When Riperton was 15 years old, The Gems gave her her first professional singing gig. During her time in Hyde Park’s A Cappella Choir, blind pianist Raynard Miner heard her singing and became her supporter.
The Gems were a good vehicle for Riperton’s skills despite their modest level of commercial success. The trio eventually evolved into a session band called Studio Three, and it was during this time that they contributed the background vocals to the legendary 1965 Fontella Bass hit song “Rescue Me.”
I Can’t Help Myself, a local hit by The Gems, was released in 1964, and He Makes Me Feel So Good, their final song was released in 1965.
Where did Minnie Riperton go to college and high school?
Marion Jeffery trained her in operatic singing at Chicago’s Abraham Lincoln Center. She worked on her breathing and phrasing, focusing especially on her diction.
Riperton was taught by Jeffery to utilize all of her abilities. She sang operettas and show tunes while she trained under Jeffery in preparation for an opera career.
Jeffery was so confident in her student’s ability that she pushed her hard to continue studying the classics at the Junior Lyric Opera in Chicago. However, the young Riperton was starting to show an interest in rock, rhythm and blues, and soul.
She joined the Zeta Phi Beta sorority and enrolled at Loop College after completing her studies at Hyde Park High School (now Hyde Park Academy High School). She left college early to focus on her singing career.
