In an article on Quilette, Dave Thompson asks, Who remembers Melanie?
Well, I do!
Melanie, born in Queens, New York, in 1947, died in late January 2025.
It’s only appropriate that I post my obituary.
Melanie has always been a favourite of mine, albeit that in an Australian context, I suspect her fame is pretty much limited to Brand New Key, which reached No. 1 on our charts in 1974. It was a global chart success, but it’s always been her version of The Rolling Stones’, Ruby Tuesday, that has been my favourite. I have always preferred it to the original.
In addition to Ruby Tuesday, other favourites of mine are Lay Down (Candles in the Rain), apparently inspired by the Woodstock concert, Beautiful People, What Have They Done to My Song Ma, and The Nickel Song. However, she has an extensive discography, which over the years I have kept coming back too.
I was fortunate to see her on one of her Australian tours at Adelaide’s Festival Theatre in the latter half of the 1970s. I was at University and went with a great friend with whom I shared many evenings listening to, dare I say, obsessing over music and attending concerts. There were so few we didn’t enjoy. Melanie’s concert was no exception.
I only have one of her records on vinyl, the 1978 release Phonogenic—Not Just Another Pretty Face. Aint that the truth, she had a wonderful voice. I also fondly remember visiting London’s Oxford Street HMV Store and buying one of her CDs. I remember bouncing out of the shop with a massive grin that I’d managed to find it, much to the bemusement of my favourite person. With the benefit of Spotify, her discography is all available. I have to say that I listened to the record while preparing this post.
For most, Melanie’s time in the Sun was the 1970s, starting with a fortuitous appearance at Woodstock where the audience raised candles and cigarette lighters (that’s a sign of the times). While others have claimed to have been the first to have this happen, her Woodstock appearance was the first recorded occasion. A Google search says Melanie was in glorious female company, as she and Janis Joplin and Joan Baez were the only solo women who appeared at Woodstock.
We are poorer for her passing.
RIP Melanie Safka
Photo Source – The Hollywood Reporter, GAB Archive/Redferns
