Yma Sumac, R.I.P.
Peruvian singer Zoila Augusta Emperatriz Chavarri del Castillo, who went by the stage name Yma Sumac, passed away at her home in California on Saturday morning. Sumac, who claimed that her voice had a five-octave range, sang around South America before being signed to Capitol Records in 1950. Her albums for Capitol brought together traditional South American folk songs and splashy Hollywood arrangements, and she performed at the Hollywood Bowl and in Las Vegas during that decade. The ’60s took her around the world and resulted in her recording a live album–the only one she would release during her career. In 1971 she made a foray into rock with the album Miracles and subsequently semi-retired, only coming out to play the occasional concert or perform the odd track (like her interpretation of “I Wonder” from Disney’s Sleeping Beauty, which appeared on the 1987 Disney covers album Stay Awake). Sumac was 86.
Chuncho (The Forest Creatures)
Yma Sumac, ‘Peruvian songbird’ with multi-octave range, dies at 86 [LAT]
