Yma Sumac on David Letterman Show (1987)

[desmondsmusic]

everybody is too classy for david letterman

[liveculture4life]

Ymac Sumac: Legend.

[Ravenfair2012]

Yma Sumac was fabulous. The name of this song is, "High Andes."



[webbkore]

What a twat Letterman is...the band do quite a good job tho...fantastic song...

[aussiechickdiana]

Yes, David Letterman is an idiot. But, Yma is not! She's had a long and illustrious career...and many voices! Still going strong, by the sound of it.

diana

[freddyanc1]

MADE IN PERU

[freddyanc1]

ESPECTACULAR DIOS

[Sileithel]

He doesn't let her speak!! =O He has the honor of speaking to a LEGEND, and he's just... OMG I can't believe it...

[lahmatz]

what is the name of this song?

[BeckoffShow]

@lahmatz ataypura

[Ravenfair2012]

@lahmatz The name of the song in English is "High Andes."

[LindaW54]

OH como me hubiera gustado que ella me ensenara a cantar asiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiii!!!!!!!!!!­!!

[Vozlomn]

AHHHH!!!!!! PORQUÉ EL VOLUMEN ESTÁ TAN BAJITO! ELLA MERECE SER ESCUCHADA EN CADA RINCÓN!

[Orozcomen]

COMO SE LLAMA LA CANCION??ESTA BUENA !!!

[TheAnnafisher]

exceptional give thanks!

[Digginsmo]

Barnum and Bailey should have had her on contract. Can you imagine her singing higher than any trapeez act, and I'd love to see her singing on the back of an elephant, decked out in all her finery and jewelry? What one misses in just one life time...

[MorganAQP]

amo a yma sumac! es d mi paìs :-)

[ebbivk]

dios!!! q increible mujer!!!!! UNA LEYENDAAA

[atoreta88]

she;s too classy 4 david letterman

[croutonfada]

There's a wonderfully controlled bonkers feel to this woman. Unclassifiable.

[oshmunnies]

Goddammit Dave, didn't let her show off her range!

[denisethepainter]

No no her name is NOT Amy Cumas. That is a documented rumor.

[DCFunBud]

Her voice has aged but she pull those impossible sounds off. Such an elegant lady.

[juancamex]

David Letterman was as stupid as he is no.. WOW I thought that was because he was an old drecrepit man.

[croutonfada]

@juancamex I think he went straight from the stupidity of youth to senility, giving up the wisdom-of-age part as a bad job.

[whatchukno100]

Where did she learn to sing?

[fuhoney]

She was also very beautiful !

[myryckyz]

This song " Ataypura" was included in the soundtrack of the Coen brothers film "The Big Lebowski". Miss Ymas Sumac was visiting Peru two years before her death and she was honored by the Peruvian Gobernment

[PhillyDippy5]

@myryckyz Ataypura was originally included in the Charlton Heston film The Secret of the Icnas, 1954, way before the Cohen brothers stole it agian for the ignorant younger generations.

[luisen720417]

al guien puede hacer otro video, con subtitulo en español, gracias.

[sansalka]

BEAUTUFUL, BEAUTIFUL, BEAUTIFUL.....

[maaya111mk]

what a prick he is

[BlackcakesFL]

@Sebrgman27 so you said she died

unhappy?...i heard some ppl was jealous..like i think it was in the 1940's a lady attacked yma husband

and sumac grab the lady off..anyways

little is known about her full life her childhood etc..what was her childs name

ack

[poriyo]

wow he looked young

[thranx11111]

There is an excellent book on Ms. Sumac that clarifies a great deal about her, debunks tall tales, and goes into tremendous detail on her life and talent. Available from Amazon, among other places.

[abcthegreatone]

ES OTRO ORGULLO PERUANO MAS ! HABER TENIDO A UN TALENTO UNICO SU REGISTRO VOCAL ABARCABA DESDE UN MI2 A UN MI7 GUAO NADIE LA HA SUPERADO MARIAH C. TE FALTA AUN , YMA SUMAC FOREVER THE BEST!

[154Ann]

Venga ya!!

Eres una diosa !! =)

[treble29]

Oh God, this woman is so wonderful, amazing.

[linardp3]

wow! what a voice...... god rest miss sumac. audience there are so lucky to hear this woman sing live.

[27mahr]

Love her! by the way she was born in Peru

[27mahr]

she was born in Peru, period.

