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)
Lovin' The Boy Next Door
Melanie Lyrics
Jump to: Overall Meaning ↴ Line by Line Meaning ↴
Guess who's ringing my bell.
Guess who's gonna come over.
Comin' to wish me well.
Oh, i don't have to be sad and
I don't have to cry anymore. oh...
Chorus
'cuz i'm lovin' the boy next door.
Life is gonna get easy now
Cuz' i'm lovin' the boy next door.
I don't have to go wanderin,
I don't have to hang out.
I don't have to get rained on,
Cuz' love is at my back door.
I just look out my window
'cuz i know that he's lookin' for more. oh...
Chorus
The grass is always greener
On the other side.
And everything is just sweeter
Since i opened my eyes.
The same things are different
And less is now lookin' like more. oh...
Chorus
Chorus
The song "Lovin' The Boy Next Door" by Melanie is a celebration of newfound happiness and love. The song speaks of a time when the singer was sad and cried, but not anymore because she is in love with the boy next door. The lines "I don't have to go wanderin'" and "I don't have to get rained on" suggest that life was tough before, but now she feels comfortable and safe because of the presence of the boy next door. The first verse makes us wonder who is coming to her house and who is ringing her bell. The answer is the boy next door, who is coming to wish her well. The song implies that the two have known each other for a while, but now they've discovered a mutual attraction.
The chorus repeats the happiness that the singer feels in her life now because she is in love with the boy next door. She says how beautiful her life is, and how everything will be easy now that she has him. The lines "Life is gonna get easy now" and "less is now looking like more" suggest that love has made her life more comfortable and has given her a new perspective on life. Finally, the song ends with repetition of the chorus, which emphasizes the joy that love has brought into her life.
Line by Line Meaning
Guess who's comin' to my house.
Someone special is coming to visit me at my home.
Guess who's ringing my bell.
Someone special is at my door and ringing the bell to let me know they're here.
Guess who's gonna come over.
Someone special is coming to spend time with me.
Comin' to wish me well.
This someone special is coming to show me support and goodwill.
Oh, i don't have to be sad and
My days of feeling sad and unhappy are coming to an end.
I don't have to cry anymore. oh...
I can cease my tears and find happiness in this coming visit.
Life is gonna be beautiful
My life is about to become amazing.
'cuz i'm lovin' the boy next door.
Because I found love with the special someone who lives next to me.
Life is gonna get easy now
I can anticipate my life turning stress-free and uncomplicated.
Cuz' i'm lovin' the boy next door.
Because I am in love with someone who lives close to me.
I don't have to go wanderin,
I don't need to look elsewhere for happiness.
I don't have to hang out.
I don't need to socialize with people outside of my home to enjoy my time.
I don't have to get rained on,
I won't need to suffer through negative experiences alone anymore.
Cuz' love is at my back door.
Because I found love with someone who lives so close to me.
I just look out my window
I can simply look through my window to see the person I care about.
'cuz i know that he's lookin' for more. oh...
Because I know that this special someone wants to be a part of something more with me.
The grass is always greener
We often believe that other people's lives are better than our own.
On the other side.
We often believe that other people's situations are better than our own.
And everything is just sweeter
Since finding love, everything in my life has become more enjoyable.
Since i opened my eyes.
Since finding love, I've been able to view life differently and see its beauty.
The same things are different
My experiences haven't necessarily changed, but my attitude towards them has.
And less is now lookin' like more. oh...
I'm learning to appreciate the simple things in life, and they bring me more joy than before.
Contributed by Kennedy D. Suggest a correction in the comments below.
Sam Bradley
I love Melanie Safka, this was probably done either in the late '70s or in the '80s.She only gets better with age. She is fine wine.
ganzillamusic
This was recorded at 1983 at Tiki Studios in Glen Cove, NY. It was originally released in Germany on the album "Seventh Wave". Russell Javors is the innovative producer; Sal Devitto is the drummer, Dean Kraus played keyboards, and Jeff Ganz is playing overdubbed upright basses. The kids that are singing at the end - Melanie's kids! 🙂
Sam Bradley
It's good to know she never went away, just took time to raise a family.
Richard Smith
Musik und Gäste (Music and Guests) . This is a German variety show? Melanie has a great sense of matching the music and lyrics. It looks like she love to sing this tune.
Ian Walker
Great video quality here, and I LOVE the song and the recording. But I'm glad the days of lip-syncing/synching are in the past... :)
James Baldwin
The 80s sucked and so does this silly song.
HaliotisGigas
I think the music was great in the 70' and 80' and I feel sorry for you that you didn't fall in love with one of your neighbours life would have been beautiful for you then and you would have appreciated the 80' music for sure.