philipm@isd.canberra.edu.au
Tue, 30 Mar 1999 09:48:12 +1000 (EST)
yo list
here's some great info about yma sumac...please enjoy...
Yma Sumac was NOT Amy Camus! It is blind "factual" statements like yours
that have propogated the rumor, which was started as a joke in 1956 or
so, before Yma Sumac had ever BEEN to Brooklyn. Yma Sumac's first
recordings were made in South America in the early '40s, long before she
had ever come to the U.S. Try checking the facts next time. I heard
recently that there was an Amy Camus in New York (maybe Brooklyn) who
was a concert violinist though I don't know if that was in the '50s or
more recently.
Whether or not Yma Sumac is an Inca Princess is another story. She
claims to have been descended directly from the last Inca king, Athualpa
(on her mother's side), which was confirmed by the Peruvian government
in a letter, but it was the publicists in Hollywood who started the
"Inca Princess" story in the press and on the record jackets. She IS
Peruvian; she IS Quechua (Inca); but a princess? Who knows! But I do
know some of her family in Lima. Would that make her sisters princesses
too?
Les Baxter worked with Yma Sumac on two recordings. One was her first
U.S. album, called "Voice of the Xtabay," recorded in 1950. The second
was her last U.S. album, called "Miracles," recorded in 1971. Les Baxter
was the band or orchestra leader on both and was not the producer as
sometimes stated. In fact, it is his unauthorized liner notes and cover
art on "Miracles" that resulted in a law suit and is the reason that
recording is so hard to find these days. Neither did he write many of
Yma Sumac's songs as he claims. They were written by Hernan Brana (an
unsung hero in the Yma Sumac saga), Moises Vivanco and Yma Sumac among
others. Even those that he did write were basically just outlines with
Yma Sumac's wonderful improvisational skillings filling in, which is why
she rarely performs a song the same way twice.
Yma Sumac's name is a stage name based on part of her mother's name. Her
mother forbid her to perform so her older sister was sneaking her into
town for rehearsals and telling their mother that they were going to
school. Finally, she was featured on a radio show and, since she knew
her mother did not have a radio, thought she would not find out about
it. As extra 'insurance,' she borrowed the "Imma Sumack" (or "Ima
Sumack," in other parts of South America) name from her mother, which in
the Quechua language means "How Beautiful" or "Beautiful Flower." Her
mother read about it in the paper and was not fooled by the name change.
Yma Sumac received a "big spank," as she calls it.
Aside from the obvious errors, your feelings for Yma Sumac's music were
good. I'm glad you like her. If you haven't already, be sure to order
the new CD, "Yma Rocks!," which is available exclusively through the
Official Authorized Yma Sumac Homepage. A new CD comprised entirely of
previously unreleased material is also in the works.
Bas Sheva, on the other hand, was very interesting. I have both of her
albums, one of which is Jewish cantor exotica. The other, of course, is
"The Passions," by Les Baxter which is available on a Bootleg CD.
There is a book comming out about Yma Sumac which goes into much more
detail about these and other issues involving her. Keep a lookout for
it, probably sometime next year.
I would have posted this response to the forum but wasn't sure how it
was done.
Don
-- Contact and Webpages:Don Pierson e-mail: pc@accesscom.com
PC Homepage (Pacific Computec / Packards California) http://www.accesscom.com/~pc/
Official Authorized Yma Sumac Homepage http://www.accesscom.com/~pc/sumac/ Online Ordering System http://www.accesscom.com/~pc/sumac/order/
Packards / Imperials Page http://www.accesscom.com/~pc/cars/
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