[hxc4328]

Very smart lady. she is asked, can you show us the low range and the high range. Se responds "I just did that" LOL

[luchorocker]

alucinante YMA SUMAC...la voz mas espectacular que he oido en mi vida,la mas grande diva peruana de todos los tiempos...famosa en varias partes del mundo,sin embargo muy poco conocida en su propio pais (peru)aqui muchos la conocen,pero la gran mayoria no sabe de ella,y que hacen las autoridades o a quien corresponda difundir su musica su legado,su leyenda,y que sea conocida y reconocida en su real dimension,aqui se valora a artistas que no tienen ni la cuarta parte de calidad que YMA SUMAC

[heavyclasicoperu80s]

dudes i can't beleive people still pay attention to stupid rumors, her name was zoyla augusta emperatriz chavarri del castillo, peruvian soprano born in the city of cajamarca, a city placed in the northern part of the andeand region of peru.

[tichuminos13]

What the fuck? Letterman whats your problem????

[uani69]

Her real name is veronica goodhead from clapham south london, she used to clean my flat and baby sit on the weekends _FACT

[huasita11]

@uani69 You're a Moron!

[Joeinps]

@uani69 LMAO ! Good one !

[HarryPotter87]

Bjork must've looked up to her as an influence.

[VANESSAINTOXICADA]

Y ella es un orgullo peruano

Viva Perú

[huasita11]

@VANESSAINTOXICADA ......Viva!

[wwwisidde]

Great!

[OswaIdo]

i just love her, i am 19... and i feel that she was a diva, the voice... Yma Sumac is a legend.

[Zilbernet]

@bubbeemindy

That's an old rumor, but it is not true. Her life is well documented. She was born in Peru, moved to the US in 1946, and became a US citizen in 1955. You can check her Wikipedia page or her New York Times obituary (which explicitly debunks the Amy Camus myth) for the facts.

[piontro]

@bubbeemindy Stop smoking that shit asshole she was born in Peru, Ichocan, Cajamarca, Peru South America. get your facts straight ASSHOLE

[hxc4328]

@bubbeemindy WTF you are talking about. Documnet yourself first before you post a comment like this. I understand this country guves you the freedom to express yourself. But to make a statement like this, you are making a fool out of yourself

[sbergman27]

@bubbeemindy : No. Capitol's marketing was fanciful. And Yma was happy enough to play along. But her name really is Yma Sumac. She technically holds title to the description "Incan Princess"... along with a large number of other Peruvian women. I only wish that she had died happier with her own accomplishments, rather than spending the last 2/3rds of her life acting so defensively. 5 octaves was stretching the truth even when she was 16. She was... a character. And a tragic one, in some ways.

[PimentelGlenni]

@bubbeemindy you silly she is Peruvian

[hazama140864]

@bubbeemindy you are WRONG....If she was born in the USA, why didn t she speak english correctly and why did her songs were in spanish and quechua (inka's language)?. She was born in the Peruvian andes and was registered in the coast port called Callao.

[dreamdrawerable]

@bubbeemindy really, you're confusin'g someone else, with a true peruvian, I'm a peruvian and I know that...

[spikeman316]

@bubbeemindy thats so fake! she was peruvian then she go to states

[BadBoo22]

@bubbeemindy Lool shes from Peru :S....

[MrJamatriain]

@bubbeemindy get a life!

[xandro777]

Princesa

[suzbailey23]

I have loved Yma Sumac for twenty years yet I had never known she appeared on Letterman's show until accidentally finding this video here. Thanks SO MUCH for posting!

[verdinfishy]

Damn! I hate it that he doesn't let her speak!

[jetit]

People!!!!! stop.. it was all in fun...lol even she Laugh at it. love this clip.

[ZuzerHun]

letterman asks how many octaves he could sing. the answer is none, since he cant sing.

[ZuzerHun]

by far the widest vocal range ever, approved by professionals

[mybodysayinletsgo]

Gorgeous

[elbart2009]

alguien me puede decir que dijo letterman por que sus comentarios? PD: Viva YMA SUMAC

[tbrett2000]

This was when I discovered YMA! I used to be a dave junky....SO MUCH SO that I would make my own 6 hour BEST OF DAVE compilations on VHS. I had 8 of them edited with BEST OF....A while later I was watching them I saw this and didn't remember including it! WELL....2nd time was a charm and when I saw it I was hooked forever!

[tbrett2000]

This was when I discovered YMA! I used to be a dave junky....SO MUCH SO that I would make my own 6 hour BEST OF DAVE compilations on VHS. A while later I was watching them I saw this and didn't remember including it! WELL....2nd time was a charm and when I saw it I was hooked forever!

[tyrant9123]

es hermosa... es Peruana T_T ... voz perfecta... T_T

[supersuperrich]

Letterman is a hillbilly like Johnny Carson. That's why they have wide appeal to middle America.

[acitipo]

Cuando no Letterman tiene estupidos comentarios, y la estupidez le sigue hasta hoy....mucha gente, menos mal que no todos en la tv de EEUU les gusata comentarios como este.

[drv8888]

i mean, i love yma, but this was a pretty underwhelming performance. not much singing...

[VariedInterest]

Well this is why Yma Sumac is smarter than many of her over protective fans. Even she knows her voice is biological (not "from god"), and she thought Dave was hilarious, and he was indeed.

[romielnagar]

Letterman was an idiot here and he continues to be a cheap jerk. Yma Sumac was truly a princess, truly an heiress of Pachacuti and Manco Inca. RIP Divine Yma!

[Chequimorena]

Poor boy. No class.

She, a queen.

[cacauldr]

How rude

[rockotto727]

Nah, dave is just being funny. I am Peruvian by the way.

RIP Yma Sumac.

[videoegianvittorio]

Yma Sumac was the most amazing voice ever !! I think she was extremely original in her way of performing ! very advanced ! and almost out of this world !

[mortitio]

Letterman is young and STUPID.

[MissVTime]

dav is so impolite

[MissVTime]

waw, thanks a lot for posting this rare video, look at dav how young he was, hehe, yma is a diva she looks like those old princesses of fairytells

[PureSoapCleans]

David Letterman is not only a very ignorant man, but rude with a lady, an artist, and a guest. You have to be very low, mean and stupid to behave like that. Miss Sumac was a rarity and a unique siger.

[jmibo67]

Letterman is a jerk an is just trying to reflect his own brand with whoever he interviews did not give a ggreat diva the respect she deserved..anyway thanks for post do you know this song title its got me jumping..with that drumbeat?

[cjha1978]

letterman is a stupid. Yma sumac is a DIVA

[WhiskeyyWoman]

Too bad she couldn't be on this show when she was in her prime!

[Trae332]

*clears throat* Ok that was good now lets hear the High lmao :) she is amazing

[manuelvaldiviam]

Grande Ima!!

[tipofmytongue1024]

this video was posted I mean.

[tipofmytongue1024]

She died no long after this video was made

[MastersoftheOpera]

Yma Sumac DID NOT DIE IN 1987 WHEN SHE WAS ON DAVID LETTERMAN...she died last year on November 1, 2008. She was living in a retirement home for the elderly in LA and was 86 years old.

[tipofmytongue1024]

That's why I added "This video was posted I mean"

The date the video was posted is November 10, 2008.

[RRRuser]

showman is an idiot

[pathetic321]

@RRRuser He's not the idiot, it's the viewers. Truth is, not everyone has time to read up about octaves. Some of us have better things than to sit around singing all day.

I'm sick and tired of people like 'Oh you don't know what octaves, sopranos etc are, you're an idiot'. Well not all of us wasted our time singing, some of us have different interests. It's like me calling you an idiot because you don't know every law in the world. There's more failed singers than successful ones out there!

[kanakaken]

@pathetic321 Letterman is certainly not an idiot, no idiot could make as much money as he has, but he is as dumb as dog shit. The full range of his knowledge is limited by the questions posed by his minders, written on bits of paper. It is obvious he lacks basic knowledge & intelligence by the inane remarks he often comes out with. The fact that he almost always laughs at his own jokes, that are rarely funny, shows why outside of the US he is NOT funny.

[gordiam]

in the song "chuncho" she hit the highest note never recorded in history! I have on the stereo in my car.. unbelievable the power of yma sumac!!!

[WhiskeyyWoman]

Isn't it a trip when she starts to sounds like a violin or a bunch of birds?

[doodiebrains]

Can anyone ID this song?

[jeroffe]

I believe it's from the album Voice of the Xtbay. The songtitle might be the same.

[smilingsuzy]

Ataypura is the name of the song.

[sideorder]

Strange how a person can forget the first experience/exposure to Yma Sumac's sublime hyper-"ethereality".

1987- Hollywood- the Roosevelt Hotel

Miss Sumac gave so much to the audience- in return we were enraptured.

I think about heaven now, about the soundwaves of her voice broadcast across the universe, and I am not that kind of person. Thank you so much for posting

-R

[pablomazze]

Todos los públicos se rindieron ante ella

QUE INMENSA FUISTE YMA SUMAC!!

[cjha1978]

se supone que una de las normas en el programa de letterman es no aplaudir escandalosamente ni hacer chacota.... pero el publico no resistio, la presentacion fue muy intensa y la voz de la sra sumac atrapa la emocion quieras de todas formas.. yma sumac es demasiado!!!!!!

[boymitch]

Holy Cow!! The look at 1:42 is SO INTENSE. What a Diva to the core.

She will be missed. RIP Diva.

[apekkapoika]

Cher said it best, he's an ass hole. I've known the great Yma since the 60's because of my grandfather,but she should not have let that phony introduction stand.

[BENEHARA]

he is a complete impolite ¡¡¡¡ what a horror parrot man ¡¡¡ she si amazing and unique ¡

[heebieandjeebie]

he is so crass and so unpolished...

[avadiva]

O...M...G... Letterman, your the biggest dumbass.

[evastessa]

I like her performance. She is older, thats what you can hear. But i think David Letterman in an asshole! This not the way to treat diva's

[hairsucker]

This is also not the way to pluralize "divas."

[avadiva]

I completely agree with you, What a jerk. He obviously does not know talent eve when its in his face.

[TONCSI2]

Well, she was THE great lady star.. and he simply a kind of boorish interwiewer doing his job.

[tictocmm]

exactly... kind of balances out :)

[inesenthm]

can't say i liked this performance. i like yma, but not this performance.

[shampoovta]

Ah David cut her off did ya.

Oh well I love Yma Sumac!

[artistsassist]

great performance from the one and only Yma Sumac!

[lialammas]

The only time I could said I will watch David Letterman. I feel he got lucky to have such a Diva in his show. I believe someone in his office made the right thing. He never probably knew anything about Yma Sumac or the Andes or Peru. He got luck!

[baldev78]

Gringo ignorante

[Zilbernet]

Yes, his humor can be sarcastic and condescending, but before the Letterman bashing continues we should remember that "Late Night" was one of the only shows on American TV to feature non-mainstream artists like Yma Sumac. I'm sure this appearance helped sell a lot of tickets for her New York performances.

[Calliopeice]

VERY true, Well Said. I do Agree with other comments though, letterman is sometimes very rude in interviews.

[MrNomomojo]

@Zilbernet Very good points. Most talk shows wouldn't have Ms. Sumac on. Just great to see her perform.

[jram1912]

@Zilbernet Well she was famous before Letterman even had his show

[Politeama]

David Letterman is not even a comedian, he is such an ignorant and rude conductor. I do not find him entertaining either. Miss Sumac was such a rare and special voice in the world of singing, a unique and fascinating case.

[thandewye]

cool! Great performance, I'm sure Dave was a little scared of her.

[deeoneyoyo]

She died...it's awful...well..we still have mariah carey who can sing in whistle register...but still Yma Sumac is an irreplaceable legend...incomparable gifted singer...

[pcomputer]

mariah=whistle

yma=flute

NO COMPARISON

[proudyke]

I second that statement

[madsketcher]

Mariah Carey and Yma Sumac have nothing in common - lots of people can use their whistle register but that is never a reason to compare them outside of being totally superficial

[MrMelancholie]

Mariah has a 4 ocatve voice as a normal singer, but she reaches 5 in whistle register

[stesan2006]

@madsketcher nothing in common? both are great and famous singers. that is one huge thing.

[madsketcher]

@stesan2006 - Within the context of being singers, they don't really have much in common.

[reefprayer]

She's awesome, Daves gets a thumbs down!

[braveandtall]

I saw her at the ballroom that year!

[JULIOAD1]

She makes me so proud to be peruvian!!! que viva el peru!!

[tuturura]

man, letterman...you seem such a cheap american item introducing yma sumac here...

[Crijevo]

The way Letterman chews and pronounces her name is really horrible - he made it sound like sort of a hamburger or something.

[CAVILWENTAYU]

Yma Sumac la mejor voz del mundo, nunca superada, gracias por brindarnos tu gloriosa voz, la mejor y la unica PERUU

[pkhgfd]

Yma Sumac es una diva de divas, lo mas grande que ha tenido el Perú, Gracias donde quieras que estes.

[Calliopeice]

Thank you Alot for this Video. Yma Sumac did a beautiful performance. Shes absolutely divine here. David letterman is rude, But overall a good small segment for the Queen of Exotica.

[Neisfai]

Que bueno ver en vivo a la señora Sumac otra vez. gracias!

[vinyldaewo]

Amazing !!!!

[jcbisso]

Thanks for posting this video. I had always wanted to see her full performance of Ataypura on Letterman´s show.