Died On This Date (November 1, 2008) Yma Sumac / Beloved Peruvian Soprano
themusicsover Yma Sumac
September 13, 1922 – November 1, 2008
The beautiful Yma Sumac was a world famous Peruvian soprano singer whose style of music was often referred to as exotica. With a vocal range that has been reported to reach as high as five octaves, Sumac’s career began in 1942. By the late ’40s, she was signed to Capitol Records who released a series of albums that would come to be known as lounge music due to their jazzed up versions of traditional South American folk songs. Over the next two decades, Sumac toured the world, performed on Broadway and appeared in two films. She became a U.S. citizen in 1955, and in 1961, she mounted an unheard of five-year world tour. During the ’90s and beyond, Sumac’s music reached new heights thanks to a renewed interest in lounge music, and because contemporary artists like the Black Eyed Peas began sampling her recordings. In 1998, her “Ataypura” appeared in the cult fave, The Big Lebowski, while other songs have been used in a commercial here and there. Yma Sumac was 85 when she passed away of colon cancer on November 1, 2008.
What You Should Own
Nathaniel Mayer was a Detroit R&B singer who first surfaced in the early ’60s when he was signed to the legendary Fortune Records. Mayer made several records for Fortune, including 1962’s “Village of Love,” which became a Top 40 hit and continues to be a favorite cover song to this day. Six years after signing to the label, Mayer left the music business and all but vanished, becoming a part of blues folklore and urban legend. He did resurface in the early ’80s to cut one side, but was gone again until 2002. It was that year that reissue specialists, Norton Records released a previously unissued 34 year-old track by Mayer, prompting him to come out of his self-imposed exile. He mounted his biggest tour ever and signed with hip indie label, Fat Possum Records. He toured with the Black Keys in 2005, turning on a new generation of fans with his raunchy and energetic live show. Just three years into his renaissance, Nathaniel Mayer, 64, died following a series of strokes.
Tommy Johnson was a Mississippi-born blues musician whose career began around 1915, with his first recordings coming in the late ’20s. He is considered one of the foundations of Delta blues due to his solid songwriting and his strong falsetto voice. The band Canned Heat took their name from his “Canned Heat Blues.” Johnson was the first known blues musician’s to claim that he sold his soul to the devil. A primary character in the 2000 film O’ Brother Where Art Thou, also named Tommy Johnson, is said to be based upon him and not 