Minnie Riperton

Minnie Riperton was an American singer known for her extraordinary five octave vocal range and frequent use of the whistle register. Her work in the late 1960s and 1970s blended soul, R&B, pop, and jazz influences, moving from work with the psychedelic soul group Rotary Connection into a solo career. She is remembered for a distinctive, expressive high-register singing style that influenced later vocalists; she died in 1979.