From Yahoo Music News:

Peruvian-born Singer Yma Sumac Dies in Los Angeles

(Not that this is the type of music that many orgers would be familiar with or care too nuch about but I felt this legendary talented singer should be honored for her chops. Before there was Minnie Riperton or Mariah Carey there was Yma Sumac).



LOS ANGELES – Yma Sumac, the Peruvian-born soprano who wowed international audiences in the 1950s with her stunning vocal range and modern take on South American folk music, has died.

Sumac's friend and personal assistant Damon Devine says she died Saturday at an assisted-living home in Los Angeles after an eight-month bout with colon cancer.

The reclusive, raven-haired songstress had said she was born in 1927, but Devine says her birth certificate read 1922 and she was 86.

Dubbed the "Peruvian Songbird" and the "Nightingale of the Andes," Sumac's soaring, warbling voice — reported to span well over three octaves — was matched by her flamboyant outfits designed to make her look like Incan royalty.

Her first album, "Voice of the Xtabay" in 1950, launched a decade of worldwide fame.

DakutiusMaximus said:

R.I.P. Yma...

I remember that Wayne Shorter listed "Voice of the Xtabay" as one of his favorite albums....






...

I have her Voice of the Xtabay album. It's crazy. I like it a lot.

Has it been ever confirmed that Yma Sumac is her real name and not Amy Camus?

Brilliant voice! The myth about her is just as entertaining as the music.


[Edited 11/3/08 13:32pm]

She became an instant favorite of mine after hearing Mambo. With an experimental voice like that, how can she not be a favorite. When I first started listening to her, I was shocked that she was still alive even back then.

sextonseven said:

Last I heard, it was still a rumor.

Really good mix so far.....still listening. You probably thought I forgot. lol.

Oh, sad! Esp cuz I thought she had passed away decades ago...

yma was fabulous. a truly unique talent.

RIP

It's rare that somebody with that wide a vocal range knows how to put it to good use. Usually you get somebody like Mariah Carey who only uses it to summon dolphins from the depths of the ocean floor to bring her Skittles.


Pachamama, from The Secret of the Incas with Charlton Heston.

AnckSuNamun said:

I thought you didn't care about me.

Thanks for introducing me to Yma.

RipHer2Shreds said:

this piece of music was used in one of the fairytales of the best amusement park in the world, the Efteling in Holland!

She was family.

A great talent. She will be missed.

Buena suerte, tia...

sextonseven said:

lol. No.....just the world's biggest procrastinator.

I didn't learn of Yma Sumac until the early 90's...and in quite a bastardized way...listening to her voice soar over house tracks in the gay ballrooms of Miami Beach amongst hot sweaty, shirtless men who all looked like living Adoni and wanted abolutely NOTHING to do with me...they were fun times though, and her voice gave me great joy then, and even more so afterwards once I took the time to explore her music on my own.

I bet Tarantino is sad.

RIP