2. Melanie: Midwest Auckland emo four piece Melanie released their full length album 42 Losers in May 2020 and have been playing a fine selection of gigs and house parties since
1. Born on the 3rd February 1947 in Astoria, New York deceased 23rd January 2024, Melanie made her first recording, "Gimme a Little Kiss", when she was five.
She first found chart success in Europe. Her 1969 song "Bobo's Party" reached number one in France. Later that year she had a hit in the Netherlands with "Beautiful People" before performing at Woodstock. Apparently, she was inspired to write "Lay Down (Candles in the Rain)" by the audience lighting candles during her set; the song became a hit in both Europe and the USA. Her biggest hit in the USA was "Brand New Key", also known as "The Roller Skate Song". She has been awarded three gold albums.
Three of Melanie's compositions were hits for The New Seekers: "Look What They've Done to My Song Ma", "Beautiful People", and "The Nickel Song".
With one exception her albums have been produced by her husband, Peter Schekeryk. Her three children - Leilah, Jeordie and Beau-Jarred -are also musicians. Beau-Jarred is a guitarist and accompanies his mother on The 2003 Australian hip-hop track "The Nosebleed Section" by The Hilltop Hoods sampled Melanie's "People in the Front Row".
In 2004 Melanie released Paled by Dimmer Light, which is co-produced by Peter and Beau-Jarred Schekeryk.
In 2010 the last album co- produced by her now late husband Peter Schekeryj and their son Beau Jarred Schekeryk was released: Ever Since You Never Heard Of Me
Melanie, who became the voice of an era in one magical instant onstage at Woodstock, has been putting the pieces in order.
Pieces of a career, scattered by the winds of experience and assembled again by the force of love into the most personal and brilliant moments of her musical journey.
Melanie is poised to enlighten new generations about what it means to sing with both passion and eloquence, to write at once with intelligence and emotion, and to inspire through song… and nobody does this better than Melanie.
Others learned this that night at Woodstock, where as a New York kid barely known outside of the coffeehouse circuit in Greenwich Village, she sang her song "Beautiful People" and inspired the first panorama of candles and cigarette lighters ever raised at a concert event. That, in turn, moved the young singer to write "Lay Down (Candles in the Rain"), which sold more than one million copies in 1970 and
prompted Billboard, Cashbox, Melody Maker, Record World, and Bravo to anoint her
as female vocalist of the year. Her single "Brand New Key," an infectious romp about
freedom and roller skates, topped the charts in 1971.
And so her story began.
With guitar in hand and a talent that combined amazing vocal equipment, disarming
humor, and a vibrant engagement with life, she was booked as the first solo pop/rock
artist ever to appear from the Royal Albert Hall to Carnegie Hall, the Metropolitan
Opera House, and later opened the New Metropolitan Opera House in New York, the
Sydney Opera House, and in the General Assembly of the United Nations, where she
was invited to perform on many occasions as delegates greeted her performances
with standing ovations.
The top television hosts of all time -- Ed Sullivan, Johnny Carson, and Dick Cavett --
battled to book her. (After her stunning performance on his show, Sullivan goggled
that he had not seen such a "dedicated and responsive audience since ElvisPresley.")
Accolades rolled in, from critics ("Melanie's cult has long been famous, but it's a cult
that's responding to something genuine and powerful -- which is maybe another way
of saying that this writer counts himself as part of the cult too," wrote John Rockwell
in The New York Times) as well as peers ("Melanie," insisted jazz piano virtuoso
Roger Kellaway, "is extraordinary to the point that she could be sitting in front of us in
this room and sing something like 'Momma Momma' right to us, and it would just go
right through your entire being.")
In the years that followed Melanie continued to record, continued to tour.
UNICEF made her its spokesperson; Jimi Hendrix's father introduced her to the
multitude assembled for the twentieth anniversary of Woodstock. Her records
continued to sell -- more than eighty million to date. She's had her songs covered by
singers as diverse as Cher, Dolly Parton, and Macy Gray. She's raised a family, won
an Emmy, opened a restaurant, written a musical about Wild Bill Hickok and Calamity
Jane…
She has, in short, lived a rare life. But all of it was just a prelude to what's about to
come.
