Minnie Julia Riperton Rudolph (November 8, 1947 – July 12, 1979)[4][5] was an American soul singer and songwriter best known for her 1974 single "Lovin' You", her five-octave vocal range, and her use of the whistle register.

Her early affiliation with the Chicago-based Chess Records afforded her the opportunity to sing backing vocals for various established artists such as Etta James, Fontella Bass, Ramsey Lewis, Bo Diddley, Chuck Berry and Muddy Waters.

In 1978, she received the American Cancer Society's Courage Award, which was presented to her at the White House by President Jimmy Carter.

Jeffery was so convinced of her pupil's abilities that she strongly pushed her to further study the classics at Chicago's Junior Lyric Opera.

Raynard Miner, a blind pianist, heard her singing during her stint with Hyde Park's A Cappella Choir and became her musical patron.

While a part of Studio Three, Riperton met her mentor, producer Billy Davis, who wrote her first local hit, "Lonely Girl", as well as its B-side, "You Gave Me Soul".

Rotary Connection consisted of Riperton, Chess, Judy Hauff, Sidney Barnes, and Charles Stepney.

Riperton's debut solo album entitled Come to My Garden was produced, arranged, as well as orchestrated by her Rotary Connection band mate Charles Stepney and released in 1970 by GRT Records.

She was presented as a solo artist by Ramsey Lewis on Saturday, December 26, 1970, at Chicago's famed London House.

[13] Perfect Angel went gold and Riperton was finally revered as the "lady with the high voice and flowers in her hair."

5 U.S. R&B hit, later covered by Trina Broussard, Chanté Moore, and Delilah), the album did not match the success of Perfect Angel.

Her fourth album for Epic Records, titled Stay in Love (1977), featured another collaboration with Stevie Wonder in the funky disco tune "Stick Together".

[4] During the recording of her final non-posthumous album, Minnie, her cancer progressed to the point that she was in a great deal of pain.

In her final singing appearances on television (most notably on the Mike Douglas Show), her right arm remained in a fixed position during her performances.

That Sunday, following a funeral service attended by more than five hundred mourners, Riperton was interred in the Westwood Village Memorial Park Cemetery in Los Angeles.

Stevie Wonder paid tribute to Riperton during an episode of the TV show Soul Train, which aired shortly after her death in September 1979.

It included her husband Richard, son Marc, daughter Maya, sister Sandra Riperton, and many others who worked with her.

[4] After Riperton died, several artists contributed vocals to tracks she had recorded before her death, to help compile Richard Rudolph's final tribute to his wife, Love Lives Forever.

Also included were an alternate mix of "Memory Lane"; live versions of "Can You Feel What I'm Saying", "Lover And Friend", and "Young, Willing, and Able"; and two "Moments with Minnie".

During the 1990s, Riperton's music was sampled by rap and hip-hop artists including Tupac Shakur, Dr. Dre, A Tribe Called Quest, Blumentopf, the Orb and Tragedy Khadafi.

[19] Aside from her various hits, she is also remembered for her ability to sing in high head voice (occasionally the whistle register which is often mistakenly confused with the former), in which she had rare facility.

[33] Riperton joined with established jazz guitarist George Benson, to kick-off a co-headlining North American concert tour.