VIA PRESS RELEASE | More than half a century after its original release, Minnie Riperton’s Come to My Garden, the extraordinary 1970 debut that introduced one of popular music’s most singular voices as a solo artist, returns to vinyl on October 2 from Capitol Records. The album is now available for pre-order.
Originally released by GRT Records, Come to My Garden is a lush, cinematic fusion of soul, jazz, pop, classical orchestration, and psychedelia, pairing Riperton’s luminous voice with the visionary production and arrangements of Charles Stepney. Meticulously mastered for vinyl by Levi Seitz at Black Belt Mastering, this new edition brings remarkable depth, detail, and warmth to the recording, delivering a definitive vinyl presentation of Riperton’s timeless debut.
Recorded at Chicago’s Ter Mar Studios in November 1969, Come to My Garden arrived as Riperton was stepping out from the groundbreaking psychedelic soul group Rotary Connection and establishing an artistic identity entirely her own.
Richard Rudolph, Riperton’s longtime creative partner and husband, played an integral role in shaping Come to My Garden, co-writing several of the album’s defining songs and penning its evocative title track. Stepheny, Riperton’s collaborator in Rotary Connection, produced, arranged, and orchestrated the album and wrote or co-wrote nine of its ten songs, bringing remarkable cohesion to its songwriting and sound.
“It is a thing of great beauty and wonder for me to see how Minnie and this album have blossomed and soared throughout the years,” says Rudolph. “To know that she continues to touch and move so many hearts around the world with her music and her love fills my heart in ways I can’t explain.”
When I recall those halcyon days at Chess Records in Chicago and all that led up to the making of the Come to My Garden album, I think of the amazing young Minnie, so full of life and love and dreams and a talent that was beyond measure,” Rudolph continues. “Along with the great Charles Stepney, who was her dear friend, mentor, and big brother, they led a cadre of remarkable Chicago musicians who were second to none. We all knew we had something special way back then, even as it was coming together in the studio. It was beautiful magic and such a joy. And so, it ever will be. I know somewhere Minnie is smiling with that mischievous, perfect angel smile of hers. Laughing, singing, and thanking you all for your love. Her love lives forever.”
The sessions brought together an extraordinary circle of Chicago musicians, including pianist Ramsey Lewis, drummer Maurice White, bassist Cleveland Eaton, and guitarist Phil Upchurch. Their interplay gives Stepney’s elaborate arrangements a supple rhythmic foundation, connecting the album to the fertile Chicago jazz and soul scene from which both Riperton and Stepney emerged.
Opening with “Les Fleur,” Come to My Garden announces its ambitions immediately, beginning in delicate repose before blooming into one of the most exhilarating orchestral passages in soul music. The song has enjoyed a second life across generations through covers, sampling, film and television, while songs including “Completeness,” “Only When I’m Dreaming,” “Whenever, Wherever,” “Rainy Day in Centerville,” and the title track have helped make the album an enduring favorite among artists, collectors, and soul devotees.
