperton. Expecially when she did Lovin’ You. That to me was her greatest hit. I was in College at Florida State when that song came out. That was one of the songs that a lot of guys would get on the floor and bump and grind to. I would hear a lot of people trying to sing that song. No a lot of them could not sing. Especially that hig a range. I even tried singing that song. That was when I realized that I just needed to shut up andleave singing to the pros
- Yeah, Minnie Rip had some music that you could bump & grind to for sure !!! I didn’t mean for it to sound like she was completely cerebral she could get “raw and NASTY” as well.
- Glad to see that you are also a big Minnie Fan….The woman was incredible….what a voice..what a range..she will always be remembered and listened to with much love and feeling…Anytime I listened to hear..I get this moving feeling way down deep in my soul…..
- The Rotary Connection’s first album got a lot of airplay in NYC on WNEW-FM, particularly on Rosko’s show. I have to admit, I thought it was pretty dreadful even back then. It was quite fortuitous for Minnie to hook up with Steveland!
- I’ve never heard the album by Rotary Connection featuring Minnie & I suspect that others have not either, can you decribe it for us ?
- Lord, it’s soooo long ago. I remember the music as being real gimmicky. Something tells me there was a cover tune that was done in a Gregorian chant style. Very pretentious.
- It’s hard for me to imagine Minnie Rip ever making a bad record but I’ll take your word for it. She is without a doubt the most erotic singer that I have ever heard. Fantastic songwriting and great musicians makes listening to Minnie’s music an “Adventure In Paradise”.
PERFECT ANGEL/BLACK GOLD FROM THE SUN
- Hey Folks, if you ‘ve been followng the history of Minnie you’ll know that she started out with a group called Rotary Connection back in the late sixties/early seventies before going solo. The famous Cadet record that was founded by Lenord Chess also had a spin off label called Cadet Concept.
- Recently on the recording Nuyorican Soul, “Little ” Louie Vega and Kenny “Dope” Gonzalez brought back the Psychadelic Soul classic “Black Gold From the Sun” co-written by Richard Rudolph and Charles Stepney. (Hmmm….the EWF connection!!!)
- Vocalist Jocelyn Brown is joined by her backup which consists of; Lisa Fischer, Cindy Mizelle, Paulette McWilliams, and Benny Diggs!!! (Boy…..where is he going
with this??…..you ask!!)
- Well….what i’m getting at is that the group, The New Rotary Connection consisted of; Minnie Ripperton, Kitty Haywood, Shirley Wahls, Dave Scott, Charles Stepney, Sydney Simms, Donny Simmons, Phil Upchurch, Pat Ferreri, and Master Henry Gibson. That was the lineup on the LP, HEY LOVE.
- Now….. there were some personel changes and also a change in the name of this multi-racial/Black flower child group if you notice. Rotary Connection more than likely was without Phil Upchurch and Henry Gibson in the first recording.
Anyhow here are the LP’s and the songs on them:
THE ROTARY CONNECTION
– Life Could Aladdin
– Teach Me How To Fly Magical World
– V.I.P. I Must Be There
– Let Them Talk I Feel Sorry
– I Took a Ride(Caravan) Paper Castle
THE NEW ROTARY CONNECTION— HEY LOVE
– If I Sing My Song
– The Sea & She
– I Am The Blackgold of The Sun
– Hanging Round The Bee Tree
– Hey Love
– Love Has Fallen On Me
– Song For Everyman
– Love Is
– Vine of Happiness
- Let me give my props to the “PERFECT ANGEL”. Folks when I visited Nightrain at his home, I flipped when he pulled out his copy of this cd. I made him mke me a copy right then!!!
I can’t find her stuff anywhere in Pittsburgh. Not the stuff I want anyways. I do have a copy of “Forever Yours”, but it is badly scratched. However the cut with Light My Fire plays great!!!
- I went to college at the University of California at Santa Cruz, and was friends there with a very cool girl named Maya Rudolph who i found out recently is Minnie’s daughter! Maya is a great woman, absolutely gorgeous, about 25 years old, grew up in LA and her dad is Richard Rudolph who was the co-songwriter and (maybe?) producer on some of Minnie’s albums. I have heard from mutual friends that Maya’s dad is a great guy, still very involved in music stuff in LA.
Maya is a great singer herself, and during university sang in a great band called Supersauce (which still exists in San Francisco minus Maya as a cool AJ/funk/party band). I know that she recently was singing back-up for and on tour with a band called the Rentals, and is currently getting a good acting career going in LA and has been on Chicago Hope and other big TV shows.
Maya is incredibly nice, i always liked her a lot; and i write all this because i think she would think it was cool that people are still so excited about her mom’s music.In “Loving You”, at the abstract vocal part in the end, you can her Minnie….singing “maya ,maya, maya“.
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