Melanie Safka

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Melanie

Melanie in 1975

Background information

Birth name

Melanie Anne Safka

Born

February 3, 1947 (age 68)

Origin

Astoria, Queens, New York, US

Genres

Folk, pop, country

Occupation(s)

Singer, songwriter, musician

Instruments

Vocals, guitar

Years active

1967present

Website

melaniesafka.com

Melanie Anne Safka-Schekeryk (born February 3, 1947) is an American singer-songwriter.

[1]
Known professionally as Melanie, she is best known for her hits "Brand New Key", "Ruby
Tuesday", "What Have They Done to My Song, Ma", and her song about performing at the
1969 Woodstock Music Festival, "Lay Down (Candles in the Rain)".[2][3]

Contents
[hide]

1Early career

2Later career

3Personal

4Cover versions

5Discography
o

5.1Albums

5.2Singles

6Other credits

7Bibliography

8References

9External links

Early career[edit]
Melanie was born and raised in the Astoria neighborhood of Queens, New York City. Her
father, Fred, was of a Ukrainian ethnic background and her jazz singer mother, Polly, was of
Italian heritage.[4][5] Melanie made her first public singing appearance at age four on the radio
show Live Like A Millionaire, performing the song "Gimme a Little Kiss". She attended Red
Bank High School in Red Bank, New Jersey, graduating in 1964.
In the 1960s, when she was starting out, Melanie performed at The Inkwell, a little coffee
house in West End, New Jersey. After school, her parents insisted that she go to college, so
she studied acting at the American Academy of Dramatic Arts in New York,[6] where she began
singing in the folk clubs of Greenwich Village and signed her first recording contract.
Initially signed to Columbia Records in the United States, Melanie released two singles on the
label. Subsequently she signed with Buddah Records and first found chart success in Europe
in 1969 with "Bobo's Party" which reached Number 1 in France. Her debut album received
positive reviews from Billboard which heralded her voice as "wise beyond her years. Her nonconformist approach to the selections on this LP make her a new talent to be reckoned
with."[citation needed]
Later in 1969, Melanie had a hit in the Netherlands with "Beautiful People". She also performed
at the Woodstock Festival in 1969 and the inspiration for her signature song, "Lay Down
(Candles in the Rain)", apparently arose from the Woodstock audience lighting candles during
her set (although most of the "candles" were actually matches or lighters). The recording
became a hit in Europe, Australia, Canada, and the United States in 1970. The B-side of the
single featured Melanie's spoken-word track "Candles in the Rain". "Lay Down" became
Melanie's first Top Ten hit in America, peaking at Number 6 on the Billboard singles chart and

achieving worldwide success. Later hits included "Peace Will Come (According To Plan)" and a
cover of the Rolling Stones' "Ruby Tuesday".

Melanie on the "Mr Softee" free stage

In 1970, Melanie was the only artist to ignore the court injunction banning the Powder Ridge
Rock Festival, playing for the crowd on a homemade stage powered by Mister Softee trucks.
Shortly following this performance, she played at theStrawberry Fields Festival held from
August 7 to 9, 1970, at Mosport Park, Ontario. She also performed at the Isle of Wight
Festival in 1970 where she was introduced by Keith Moon and received four standing ovations
(she also appeared at the 2010 Isle of Wight festival). She was also the artist who sang to
herald in the summer solstice at Glastonbury Fayre (later the Glastonbury Festival) in England
in June 1971. She performed again at Glastonbury in 2011, the 40th anniversary of the original
festival.[7]
Melanie married Peter Schekeryk around 1970 and they had three children. [6] She left Buddah
Records when they insisted that she produce albums on demand. In 1971 she formed her own
label, Neighborhood Records, with Schekeryk, who was also her producer. She had her
biggest American hit on the Neighborhood label, the novelty-sounding 1972 number one
"Brand New Key" (often referred to as "The Roller Skate Song"). "Brand New Key" sold over
three million copies worldwide and was featured in the 1997 movie Boogie Nights.