Minnie Riperton – Perfect Angel (1974):  Blessed with a five-octave vocal range to rival or even exceed that of Mariah Carey, in the early 1960’s Minnie Riperton became a member of a vocal group called the Gems when she was 15 years old.  Their records – which were also released under other names like the Girls Three and the Starlets – are now popular with fans of Northern Soul music.  After she began working with her mentor and record producer Billy Davis, Minnie Riperton released two singles in about 1966 called “Lonely Girl” and “You Gave Me Soul” under the name Andrea Davis.  Also in 1966, Minnie Riperton became the lead vocalist of the experimental psychedelic soul band Rotary Connection that released six albums through 1971.  Rotary Connection was on the bill at the Woodstock-style outdoor festival in 1970 during my freshman year at North Carolina State University where Steppenwolf was the featured act.  One notable achievement by Rotary Connection is that, in 1969, they played in the first Catholic Rock Mass at the Liturgical Conference National Convention, Milwaukee Arena, Milwaukee, Wisconsin, as produced by James F. Colaianni.  Minnie Riperton’s debut solo album, Come to My Garden (1970) was not a successful release, though it is now widely regarded as a masterpiece.  By 1973, Minnie Riperton was in semi-retirement as a homemaker raising two children.  Perfect Angel is Minnie Riperton’s second album and was co-produced by her husband Richard Rudolph and Stevie Wonder, who also played piano on Perfect Angel.  Stevie Wonder had recently been signed by Motown Records; he was concerned that his new record label might not allow him to work on the album, so his producer credit is shown under the name El Toro Negro (“the black bull”).  Perfect Angel features Minnie Riperton’s million-selling #1 single “Lovin’ You”, the biggest hit of her career.  “Lovin’ You” is notable for Minnie Riperton’s frequent singing in the highest of all vocal ranges, known as the whistle range and sometimes as high head voice, and also for the chirping birds that were recorded accidentally but were left in the song.  The album also includes the song “Every Time He Comes Around”, where Deniece Williams sings the background vocals.  Two Stevie Wonder songs are on the album, “Take a Little Trip” and the title song “Perfect Angel”, with the other songs co-written by Minnie Riperton and Richard Rudolph.  Their daughter Maya Rudolph is an actress, comedian and singer who started out as a cast member on Saturday Night Live.  In December 2017, Capitol Records released a deluxe edition of Perfect Angel as a two-CD set with outtakes and previously unreleased alternate versions of the original songs.  Minnie Riperton died tragically young of breast cancer when she was just 31 years old.