Funks Realm: Melanie Safka in reflection..

Monday, August 8, 2011

Melanie Safka in reflection..

The very first time I really heard her was when walkig down Division St in North Attleboro, Mass. I'm not sure on the age, but it was about 10.

I was stunned by the beauty.

I listened to her from here to there, but life was changing for me.

Later when I was about 18 years old out in California doing the streets scene I met a woman with the Candles in the rain album. No relationship or anything, but she gave it to me after seeing how much it lifted me. For the next couple of years I carried it in my back-pack around the US and after that in my truck (mixed in my collection) when I moved from home to home.

I dn't think the feelings can ever go away when I hear her, because the memories still remail. I remember the saddest days and putting it on and the feelings changing to peace. I remember the sunlight that seemed to be there even at night when I listened.

As far as knowing all about her. I don't. I never had any money back then to invest into the culture. Wikipedia has more info on her than I ever did and I'm posting some of it from their page [here] below.

I hope you like the vids and I hope you either re-connect with her music or introduce yourself to it...

Peace,,,
Funk

Melanie grew up in the Astoria neighborhood of Queens, New York City, New York.^[4] She made her first public 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 1966. Melanie was a student at New York's American Academy of Dramatic Arts when 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 when her 1969 song, "Bobo's Party", reached Number 1 in France. Her debut album received rave reviews from Billboard which heralded her voice as "... wise beyond her years. Her non-conformist approach to the selections on this LP make her a new talent to be reckoned with."
Later in 1969, Melanie had a hit in the Netherlands with "Beautiful People", before performing at the Woodstock Festival. The inspiration for her signature song, "Lay Down (Candles in the Rain)", apparently arose from the Woodstock audience lighting candles during her set. The recording became a hit in Europe, Australia, Canada, and the United States in the spring and summer of 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 #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 brave 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, Melanie played at the Strawberry Fields Festival, held on August 7–9, 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 40 years later at the 2010 Isle of Wight festival). Melanie 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 is due to perform again at Glastonbury in 2011 which is the fortieth anniversary of the original festival.^[5]
Melanie left Buddah Records when they insisted that she produce albums on demand. In 1971 she formed her own label, Neighborhood Records, with Peter Schekeryk, who was both her producer and husband.
Melanie 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^{[citation needed]} and was featured in the 1997 movie Boogie Nights.
When first released, "Brand New Key" was banned by some radio stations because some saw sexual innuendo in the lyrics:

I got a brand new pair of roller skates,
You got a brand new key.
I think that we should get together and try them out, to see...
I been looking around awhile,
You got something for me
Oh! I got a brand new pair of roller skates,
You got a brand new key.
I ride my bike, I roller skate, don't drive no car,
Don't go too fast, but I go pretty far.
For somebody who don't drive
I been all around the world
Some people say I've done alright for a girl...
The follow-up single to "Brand New Key" was "Ring the Living Bell". To compete with this release, Melanie's former record company released "The Nickel Song", which she had recorded while still signed to Buddah Records. Both songs were simultaneous Top 40 hits while "Brand New Key" was still on the charts — setting a record for the first female performer to have three Top 40 hits concurrently.^{[citation needed]} Melanie was awarded Billboard's #1 Top Female Vocalist for 1972.
She had another Top 40 hit single in 1973 with "Bitter Bad", a song that marked a slight departure from the hippie sentiments of earlier hits (with lyrics such as "If you do me wrong I'll put your first and last name in my rock n' roll song"). Other chart hits during this period were the self-penned "Together Alone" and a cover of "Will You Love Me Tomorrow".
Melanie has been awarded two gold albums (and a gold single for "Brand New Key") and three of her compositions were hits for The New Seekers. She is also well-known for her musical adaptations of children's songs, including "Alexander Beetle" and "Christopher Robin".
In 1973, Melanie started to retreat from the spotlight to begin a family. Her daughter Leilah was born that same year. When she became an official UNICEF ambassador in 1972, she agreed to forgo a world tour in favour of raising money for the organization."