Sad news tonight. Yma Sumac, icon of exotica music and tiki culture has died at the age of 86. Her incredible multi-octave singing voice is something you really just have to hear in order to appreciate. Truly an amazing talent.
I first encountered her work in the 1954 film Secret of the Incas, itself a gem of obscurity (The lead character is basically Indiana Jones, down to fedora and leather jacket, and a couple of scenes presage ‘Raiders of the Lost Ark’). Sumac had a small role, but it was her ethereal singing that cast the lasting impression. Some songs from that film are included on her first album “Voice of the Xtabay” . She later had a show in 50s-era Vegas, a long period of reclusion and then a kind of resurgence. 86 short years.
Happy Journeys Yma Sumac, your voice will live forever.