''Love Lives Forever'' is the sixth studio album by American

soul In many religious and philosophical traditions, there is a belief that a soul is "the immaterial aspect or essence of a human being". Etymology The Modern English noun '' soul'' is derived from Old English ''sāwol, sāwel''. The earliest atte ...

singer

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 ...

. Released

posthumously Posthumous may refer to: * Posthumous award - an award, prize or medal granted after the recipient's death * Posthumous publication – material published after the author's death * ''Posthumous'' (album), by Warne Marsh, 1987 * ''Posthumous'' (E ...

in 1980, it was co-produced by her husband

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 ...

and released on her then-label Capitol Records. It consists of tracks Riperton recorded in 1978 during vocal sessions prior to her death, and music recorded after her early death,Minnie Riperton - Petals: The Minnie Riperton Collection (CD liner notes) The Right Stuff/Capitol Records 7243 5 29343-2 occurred on July 12, 1979.

Background

All of Riperton's vocals were stripped from earlier, original music tracks, and the backing tracks were completely redone. Completed with new musicians, vocalists and arrangements. Producer

Quincy Jones Quincy Delight Jones Jr. (born March 14, 1933) is an American record producer, musician, songwriter, composer, arranger, and film and television producer. His career spans 70 years in the entertainment industry with a record of 80 Grammy Award n ...

described the project as "keeping the bridge, but moving the water". The back cover of the vinyl album featured a quote about Riperton from each artist who participated, and their signature (a thumbprint for Stevie Wonder). Wonder's quote inspired the album title: "I miss you because I cannot touch you...but then again, I guess that I can because you're touching me...so, Love lives forever".

Commercial reception

The song "Here We Go" is a duet with R&B singer

Peabo Bryson Robert Peapo "Peabo" Bryson (born April 13, 1951) is an American singer and songwriter. He is known for singing soul ballads (often as a duet with female singers) including the 1983 hit "Tonight, I Celebrate My Love" with Roberta Flack. Bryson ...

, released as a single and hit the top twenty. The single peaked at no. 14 on the Billboard R&B Songs chart and also features additional

Roberta Flack Roberta Cleopatra Flack (born February 10, 1937) is a retired American singer. She topped the ''Billboard'' charts with the No. 1 singles "The First Time Ever I Saw Your Face", "Killing Me Softly with His Song", " Feel Like Makin' Love", "Wher ...

vocals. The second song from the album released as a single was "Give Me Time," featuring Stevie Wonder on harmonica. The single peaked at no. 72 on the Billboard R&B Songs chart.

Track listing

;Side One #"Here We Go" (Minnie Riperton,

Art Phillips
– 6:12 #*

– vocals (duet) #*

– additional vocals #* Tom Scott –

tenor sax The tenor saxophone is a medium-sized member of the saxophone family, a group of instruments invented by Adolphe Sax in the 1840s. The tenor and the Alto saxophone, alto are the two most commonly used saxophones. The tenor is pitched in the key ...

solo #"I'm in Love Again" (Riperton, Rudolph) – 4:05 #*

Michael Jackson Michael Joseph Jackson (August 29, 1958 – June 25, 2009) was an American singer, songwriter, dancer, and philanthropist. Dubbed the "King of Pop", he is regarded as one of the most significant cultural figures of the 20th century. Over a ...

– additional vocals #*

Hubert Laws Hubert Laws (born November 10, 1939) is an American flutist and saxophonist with a career spanning over 40 years in jazz, classical, and other music genres. Laws is one of the few classical artists who has also mastered jazz, pop, and rhythm- ...

– flute solo #"Strange Affair" (Riperton, Rudolph,

Marlo Henderson Marlo Henderson was an American guitarist and saxophonist, who played in mainly blues and R&B genres. As a session musician he played on albums such as '' Off the Wall'' by Michael Jackson, '' Them Changes'' by Buddy Miles, '' Face to Face'' by Ev ...

) – 8:55 #*

Michael Boddicker Michael Lehmann Boddicker (born January 19, 1953) is an American film composer and session musician, specializing in electronic music. He is a three times National Academy of Recording Arts and Sciences (N.A.R.A.S.) Most Valuable Player "Synthe ...

– synthesizer ;Side Two #"Island in the Sun" (Riperton, Rudolph) – 4:45 #*Tom Scott – tenor sax solo #"Give Me Time" ( Leonard Caston, Jr., Lila Hurtado) – 4:25 #* Stevie Wonder – harmonica solo #*Gerry Vinci –

violin The violin, sometimes known as a '' fiddle'', is a wooden chordophone ( string instrument) in the violin family. Most violins have a hollow wooden body. It is the smallest and thus highest-pitched instrument ( soprano) in the family in regu ...

solo #"You Take My Breath Away" (Riperton, Rudolph, Randy Waldman) – 4:35 #*

George Benson George Washington Benson (born March 22, 1943) is an American guitarist, singer, and songwriter. He began his professional career at the age of 19 as a jazz guitarist. A former child prodigy, Benson first came to prominence in the 1960s, play ...

– additional vocals #"The Song of Life (La-La-La)" (Riperton, Rudolph, Caston, Weider) – 4:10 #*

Patrice Rushen Patrice Louise Rushen (born September 30, 1954) is an American jazz pianist and R&B singer. She is also a composer, record producer, multi-instrumentalist, songwriter, and music director. Her 1982 single "Forget Me Nots" received a Grammy Awar ...

– vocals, electric piano

Personnel

*Minnie Riperton - vocals *

- additional vocals *Tennyson Stephens – acoustic piano *

- electric piano *

Greg Phillinganes Gregory Arthur Phillinganes (born May 12, 1956) is an American keyboardist, singer-songwriter, and musical director based in Los Angeles, California. A prolific session musician, Phillinganes has contributed the role of keyboards to numerous alb ...

–

keyboards Keyboard may refer to: Text input * Keyboard, part of a typewriter * Computer keyboard ** Keyboard layout, the software control of computer keyboards and their mapping ** Keyboard technology, computer keyboard hardware and firmware Music * Musi ...

, synthesizers * Lee Ritenour, Paul Jackson Jr. – guitar *Gayle Levant – harp *

Abraham Laboriel Abraham Laboriel López Sr. (born July 17, 1947) is a Mexican-American bassist who has played on over 4,000 recordings and soundtracks. ''Guitar Player'' magazine called him "the most widely used session bassist of our time". Laboriel is the f ...

– bass * Harvey Mason – drums * Tom Scott - tenor saxophone *

- flute * Stevie Wonder - harmonica * Lenny Castro, Paulinho da Costa –

percussion A percussion instrument is a musical instrument that is sounded by being struck or scraped by a beater including attached or enclosed beaters or rattles struck, scraped or rubbed by hand or struck against another similar instrument. Ex ...

*Gerry Vinci –

concertmaster The concertmaster (from the German ''Konzertmeister''), first chair (U.S.) or leader (U.K.) is the principal first violin player in an orchestra (or clarinet in a concert band). After the conductor, the concertmaster is the second-most signifi ...

*Maxine Waters, Julia Waters, Stephanie Spruill –

backing vocals A backing vocalist is a singer who provides vocal harmony with the lead vocalist or other backing vocalists. A backing vocalist may also sing alone as a lead-in to the main vocalist's entry or to sing a counter-melody. Backing vocalists are ...

Charts

Singles

References

{{Authority control 1980 albums Capitol Records albums Minnie Riperton albums Albums produced by Johnny Pate Albums published posthumously