Melanie

With her sweet, captivating voice, quirky yet insightful songwriting and bubbly, upbeat, free-spirited hippie persona, pop and folk singer/songwriter Melanie totally epitomized the whole "flower power" counterculture of the 1960s and 1970s. She was born Melanie Anne Safka on February 3, 1947, in Queens, New York, and grew up in the Astoria neighborhood of Queens. She made her first public appearance at age four, singing "Gimme a Little Kiss" on the radio show "Live Like A Millionaire." She began singing in Greenwich Village folk clubs while attending New York's American Academy of Dramatic Arts and initially signed to Columbia Records in 1967. Her debut single, "Beautiful People", was a flop in America but a hit in the Netherlands. Melanie subsequently left Columbia Records and signed with Buddah Records. Her song "Bobo's Party" was a #1 hit in France in 1969. Melanie also sang "Birthday of the Sun" at the Woodstock music festival in 1969. In 1970 she had a Top 10 hit with "Lay Down (Candles in the Rain)." A powerful cover of The Rolling Stones' "Ruby Tuesday", and "Peace Will Come (According to Plan)" likewise did well. In 1971 she scored her greatest smash success with the cute, catchy and funny "Brand New Key"; the song peaked at #1 on the Billboard charts for three weeks, sold over three million copies, was featured on the soundtrack of the film Boogie Nights (1997) and has been covered by such artists as Deana Carter, Cher, Rasputina and The Dollyrots (the British comedy folk group The Wurzels had a 1976 #1 UK hit with a parody version of "Brand New Key" called "Combine Harvester".) The follow-up songs "Ring the Living Bell" and "The Nickel Song" were also successful. Melanie was awarded Billboard's #1 Top Female Vocalist in 1972. She had her last Top 40 hit with "Bitter Bad" in 1973. She won a Primetime Emmy Award in 1989 for writing the lyrics to the song "The First Time I Loved Forever" for the TV series Beauty and the Beast (1987). Her children Leilah, Jeordie and Beau-Jarred are all musicians. Almost all of her albums have been produced by her husband, Peter Schekeryk. She lives in Nashville, Tennessee, and continues to record the occasional album and perform live all over the world.