''Adventures in Paradise'' is the third studio album by

Minnie Riperton Minnie Julia Riperton Rudolph (November 8, 1947 – July 12, 1979) was an American singer-songwriter best known for her 1975 single " Lovin' You" and her four octave D3 to F7 coloratura soprano range. She is also widely known for her use ...

issued in May 1975 by Epic Records. The album rose to No. 5 on the Billboard Top Soul Albums chart and No. 18 on the

Billboard 200 The ''Billboard'' 200 is a record chart ranking the 200 most popular music albums and EPs in the United States. It is published weekly by '' Billboard'' magazine and is frequently used to convey the popularity of an artist or groups of ar ...

chart.

Background

After "

Lovin' You "Lovin' You" is a song recorded by American singer Minnie Riperton from her second studio album, ''Perfect Angel'' (1974). It was written by Riperton and Richard Rudolph, produced by Rudolph and Stevie Wonder, and released as the album's fourth s ...

" and ''Perfect Angel'' finished their chart run, Epic wanted a follow-up disc, and fast. With previous co-producer Stevie Wonder busy recording his ''

Songs in the Key of Life ''Songs in the Key of Life'' is the eighteenth studio album by American singer, songwriter and musician Stevie Wonder. A double album, it was released on September 28, 1976, by Tamla Records, a division of Motown. It was recorded primarily at Crys ...

'' (which Minnie would also turn up on, singing backup on "Ordinary Pain"), Minnie and husband Richard Rudolph hired

Stewart Levine Stewart Levine (born 1946) is an American record producer. He has worked with such artists as The Crusaders, Minnie Riperton, Lionel Richie, Simply Red, Hugh Masekela, Dr. John, Randy Crawford, B.B. King, Huey Lewis and the News, Patti LaBelle ...

to co-produce her next album.Minnie Riperton - Petals: The Minnie Riperton Collection (CD liner notes) The Right Stuff/Capitol Records 7243 5 29343-2 More songs came from the Riperton/Rudolph camp as well as collaborations with Jazz Crusader Joe Sample and songwriter

Leon Ware Leon Ware (February 16, 1940 – February 23, 2017) was an American songwriter, producer, composer, and singer. Besides a solo career as a performer, Ware was best known for producing hits for other artists including Michael Jackson, Quincy ...

(who was enjoying a hot streak thanks to his work on Marvin Gaye’s album '' I Want You''). Guitarist Larry Carlton was brought in as an arranger. The result, ''Adventures In Paradise'', took on a mellow soul-jazz tone. The album was a standard recording but available in two formats: quadraphonic and stereo. Epic Records anticipated a soul funky sequel, using Family Stone and

Tower of Power Tower of Power is an American R&B and funk based band and horn section, originating in Oakland, California, that has been performing since 1968. There have been a number of lead vocalists, the best-known being Lenny Williams, who fronted th ...

horn section, which would have been released in November 1975. However, the sessions were never released due to legal issues.

Music

The album's best known song is the sensual "Inside My Love". Riperton made it quite clear during the track's initial release that the song wasn't about a woman asking a man to have sex with her - it was about going deeper than that, attaining true intimacy. "Inside My Love" went to number 26 R&B during the summer of 1975, but stalled at #76 on the pop listings. Much of pop radio balked at playing the single due to the lyrical content (“Do you wanna ride, inside my love ..��) even though Leon Ware claimed that the words were inspired by a church preacher he heard speak when he was a child (the minister said, “let us come into the house of the Lord”). "Love and its Glory" was never a hit, but it is an epic love song of two teens struggling to be together, despite parental objections. The girl in the song is named Maya, which is the name of Riperton's daughter.

Artwork

On the album cover of ''Adventures in Paradise'', Minnie is seen sitting serenely next to a lion. Though the actual album photo session was calm, things spiraled out of control on a promotional photo shoot with a different lion. The animal lunged at Minnie without any provocation.youtube.com
/ref> Fortunately, the animal’s tamer was on the set and the lion was quickly subdued. It was around this time that Riperton discovered she had cancer. In 1976, she told

Flip Wilson Clerow "Flip" Wilson Jr. (December 8, 1933 – November 25, 1998) was an American comedian and actor best known for his television appearances during the late 1960s and 1970s. From 1970 to 1974, Wilson hosted his own weekly variety series ''The F ...

on ''The Tonight Show'' that she was suffering from breast cancer and had undergone a mastectomy.

Track listing

''All tracks written by Minnie Riperton and

Richard Rudolph Richard James Rudolph (born October 27, 1946) is an American songwriter, musician, music publisher, and producer. Life and career Richard Rudolph is the son of Muriel Eileen (Neufeld) and Sidney J. Rudolph. His grandfather, Julius Abraham Rud ...

, unless otherwise noted.''

Personnel

*Minnie Riperton - vocals * Larry Carlton - arrangements, conductor *Ed Brown - bass *Sid Sharp - strings *Stewart Levine - director *

Dorothy Ashby Dorothy Jeanne Thompson (August 6, 1932 – April 13, 1986), better known as Dorothy Ashby, was an American jazz harpist, singer and composer. Hailed as one of the most "unjustly under loved jazz greats of the 1950s" and the "most accomplished ...

- harp * Jim Gordon - drums, percussion *Rik Pekkonen - engineer *

Dean Parks Weldon Dean Parks (born December 6, 1946) is an American session guitarist and record producer from Fort Worth, Texas. Albums Parks was member of the North Texas State One O'clock Lab Band before moving to Los Angeles to work with Sonny and Cher ...

(tracks: 6, 7, 9), Larry Carlton, Richard Rudolph - guitar *

Joe Sample Joseph Leslie Sample (February 1, 1939 – September 12, 2014) was an American keyboardist and composer. He was one of the founding members of The Jazz Crusaders in 1960, the band which shortened its name to "The Crusaders" in 1971. He remained ...

- keyboards *Doug Sax - mastering *Kenneth McGowan - photography *Producer – Minnie Riperton, Richard Rudolph, Stewart Levine *Recorded By – Gary Starr *

Jim Horn James Ronald Horn (born November 20, 1940) is an American saxophonist, woodwind player, and session musician. Biography Horn was born in Los Angeles, and after replacing saxophonist Steve Douglas in 1959, he toured with member Duane Eddy for f ...

, Tom Scott - saxophones *Masaharu Yoshioka – liner notes

Charts

Singles

References

{{Authority control 1975 albums Epic Records albums Minnie Riperton albums Albums produced by Stewart Levine Albums recorded at Wally Heider Studios