Yma Sumac

Yma Sumac [exotica vocalist]: Musician Snapshots 

The next Musician Snapshots book in the 'Music You Should Hear Series' is a profile of singer Yma Sumac. With a four-octave range, Peruvian vocalist Yma (pronounced EE-ma) Sumac shocked and captivated 1950s America and became a household name around the world. Her first few albums included loose interpretations of South American melodies with Afro-Cuban rhythms and Western-style instrumentation, making her albums avant garde yet accessible, and cementing her status as the queen of the new musical genre of “exotica.” Not only did her extremely wide octave range make audiences stop in their tracks (for reference, most people have a singing range of around 2-3 octaves), but her fearless vocal experimentation was a stark contrast to the sweet crooners like Nat King Cole and Bing Crosby who were the top sellers in 1950, the year her first album was released. She was soon featured on Broadway, cast in movies alongside stars such as Charlton Heston, and performing sold-out shows from Las Vegas to New York.