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)
Knock On Wood
Melanie Lyrics
Jump to: Overall Meaning ↴ Line by Line Meaning ↴
I don't want to lose the good thing that I've got
If I do, I will surely, I will lose a lot
For your love is better than any love other I've known
It's like thunder, lightning, the way you love me is frightening
I better knock on wood, baby.
You got me spinning baby, spinning in a trance
But your love is better than any other love I've known
It's like thunder, lightning, the way you love me is frightening
You better knock on wood.
Yeah.
It's no secret but that woman fills my lovin' cup
She sees, so ready, that I get enough
And her love is better than any other love I've known
(It's like thunder) it's like (lightning) yeah
The way you love me is frightening
I better knock on wood, baby
Oh yeah
(Yes you better knock, knock, knock on wood) Yes, I better
(Yes you better knock, knock, knock on wood) Oh, knock on wood
(Yes you better knock, knock, knock on wood) You know I would, would
(Yes you better knock, knock, knock on wood) It's no secret
(Yes you better knock, knock, knock on wood) No, oh, better
(Yes you better knock, knock, knock on wood) Hangin' above me
(Yes you better knock, knock, knock on wood) I can't leave her
(Yes you better knock, knock) Oh no, baby
Knock on wood, ooh!
In the song "Knock on Wood," Melanie expresses her fear of losing the love that she has found. She believes that her love is better than any other love that she has ever known, and that it is worth protecting. Melanie is aware of how rare it is to find a partner that loves her so much, and she is convinced that she must count her blessings and hold on tight. She uses the metaphor of thunder and lightning to describe the intensity of her love, which is so powerful that it scares her. To avoid losing it, Melanie believes that she needs to knock on wood and hope for the best.
Throughout the song, Melanie expresses her superstition about her love. She is convinced that if she doesn't knock on wood, she will lose what she has. She describes her partner as filling her "lovin' cup," and she notes how ready and willing they are to provide for her physical needs. She appears to be deeply grateful for the love that she has found, and she desires to hold onto it tightly. Overall, Melanie's song "Knock on Wood" is a heartfelt declaration of love that communicates the fear and anxiety that comes with loving someone deeply.
Line by Line Meaning
I don't want to lose the good thing that I've got
I am afraid of losing the amazing love that we share
If I do, I will surely, I will lose a lot
Losing you will be catastrophic for me, and I just can't afford it
For your love is better than any love other I've known
The way you love me is unique and better than anyone else I've ever been with
It's like thunder, lightning, the way you love me is frightening
Your love for me is like an unstoppable force of nature, and it's intense
I better knock on wood, baby.
I am knocking on wood for some good luck to keep this beautiful love we share, alive and strong
I got superstitious about you but I can't take a change
I've become quite superstitious over the possibility of losing the beautiful love we share; I can't take the chance
You got me spinning baby, spinning in a trance
Your love has me spinning and in a hypnotic state of pure bliss and amazement
It's no secret but that woman fills my lovin' cup
Everyone knows that you fill my heart with love and fill my soul with joy
She sees, so ready, that I get enough
You are always there for me, ready to give me all the love, attention, and care I need
Yeah.It's like thunder
Our love is so intense that it's like thunder, unstoppable
lightning, the way you love me is frightening
The way you love me is electrifying, and it can be quite scary, but in a good way
You better knock on wood.
We should both knock on wood for some good luck to keep our unique and amazing love alive
Yes, I better
I will take all the necessary precautions to ensure we don't lose this beautiful love we share
Oh, knock on wood
We need all the good luck we can get to keep this unique and intense love alive and thriving
It's no secret
Everyone knows you're the love of my life, and I am just grateful to have you in my life
No, oh, better
I can't imagine losing you, and I will do everything in my power to keep our love alive and strong
Hangin' above me
The possibility of losing you and our love is always looming over me
I can't leave her
I can't leave you; you complete me, and I need your love in my life
Oh no, baby
Losing you is just unimaginable, and I can't bear the thought of it
Knock on wood, ooh!
We need all the good luck we can get to keep this beautiful and intense love we share, alive and thriving
Contributed by Peyton G. Suggest a correction in the comments below.