Today’s Theme Music

She blew onto the scene in my mind in 1975. Four years later, she was gone.

Minnie Ripperton hit us with her five-octave prowess via ‘Lovin’ You’ in 1975. In 1976, she was diagnosed with breast cancer and underwent a radical mastectomy . Cancer had already entered her lymphatic system and nothing could be done for her. It was a matter of waiting.

She didn’t shrink away from living or dying. Everything she experienced was shared with the press. We knew her progress as her health declined. Minnie Ripperton became an American Cancer Society spokesperson. More than all of that, she impressed everyone with courage that matched her prodigious talent.

She passed away in 1979, thirty-one years old. It was a short life, but, man, did she live. ‘Lovin’ You’ is easy to sing as you walk through a day, especially if spring is finally beginning to stir.