Helen Reddy, Known Queen Of 70s Pop, Dies At 78

by Bry LeBerthonSeptember 30, 2020, 11:25 pmDaily Digest, News, News Feed >

Helen Reddy, known as the Queen of ’70s Pop, died Tuesday at the 78. She had been diagnosed with dementia five years ago, and passed away while at the Motion Picture and Television Fund’s Samuel Goldwyn Center for Behavioral Health in Woodland Hills. Her death was announced on Twitter by her daughters, Traci Donat and Jordan Sommers, and her ex-husband, Jeff Wald.

“We take comfort in the knowledge that her voice will live on forever,” Donat and Summers wrote.

Reddy’s music has won countless awards over the years, with seven of her albums receiving the Recording Industry Association of America’s Gold certification, one of her albums receiving Platinum status, and her compilation album reaching Double Platinum status. She has charted on Billboard over 40 times, and even reached international fame by charting over a dozen times in Canada. Her feminist anthem, “I Am Woman,” has been immortalized through dozens of shows, advertisements and political events. According to Reddy, it also served as inspiration for many women to pursue higher education in fields such as law, and she stepped away from making music because the song made history.

“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,” Reddy told the Associated Press, “I thought, ‘Well, I’m part of history now. And how do I top that? I can’t top that.'”

A biopic about Reddy, which premiered last year and is set for international release this year, is entitled I Am Woman in the song’s honor. Its director, Unjoo Moon, thanked Reddy in a posthumous message to her for the friendship that blossomed during the film’s production.

“[Reddy] 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,” Moon said. “She will always be a part of me and I will miss her enormously.”

On Twitter, several celebrities mourned Reddy’s death as well.

https://twitter.com/jamieleecurtis/status/1311131119232774144

Actress Jamie Lee Curtis tweeted a video of Reddy singing at the 2017 Women’s March, calling introducing Reddy the “honor of [her] life.”

Actor Hugh Jackman posted a throwback photo of Reddy, praising her for being “a trailblazer with a voice as smooth as silk.”

Music publicist Eric Alper wrote a short description of Reddy and her fame. He especially praises I Am Woman, which, according to Alper, “proves music can change the world for the better.”