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)
Citiest People
Melanie Lyrics
Jump to: Overall Meaning ↴ Line by Line Meaning ↴
You've been unkind to an un-city girl
From the stone walls you grew
So I'm not blaming you
But look what the city
Just look how the city
Has taken a pretty
Just look what the city is doin' to you
To the citiest people in the citiest towns
I'm not the one to be putting you down
From the stone walls you grew
But I grew there too
And I know that the city
The dirty old city
Can take such a pretty
And make an ugly of you
Just look what the city is doin' to you
In Melanie's song "Citiest People," she addresses the citizens of city towns and acknowledges their unkindness towards an un-city girl. The song speaks about the effects that living in a city can have on a person's character, how the fast-paced, competitive city lifestyle can corrupt individuals and strip them of their humanity. Melanie points out that the city's stone walls, symbolizing the hardened exterior and harshness of city life, has been the reason for the citiest people's lack of compassion towards others. She acknowledges that she is not placing blame on them for their behavior and points to the city as the culprit responsible for transforming them from pretty to ugly individuals.
The song "Citiest People" is a reflection of how cities can be both beautiful and ugly, fostering growth and development but at the same time, consuming one's soul. Through her lyrics, Melanie shows her appreciation for the city by acknowledging that she grew up in a city too, but also calls upon the citiest people to pause and reflect on the negative impact that city living can have on their lives.
Overall, "Citiest People" is a message to the world, urging individuals to recognize the importance of treating others with kindness and respect, regardless of our differences. The song challenges individuals to reclaim their humanity, no matter how difficult city life can be.
Line by Line Meaning
To the citiest people in the whole wide world
Addressing the most urban population around the globe
You've been unkind to an un-city girl
The city folks did not treat Melanie well because she is from the countryside
From the stone walls you grew
The city people evolved from the concrete, brick buildings and not from nature
So I'm not blaming you
Melanie does not accuse city dwellers for how they turned out to be
But look what the city
The urban lifestyle, the city's way of living
Just look how the city
An emphasis is put on the destructive power of city life
Has taken a pretty
The purity, innocence of a person
And made an ugly of you
The city makes people colder, cruel and more distant
To the citiest people in the citiest towns
Referring to those who live in the densest, busiest, and most modern areas
I'm not the one to be putting you down
She does not judge or blame urban people for their behavior
But I grew there too
Melanie has lived in the city as well and knows its harsh realities
And I know that the city
She is well aware of the city's effects on individuals
The dirty old city
The unhealthy, polluted and distressing side of the city
Can take such a pretty
Even a beautiful spirit could be corroded by the city life
And make an ugly of you
The city's negative influence can turn people into something they are not
Just look what the city is doin' to you
The song repeats its message by emphasizing the city's detrimental effects on individuals
Lyrics © Warner Chappell Music, Inc.
Written by: MELANIE SAFKA
Lyrics Licensed & Provided by LyricFind
Jeff S.
My favorite song of all time, from anyone. I can feel the pain in her mind and heart as she turns her hurt and anger into pity for the people who, in her youthful wisdom weren't born so mean despite their ill treatment of her growing up in Astoria, Queens and playing songs for free in the Village. The only song where this eternally optimistic singer/writer actually calls some of her fellow NY'ers "UGLY." It must have taken a lot of hurt to get her to write this song, as she leads with "You've been unkind to an un-city girl." after dedicating the song like a letter to the "Citiest People."
mickey garza
of all the Melanie songs I love , this has got to be the one that elicits the most emotional responses... smiling as salty water streaks down my cheeks
kismetseyes
One of the best songs ever written......superb. Such a rare talent
Teresa Gallonty
Oh my goodness, this is so beautiful.
Ivy Lauren
Her best song
Edgar Soberón Torchia
Beautiful!
Mike Stewart
Just oh so beautiful in every way <3
Wendy Noll
I lived these words....
Wildlyfer
Get Love In My Mind by Melanie from Garden In The City please.
Miles Corbett
From which album was this beautiful song ?