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)
Carolina On My Mind
Melanie Lyrics
Jump to: Overall Meaning ↴ Line by Line Meaning ↴
Can't you see the sunshine?
Can't you just feel the moonshine?
Ain't it just like a friend of mine
To hit me from behind?
Yes, I'm gone to Carolina in my mind
Karin, she's a silver sun
And watch her watch the morning come
A silver tear appearing now
I'm cryin', ain't I?
Gone to Carolina in my mind
There ain't no doubt in no ones mind
That love's the finest thing around
Whisper something soft and kind
And hey babe, the sky's on fire
I'm dying, ain't I?
Gone to Carolina in my mind
In my mind I'm gone to Carolina
Can't you see the sunshine?
Can't you just feel the moonshine?
And, ain't it just like a friend of mine
To hit me from behind?
Yes, I'm gone to Carolina in my mind
Dark and silent, late last night,
I think I might have heard the highway call
And geese in flight and dogs that bite
The signs that might be omens say
I'm goin', I'm goin'
I'm gone to Carolina in my mind
With a holy host of others standin' around me
Still I'm on the dark side of the moon
And it seems like it goes on like this forever
You must forgive me, if I'm up and gone to
Carolina in my mind
In my mind I'm goin' to Carolina
Can't you see the sunshine?
Can't you just feel the moonshine?
Ain't is just like a friend of mine
To hit me from behind
Yes, I'm gone to Carolina in my mind
Gone to Carolina in my mind
And I'm goin' to Carolina in my mind
Goin' to Carolina in my mind
Gone, I'm gone, I'm gone
Say nice things about me 'cause I'm gone south now
Got to carry on without me, I'm gone
The song “Carolina in My Mind” by Melanie is a tribute to the author’s homesickness for her native North Carolina. Throughout the song, she describes the natural beauty of Carolina and its emotional hold on her despite being away. The lyrics “Can't you see the sunshine? / Can't you just feel the moonshine?” express the deep longing for the warmth and familiarity of Carolina. The line “Ain't it just like a friend of mine / To hit me from behind?” suggests that the sudden memories of Carolina have the power to surprise and overwhelm the author at any moment.
The song’s title is featured in the chorus, which repeats “Gone to Carolina in my mind” as a mantra of the author’s longing for home. The imagery in the verses is vivid and draws the listener into the sense of place created by the author. The lines “Karin, she's a silver sun / You best walk her way and watch it shine / And watch her watch the morning come / A silver tear appearing now / I'm cryin', ain't I?” express the beauty and emotion of Carolina, while also conveying the deep sadness the author feels for being away.
Line by Line Meaning
In my mind I'm gone to Carolina
I'm mentally transported to the state of Carolina
Can't you see the sunshine?
The warmth of the sun is so palpable that it's as if you can see it
Can't you just feel the moonshine?
The soft glow of the moon is so tangible that it's as if you can feel it
Ain't it just like a friend of mine
To hit me from behind?
It's like getting a surprise visit from a friend, but in a figurative sense
Yes, I'm gone to Carolina in my mind
I'm fully immersed in thoughts of Carolina
Karin, she's a silver sun
You best walk her way and watch it shine
And watch her watch the morning come
A silver tear appearing now
I'm cryin', ain't I?
Karin represents hope and new beginnings, and it's easy to get drawn into her bright aura. But as the reality of the present sets in, it's also easy to feel overwhelmed and emotional
There ain't no doubt in no ones mind
That love's the finest thing around
Whisper something soft and kind
And hey babe, the sky's on fire
I'm dying, ain't I?
Love is universally acknowledged as the most beautiful experience. A gentle and loving whisper can ignite intense emotions. The feeling is so intense, it's as if one is dying in the moment
Dark and silent, late last night,
I think I might have heard the highway call
And geese in flight and dogs that bite
The signs that might be omens say
I'm goin', I'm goin'
I'm gone to Carolina in my mind
Late at night, the eerie silence is interspersed with signs that seem to indicate a change in life. These omens are driving me to leave my current location and head to Carolina
With a holy host of others standin' around me
Still I'm on the dark side of the moon
And it seems like it goes on like this forever
You must forgive me, if I'm up and gone to
Carolina in my mind
Despite being surrounded by supportive people, the present situation feels isolating and hopeless. It's like being stuck in time with no end in sight, and the overwhelming urge to leave for Carolina to find some hope and joy again
Gone, I'm gone, I'm gone
Say nice things about me 'cause I'm gone south now
Got to carry on without me, I'm gone
I've left for Carolina, and although it's sad to go, it's what I need to do. Please remember me fondly, and keep moving forward without me
Lyrics © BMG Rights Management, Sony/ATV Music Publishing LLC
Written by: James Taylor
Lyrics Licensed & Provided by LyricFind
@forego49
This entire album was so fantastic. I remember this was a great time in my life 1970
@jasonalun
The year I was born! Seventies were special...
@mariastatham603
Have this album,love it❤😊
@forego49
@@mariastatham603 Those were the best days, the best music, and people were kind to one another compared to what goes on today.
@kimberlywhistler6807
This has always been my favorite cover of this song. I think her cover of Ruby Tuesday was the best as well.
@tasbear7053
I couldn't agree more. Melanie's version of Ruby Tuesday is my favourite version of probably my favourite song. So many memories from the '70s.
@diogenes1815
Definitely the best version, this song transported me.
@rjjcms1
My mum had/has an album of her greatest hits with her versions of both those songs on. Transports me back to carefree days being a kid in the 70s.
@russellcollier8320
She even trumps Dylan with her version of Sign on the Window imho. She is something specail.
@adrianreynolds7742
Took me fifty years, but I got there fab voice