‘I Am Woman’ singer Helen Reddy dies at 78 in Los Angeles
LOS ANGELES (AP) — Helen Reddy, who shot to stardom in the 1970s with her rousing feminist anthem “I Am Woman” and recorded a string of other hits, has died. She was 78.
Reddy’s children Traci and Jordan
announced that the actor-singer died Tuesday in Los Angeles. “She was a
wonderful Mother, Grandmother and a truly formidable woman,” they said
in a statement. “Our hearts are broken. But we take comfort in the
knowledge that her voice will live on forever.”
Reddy’s 1971
version of “I Don’t Know How to Love Him” from the musical “Jesus Christ
Superstar” launched a decade-long string of Top 40 hits, three of which
reached No. 1.
The Australian-born singer enjoyed a prolific
career, appearing in “Airport 1975” as a singing nun and scoring several
hits, including “Ain’t No Way To Treat a Lady,” “Delta Dawn,” “Angie
Baby” and “You and Me Against the World.”
In 1973 she won the best
female vocal pop performance Grammy Award for “I Am Woman,” quickly
thanking her then-husband and others in her acceptance speech.
“I
only have 10 seconds so I would like to thank everyone from Sony
Capitol Records, I would like to think Jeff Wald because he makes my
success possible and I would like to thank God because she makes
everything possible,” Reddy said, hoisting her Grammy in the air and
leaving the stage to loud applause. She also performed the song at the
ceremony.
“I Am Woman” would become her biggest hit, used in films and television series.
In
a 2012 interview with The Associated Press, Reddy cited the gigantic
success of “I Am Woman” as one of the reasons she stepped out of public
life.
“That was one of the reasons that I stopped singing, was
when I was shown a modern American history high-school textbook, and a
whole chapter on feminism and my name and my lyrics (were) in the book,”
she told the AP. “And I thought, `Well, I’m part of history now. And
how do I top that? I can’t top that.′ So, it was an easy withdrawal.”
Reddy’s death comes less than three weeks after the release of a biopic about her life called “I Am Woman.”
The film’s director, Unjoo Moon, said the film resulted in a seven-year friendship with Reddy.
“I
will forever be grateful to Helen for teaching me so much about being
an artist, a woman and a mother,” she said in a statement. “She paved
the way for so many and the lyrics that she wrote for ‘I am Woman’
changed my life forever like they have done for so many other people and
will continue to do for generations to come. She will always be a part
of me and I will miss her enormously.”
A performer since
childhood, Reddy was part of a show-business family in Melbourne. She
won a contest that brought her to the United States and launched her
recording career, although she first had to overcome ideas about her
sound.
“In my earlier days in Australia, I was considered to be
more of a jazz singer,” she told the AP in 1991. “When I won the contest
that brought me to this country, one person said, ‘The judges didn’t
feel you could have a recording career because you don’t have a
commercial sound.’”
Reddy retired from performing in the 1990s and returned to Australia, getting her degree in clinical hypnotherapy.
She
later returned to California, where in the 1970s she had served on a
statewide Parks and Recreation Commission, and returned to the stage
occasionally.
In 2017 she performed “I Am Woman” at a Women’s
March in Los Angeles, singing alongside actor Jamie Lee Curtis. Curtis
said it was the “ honor of my life” to introduce Reddy at the event.