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)
Nickle Song
Melanie Lyrics
Jump to: Overall Meaning ↴ Line by Line Meaning ↴
They put in a nickel and I sing a little song, da da, da da
They put in a nickel and I sing a little song
Well, I don't mind that they're lucky but it seems that they always win
And gamblin' is illegal in the state of mind I'm in
And if I had a nickel for each time that I've been put on
I would be their nickel man and I'd sing a little song
They're only putting in a nickel and they want a dollar song
They're only putting in a little to get rid of a lot that's wrong
Well, I don't know so many things but I know what's been goin' on
We're only putting in a little to get rid of a lot that's wrong
And if we had a nickel for each time that we've been put on
We'd all be their nickel man and we'd sing a nickel song
You know they're only putting in a nickel and they win a dollar song
Oh, yeah, they're only putting in a little to get rid of a lot that's wrong
Oh, they're only putting in a nickel to win a dollar song
The lyrics to Melanie's song Nickle Song seem to be a commentary on the unjust nature of the entertainment industry. The singer speaks about how she is being used as a source of entertainment and is being 'gambled on' by those who put in a nickel to listen to her sing. She doesn't mind that others are lucky and winning but feels that she is being taken advantage of, with people always putting in a little but expecting a lot in return. The singer, using the metaphor of gambling, suggests that the industry is playing with her as though she were a game; she sings as they pay, and they expect her to perform endlessly.
The second verse further highlights this idea of exploitation. The singer tells us that the industry is illegal in the state of mind she is in—that she does not want to participate in the corruption and manipulation that is a part of it. But even though she doesn't want to be a part of this system, due to her desire to perform and sing, they can easily manipulate her as long as they offer her a nickel for each song. The song's overall message seems to be that the entertainment industry depends on the exploitation of talent, and that for people to succeed, they must be willing to endure this exploitation to some extent.
Line by Line Meaning
Well, you know that I'm not a gambler but I'm being gambled on
I may not be someone who takes risks, but others are taking a chance by using me
They put in a nickel and I sing a little song, da da, da da
People are using me for a small price to get something in return
Well, I don't mind that they're lucky but it seems that they always win
I'm not bothered that they're fortunate, but it appears they always come out on top
And gamblin' is illegal in the state of mind I'm in
Where my head's at, taking risks is not something I approve of
And if I had a nickel for each time that I've been put on
If I received compensation every time I was utilized like this
I would be their nickel man and I'd sing a little song
I'd be happy to play the role they want and give them what they desire
They're only putting in a nickel and they want a dollar song
They're not putting in much, but they want a lot in return
They're only putting in a little to get rid of a lot that's wrong
They're trying to fix a significant issue with minimal effort
Well, I don't know so many things but I know what's been goin' on
I may not be aware of everything, but I'm aware of the situation at hand
We're only putting in a little to get rid of a lot that's wrong
We're trying to fix a big issue with minimal effort
And if we had a nickel for each time that we've been put on
If we received compensation every time we were utilized like this
We'd all be their nickel man and we'd sing a nickel song
We'd all happily play their game and give them what they desire
You know they're only putting in a nickel and they win a dollar song
They're not investing much, but they're getting a lot in return
Oh, yeah, they're only putting in a little to get rid of a lot that's wrong
They're trying to fix a significant issue with minimal effort
Oh, they're only putting in a nickel to win a dollar song
They're not putting in much, but they want a lot in return
Writer(s): Melanie Safka Copyright: Bienstock Publishing Company
Contributed by Jayden G. Suggest a correction in the comments below.
@vitobarfalone6060
The curse of living a long life is to see people you admire and respect leave this world.....peace be with you sweet lady....the world is a little darker without your bright light....
@mafirearmsafety
the upside is you see your enemies go to hell first
@robertdouglas8895
All minds are connected.
@robertdouglas8895
@@mafirearmsafety That sounds like hell to me. The world is a mirror.
@michaelwaters8879
News of her passing leaves a big hole in my heart.
@user-yj3ob9kd3l
I lost a dear friend last week. Every time we lose someone, a relationship ends, and that branch of life of our life ends. The longer we live, the fewer branches we have!! 😢
@rolandstroebel6185
Dear sweet Melanie, I was just 12 years old in 71 when I first heard this wonderful song and went and bought the 45 to play on my harmony kardon lp player. Thanks for such wonderful MEANINGFUL songs.
I'm so sad that God called you home A few weeks ago.
This world is a bit orphaned now without your lovely folk songs.
Rest well dear Melanie 😢❤
@ernst2225
We were sitting around a campfire in Finland in 1973. Everything was dark around us and then someone turned on the radio. The Nickel Song with Melanie and Me And Bobby Mc Gee with Janis Joplin was playing. I'll never forget that, because I was high up north with my German girlfriend-the time didn't matter and lots of mosquitoes were flying. I was in a sauna for the first time even with a lake .This year I was back in Finland after 50 years-more south and when I came to Germany I heard the "Nickelsong" on Youtube .I got a little sad because my youth with which I associate this song is over and my girlfriend, my later wife, died of cancer. When the tracks played, I cried.
@chrisdevalcourt648
Memories!
Better to have loved and lost than to have never loved at all.
The circle of life.
@thetruth-bf6je
🙏❤️🇮🇪