13. Minnie RipertonPerfect Angel
This little woman who’s constantly singing from the light! Every time I imagine her she’s like the pillar that holds the sky from falling down, she’s this goddess. Everything she seemed to do was just coming from this light and energy and positivity, and she was really super sexy in her songs. She’s acrobatic in this gentle and soft way, everything was a bit smiley and fun, she was such a tickler!
I met her husband, Richard Rudolph, in L.A. once and he was amazing. I really wanted to write with him, and he heard my songs for Fisherman’s Woman, and he said, "You know what? You’re going to be fine. You don’t need me on this", and I was a bit disappointed! But he took me for lunch and he was telling me so many incredible stories about Minnie. When she got cancer she had so many people that loved her, of course, and they were all gathered around her bed. Stevie Wonder was there holding her hand – he’d written a lot of her songs – and just before she passed away she said, "Stevie, sing for me", and she died in this peaceful, beautiful way. She’s one of those people for me, I own all of her records, and I’ve always had such a love for her. As much as I love the dark and the thrill in some of my choices, she’s the epiphany and the light. Perfect Angel I absolutely love. I just want to take my clothes off and be free when I hear it, such beautiful raunchiness.
