Lovin' You - Minnie Riperton (1975) 5/11/23

n 1971, Richard Rudolph and his wife Minnie began writing what later became a "Great Song of 1975." Minnie, of course, was Minnie Riperton, and the song was "Lovin' You."

The couple tinkered with the song for a while, especially after the 1972 birth of their daughter, actress/SNL alumnus Maya Rudolph--which explains why Minnie repeatedly sings "Maya" near the end of the song.

TrRIVIA: Some radio stations faded the song out before the "Mayas" because they thought it sounded like some sort of religious chant!

The couple immediately noticed that when Minnie would sing the song in clubs, it became more intimate when she was backed by a bare minimum of instrumentation, and that audiences would respond to it more when she'd effortlessly show off her 5-octive range.

(Note: For those interested, I've included a link below to a video by Beth Roars, a respected vocal coach who breaks down Minnie's vocals during a live--and very impressive--performance of the song.)

When Minnie signed a recording contract with Epic Records and was preparing her first album, she was asked who she wanted to produce it. She immediately suggested her friend Stevie Wonder. Minnie had sung backup for Stevie on a number of occasions, and she knew he would be the perfect man for the job.

One minor problem: Stevie was still signed to Motown, and was prohibited by contract to work for Epic--or any other record company for that matter.

Luckily, there were ways around it...and after some finagling, Stevie was able work with Minnie by using the pseudonym "El Toro Negro," which is Spanish for "The Black Bull."

TRIVIA #2: Stevie's astrological sign is Taurus, the Bull.

When recording "Lovin' You, Stevie played electric piano on the track and, and kept the other instrumentation down to just an acoustic guitar and some bird chirping sound effects --which by all accounts--happened by accident, but were left it in.

When the song was released as a single, it became a worldwide hit, selling close to two million copies, and reaching the top 10 in 7 countries. In the US alone, it went to #1 on Billboard's Hot 100, #3 on the Soul Chart, and #4 on The Adult Contemporary Chart.

TRIVIA #3: It was the first #1 record that didn't have a drum track!

After "Lovin' You," Minnie released a few more songs with little to show for it, but with her talent it was only a matter of time before she'd score another hit. Unfortunately, her time ran out in 1979, when she died of cancer at the way-to-young age of 31.

Still, she left us with "Lovin' You: a "Great Song of 1975," and a gift for her daughter Maya. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=7MmEVWI8Ieo

Beth Roars: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=8GFTDXSkLik

Tomorrow: Yes, it's about a dog. Coming Soon: Great Songs of the '80s!