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)
Bitter Bad
Melanie Lyrics
Jump to: Overall Meaning ↴ Line by Line Meaning ↴
When the one that you love has lost the feel for you
If you do me wrong
I'll put your first and last name in my rock 'n' roll song
It's bitter bad, he's got the nerve to get mad
When it's he who lost the feel for you
You've been doing my stuff with another girl
You've been doing my stuff with another girl
It's bitter bad, he's got the nerve to get mad
When it's he who lost the feel for you
Oh what a life, what a mean low down world
You've been doing my stuff with another girl
You've been doing my stuff with another girl
If you do me wrong
I'll put your first and last name in my rock 'n' roll song
It's bitter bad, heartsick sad
When the one that you love has lost the feel for you
When the one that you love has lost the feel for you
When the one that you love don't love you anymore
When the one that you love has lost the feel for you
In Melanie's song "Bitter Bad," she expresses the emotions that come with heartbreak and betrayal. The lyrics convey a sense of bitterness, sadness, and anger towards a partner who has lost interest in the relationship. The first verse describes the disappointment and pain of realizing that someone you love no longer feels the same way about you. The chorus emphasizes the bitterness of the situation, with the repetition of the phrase "bitter bad" highlighting the depth of the emotions involved.
The second verse reveals that the partner has been unfaithful, adding insult to injury. The line "You've been doing my stuff with another girl" suggests that the partner has been enjoying the same things with someone else that they used to enjoy with Melanie. The lyrics express both hurt and anger towards the partner who has betrayed their trust.
The final verse repeats the bitterness of the chorus and adds a threat: "If you do me wrong, I'll put your first and last name in my rock 'n' roll song." This final line suggests that Melanie will use her music as a way to get revenge on a partner who has hurt her, highlighting the power of music to express complicated emotions and heal emotional wounds.
Overall, "Bitter Bad" is a powerful song about heartbreak and betrayal, expressing complex emotions through simple, evocative lyrics and memorable melodies.
Line by Line Meaning
It's bitter bad, heartsick sad
It's a painful and upsetting feeling when the person you love no longer loves you back.
When the one that you love has lost the feel for you
When your partner no longer has romantic feelings for you.
If you do me wrong
If you cheat or hurt me...
I'll put your first and last name in my rock 'n' roll song
...I'll expose you in a public way, through music.
It's bitter bad, he's got the nerve to get mad
It's even more frustrating when your former lover gets angry with you for moving on.
Oh what a life, what a mean low down world
The world can be cruel and unfair.
You've been doing my stuff with another girl
You've been unfaithful with someone else.
When the one that you love has lost the feel for you
When your partner no longer has romantic feelings for you.
When the one that you love don't love you anymore
When your partner no longer loves you.
When the one that you love has lost the feel for you
When your partner no longer has romantic feelings for you.
Contributed by Violet P. Suggest a correction in the comments below.
@vadinandez
My late cousin Peanut had this on 45. He would play it over, and over, and over. I was only 5 years old then, and 55 now. So it had been 50 years since I had heard it! Wow! Thanks for posting it!
@bobf.5538
There was a dj who wanted a raise so he locked himself in the radio station studio and played only this song for 2 days straight WCCC ...a dj by the name of Boston Bill your night time thrill
@markgrochowski3199
I had the radio tuned in to WCCC back in 1973 when that stunt was in progress. If I remember correctly he got a phone call from Melanie which was broadcast over the air. She thanked him for playing her song!
@bobf.5538
@@markgrochowski3199 yes. Me and a group of friends went to the radio station to see him..crazy guy. That was radio stations played everything and DJ's didn't have guidelines or rules...he was halarious and I was one of his " space cadets "
@bbusque
Boston Bill went on to be quite famous. His real name is Bill Stephen’s and does announcing and interviews for NASCAR racing and Mecham auto auctions. Very talented and funny man. https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Bill_Stephens
@psychkoala
Gorgeous melody... it really brings out the special quality of Melanie's voice. The lyrics are also very effective.
@carolcarnelli1487
Back in 1972 or 1973 a fm radio station played bitter bad from Friday night till Sunday that only song he was pissed they got rid of their music that's why that song stands out in my. Mind till this day🎶🎶
@RomyIgoeX
Ridiculously undervalued here in the U.K.
@pgiusto8189
Fun blast from the past!
@brendaadams1361
love love love this song!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!