Our Favorites: Minnie Riperton

Womanica

Acast Creative Studios

History, Society & Culture, Education

4.3 • 920 Ratings

🗓️ 14 October 2025

⏱️ 8 minutes

🔗️ Recording | iTunes | RSS

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Summary

Minnie Riperton (1947-1979) was an American soul singer, best known for the 1975 hit song “Lovin' You.” From an early age, Riperton captivated audiences with her extraordinary five-octave vocal range and command of the whistle register. At the peak of her commercial success, she was diagnosed with breast cancer and became one of few celebrities to share her diagnosis publicly. She defied expectations for Black artists in the music industry and remained a beacon positivity until the end of her life.

For Further Reading:

For the past six years, we’ve been telling the stories of women you may or may now know– but definitely should. This month, we’re bringing back our favorite Womanica episodes from across our back catalog. These are women throughout time and around the world who made their mark.

History classes can get a bad rap, and sometimes for good reason. When we were students, we couldn’t help wondering... where were all the ladies at? Why were so many incredible stories missing from the typical curriculum? Enter, Womanica. On this Wonder Media Network podcast we explore the lives of inspiring women in history you may not know about, but definitely should.

Every weekday, listeners explore the trials, tragedies, and triumphs of groundbreaking women throughout history who have dramatically shaped the world around us. In each 5 minute episode, we’ll dive into the story behind one woman listeners may or may not know–but definitely should. These diverse women from across space and time are grouped into easily accessible and engaging monthly themes like Educators, Villains, Indigenous Storytellers, Activists, and many more. Womanica is hosted by WMN co-founder and award-winning journalist Jenny Kaplan. The bite-sized episodes pack painstakingly researched content into fun, entertaining, and addictive daily adventures.

Womanica was created by Liz Kaplan and Jenny Kaplan, executive produced by Jenny Kaplan, and produced by Grace Lynch, Maddy Foley, Brittany Martinez, Edie Allard, Carmen Borca-Carrillo, Taylor Williamson, Sara Schleede, Paloma Moreno Jimenez, Luci Jones, Abbey Delk, Adrien Behn, Alyia Yates, Vanessa Handy, Melia Agudelo, and Joia Putnoi. Special thanks to Shira Atkins.

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Transcript

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0:00.0	Hello, from Wonder Media Network, I'm Jenny Kaplan, and this is Womanica.
0:07.1	For the past six years, we've been telling the stories of women you may or may not know about,
0:12.0	but definitely should. This month, we're bringing back our favorite Womanica episodes from
0:16.9	across the back catalog. These are women across centuries and around the world who made their mark.
0:24.0	With that, here's one of our favorite episodes.
0:31.9	Hello, my name is Sarah Schlead.
0:34.4	I'm a producer at Wonder Media Network, and I'm excited to be guest hosting this episode of Womanica.
0:40.5	This month, we're diving into the divas of history, examining how the label has been used for many angles,
0:47.0	whether describing women pejoratively or with admiration.
0:51.5	Today, we're talking about a soprano songbird whose voice reached the highest registers
0:56.5	humanly possible. Some call her story a tragedy, but she'd disagree. Refusing to be the guest
1:03.2	of a pity party, this womanican became a champion for unabashed joy, even in her darkest moments.
1:10.4	Please welcome Minnie Ripperton.
1:16.0	On the south side of Chicago stands Bronzeville, a historic district known as the city's Black
1:21.6	Metropolis.
1:23.4	Located within one of the nation's music mechas, Bronsville became a cultural hub for African Americans.
1:29.7	And on November 8, 1947, one of its stars was born.
1:34.9	Minnie Julia Ripperton grew up as the youngest of eight children,
1:38.3	to a homemaker mother and Pullman Porter father.
1:41.8	Throughout childhood, Minnie defined herself as a multi-hyphenate performer.
1:46.0	She started dance classes at age three and went on to take drama and voice lessons.
1:51.0	By age 11, she was studying opera.
	...

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