Another legend is lost! Only days after Studs Terkel, the mysterious singer Yma Sumac, self-described descendent of an Inca emperor, has passed away. As described by Los Angeles Times music critic Don Heckman, she was “a living, breathing, Technicolor musical fantasy — a kaleidoscopic illusion of MGM exotica come to life in an era of practicality.”
Sumac’s absolutely unforgettable face, with a sort of smoldering sexuality, was matched only by her utterly bizarre vocal range, from growling jungle beast to piercing soprano, which she effortlessly projected into cheesey mambo arrangements. The result is a sort of high-cheekboned Screaming Jay Hawkins shining down on us from a secret golden temple on Macchu Picchu. Well, enjoy for yourselves a couple of tunes to remember the one and only Yma Sumac:
