“I Am Woman” Singer Helen Reddy Passed Away At 78

RIP

Australian singer Helen Reddy has passed away at the age of 78 on Tuesday. Her children Traci Donat and Jordan Sommers shared the news via her Facebook page. Although no cause of death was given, BBC reported that she had Addison’s disease, was diagnosed with dementia back in 2015, and spent her final years in a Los Angeles celebrity nursing home.

Donat and Summers wrote, “It is with deep sadness that we announce the passing of our beloved mother, Helen Reddy, on the afternoon of September 29th 2020 in Los Angeles. She was a wonderful Mother, Grandmother and a truly formidable woman. Our hearts are broken. But we take comfort in the knowledge that her voice will live on forever.”

Reddy had a string of hits in the 1970s but she is best known for her 1972 feminist anthem “I Am Woman”. It was used in women’s liberation movement and she even performed it at the Women’s March protest in Los Angeles in 2017. Several female icons have paid tribute to Reddy on their social media channels.

Reddy was the first Australian to take home a Grammy Award. She said about her biggest hit, “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. 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.”

She is survived by her children, Traci and Jordan, and her sister Toni Lamond.