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)
Groundhog Day
Melanie Lyrics
Jump to: Overall Meaning ↴ Line by Line Meaning ↴
Seems no one comes to stay in my loneliness
Sometimes love and sometimes none
I'm out of luck but I'm not done
Today is Groundhog Day
Take me to a party take me to a room
For me to run into
I think I'm gonna have to touch everyone in the place
A game of hearts playing face to face
How long a line to a space
Where I look at mine
You know I'm gonna have to touch everyone in their place
Feel every part tasting every taste
How much more running in place will it take to find
It's Groundhog Day
I've grown fat I've grown a beard I've grown alone
It must be a year
Today it's Groundhog Day, Groundhog Day
Oh take me to a party
Take me to a party
I think I hear the music playing, ooh
Take me out of my room
I gotta get to a party
Take me, take me to a party
Take me out
I think I gotta get out of my place
I hear the music playing
In Melanie's song Groundhog Day, the lyrics describe a feeling of being stuck and lonely. The first verse tells the story of someone who has let themselves go physically and emotionally, feeling abandoned by others. They've experienced love as well as loneliness, but seem to have given up hope of finding happiness. The chorus uses the recurring theme of Groundhog Day as a metaphor for feeling stuck in a pattern of life that never changes. They ask to be taken to a party where they can escape their lonely existence and touch people, seeking human connection and the possibility of finding love.
The second verse goes deeper into the longing for human touch and the desire for a change in their life. They are willing to take risks, playing a game of hearts face to face with others, seeking connection and intimacy. The final chorus repeats the themes of the previous verses and adds a sense of desperation to escape their current life.
Overall, the lyrics of Groundhog Day convey a sense of loneliness, yearning for connection, and a desire for change. The repetition of Groundhog Day as a metaphor emphasizes the feeling of being stuck and the need for something new.
Line by Line Meaning
I've grown fat I've grown a beard I've grown alone
I have become physically and emotionally distant from others, leading to a state of loneliness and isolation.
Seems no one comes to stay in my loneliness
Despite my yearning for companionship, no one seems interested in staying with me in my solitude.
Sometimes love and sometimes none
In my search for love and connection, I have experienced both success and disappointment.
I'm out of luck but I'm not done
Despite facing setbacks and difficulties, I remain determined to continue seeking love and fulfillment.
Today is Groundhog Day
The repetition and monotony of my life is akin to the film Groundhog Day, where the same day is repeated again and again.
Take me to a party take me to a room
I crave the excitement and stimulation of social interaction, even if it means being in an unfamiliar or uncomfortable environment.
Where there ain't no corner For me to run into
I want to escape the stagnant parameters of my life and explore new possibilities and experiences without inhibition.
I think I'm gonna have to touch everyone in the place
I want to intimately connect with the people around me, potentially to compensate for my prior lack of emotional closeness.
A game of hearts playing face to face
I desire an honest, vulnerable connection with others instead of superficial or surface-level interactions.
How long a line to a space Where I look at mine
I ponder how distant I am from truly understanding myself and how to connect with others on a deeper level.
You know I'm gonna have to touch everyone in their place
I feel that physical touch and intimacy is necessary in order to cultivate the emotional connections I seek with others.
Feel every part tasting every taste
I want to experience every aspect of life and human connection, even if it means facing discomfort or pain.
How much more running in place will it take to find
I feel as if I am stuck in a continuous loop of seeking fulfillment without ever truly attaining it.
It's Groundhog Day
The repetition of my life and the cyclical nature of my experiences is reiterated.
It must be a year
I have been stuck in the same cycle of isolation and yearning for companionship for an extended period of time.
Oh take me to a party
The desire for a new, exciting experience is emphasized again.
I think I hear the music playing, ooh
The promise of excitement and possibility is alluring and tempting.
Take me out of my room
I want to escape the confines of my current situation and explore new opportunities for connection.
I gotta get to a party
The importance of breaking free from my mundane routine and seeking opportunities for excitement and fulfillment is emphasized again.
Take me, take me to a party
The urgency and desire for a new experience intensifies.
Take me out
I want to break free from my current state of isolation and experience something entirely new and different.
Contributed by Lauren L. Suggest a correction in the comments below.