Biography

No talent who came out of Woodstock and was actively performing more than a quarter century later remained as closely associated with '60s flower power than Melanie. Born Melanie Safka in Astoria, Queens, in 1947, she mounted a singing career in college, and in 1969 chanced to meet producer Peter Schekeryk. Her first album, Born to Be, was released by Buddah later that same year. On August 16, Melanie took the stage at Woodstock; her commercial breakthrough came 11 months later with "Lay Down (Candles in the Rain)," recorded with the Edwin Hawkins Singers. The song rose to number six, while the accompanying LP, Candles in the Rain, reached the Top 20. In January 1971, Melanie's version of "What Have They Done to My Song, Ma" charted in Britain, where she emerged as a major star. Around this time, Melanie rebelled against her contract with Buddah; with help from Schekeryk, whom she had married, she organized her own label, Neighborhood Records, during the summer. Her first subsequent single, "Brand New Key," hit number one in the U.S. on its way to becoming a million-seller, thanks to its not-so-subtle sexual undertones. The accompanying album, Gather Me, was the best-produced long-player she had ever released, and reached a chart position of number 15. However, faced with declining sales for the follow-ups, Melanie withdrew from the stage and devoted her time to more personal and domestic concerns; Neighborhood Records was closed down in the mid-'70s. In 1982, Melanie cut a comeback album, Arabesque; a year later, her single "Every Breath of the Way" hit the British charts. At the end of the '80s, she re-emerged with her theme music for the television series Beauty and the Beast. She appeared at one of the Woodstock 20th anniversary events, and continued to perform and record periodically. ~ Bruce Eder, All Music Guide