"For the first time, I'm not afraid to voice exactly what I feel. I used to feel that I didn't
want to say too much, but now I can say anything. I feel like a person who's never
been heard. Maybe people think they've heard me, but they never really have. I'm a
new artist who is having so much fun with my voice -- a person shouldn't be allowed
to have so much fun. I'm the woman I wanted to be when I was sixteen and going for
Edith Piaf. It's me -- I'm back."
(Written by Robert L. Doerschuk)
Any Guy
Melanie Lyrics
Jump to: Overall Meaning ↴ Line by Line Meaning ↴
I would not compromise
Wanted more
So I looked in your eyes
But it could have been any guy's
It could have been any guy's eyes
But your eyes were there
And they started to stare
Now you got
The feeling you're great
Cause we shared
A few looks
And I made one mistake
But it could have been any one
I was looking for that kind of fun
And you were right there
In love, all is fair
But don't think that I care
Now you got
A new friend I know
So I'm packing my things
And I'm going to go
Please don't make a scene
Don't cry
You can't stop me if you try
I love being free
It's the best way to be
Is she as pretty as me, huh?? (3x)
Is she as pretty as me, huh-huh?
Is she as pretty as me, huh.
In the song "Any Guy" by Melanie, the singer talks about her desire to find something more exciting in her life. She was bored and not willing to compromise, so she looked into someone's eyes, but she didn't care whose eyes they were. She was looking for some kind of fun, and anyone could have fulfilled that need. The song reaffirms that love isn't fair and that we all make mistakes, but the singer doesn't really care about the consequences of her actions. She flirts with someone, but it doesn't mean that she has feelings for them.
The lyrics talk about the singer's decision to leave after finding a new connection with someone else. The singer is confident about her decision to leave, and she doesn't want any drama or tears. She loves being free and single, and she doesn't care if her new companion finds someone else. The repeated question at the end of the song, "Is she as pretty as me?" is a reflection of the singer's self-confidence and her belief that she can easily find someone else.
Line by Line Meaning
I was bored
I couldn't find anything interesting to do.
I would not compromise
I wasn't willing to lower my standards.
Wanted more
I desired an elevated experience.
So I looked in your eyes
I started paying attention to you in hopes of finding something worthwhile.
But it could have been any guy's
I wasn't necessarily interested in you specifically.
It could have been any guy's eyes
I could've been attracted to anyone's eyes.
But your eyes were there
I happened to stumble upon your eyes first.
And they started to stare
They caught my attention.
But don't think that I care - no
I'm not emotionally invested in this interaction with you.
Now you got
At present, you have
The feeling you're great
You're feeling good about yourself.
'Cause we shared
Because we had shared
A few looks
We exchanged a few glances.
And I made one mistake
I realized that I may have given you the wrong impression.
But it could have been any one
I could have made this same mistake with anyone.
I was looking for that kind of fun
I was in it for nothing more than some temporary enjoyment.
And you were right there
You happened to be there at the time.
In love, all is fair
Anything goes in matters of the heart.
But don't think that I care
I'm not emotionally attached to this situation or to you.
Now you got
Currently, you have
A new friend I know
I heard that you have a new acquaintance.
So I'm packing my things
I'm getting ready to leave.
And I'm going to go
I am leaving.
Please don't make a scene
I don't want you to create a disturbance.
Don't cry
I don't want you to become emotional and display it.
You can't stop me if you try
Despite your efforts, I will still depart.
I love being free
I enjoy the freedom to do as I please.
It's the best way to be
In my opinion, freedom is the ideal lifestyle choice.
Is she as pretty as me, huh?? (3x)
Is your new acquaintance as attractive as I am?
Is she as pretty as me, huh-huh?
Is your new acquaintance comparable to me in terms of appearance?
Is she as pretty as me, huh
Is your new acquaintance as aesthetically pleasing as I am?
Lyrics © O/B/O APRA AMCOS
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