The singer, who wrote “Lay Down (Candles in the Rain)” based on her experiences at Woodstock, had been working on a covers album this month.
Melanie, the singer who performed at Woodstock in 1969 and had major pop hits in the early '70s with “Brand New Key” and “Lay Down (Candles in the Rain),” died Tuesday at age 76. News of the death came from her advertising company, Glass Onyon PR.
No information was initially given about the cause of death. But Melanie – full name Melanie Safka – was in the studio earlier this month working on a new record of covers, Second Hand Smoke, for the Cleopatra label; It would have been their 32nd album, the label said.
Her three children, Leilah, Jeordie and Beau Jarred, posted a message on Facebook saying: “We are heartbroken but would like to thank each and every one of you for the affection you have shown our mother and tell you that she I loved you all so much! She was one of the most talented, strong and passionate women of her time and every word she wrote, every note she sang reflected that. Our world is much darker, the colors of a dreary, rainy Tennessee faded by her absence today, but we know she is still here, smiling down from the stars on all of us, on all of you.”
Her children asked tonight (January 24th) at 10pm CT: “Each of you light a candle in honor of Melanie. Lift her, lift her up, up again. Illuminate the darkness and let us all unite in the memory of the extraordinary woman who was a wife, mother, grandmother, great-grandmother and friend to so many people.”
Melanie's first pop hit was “Lay Down (Candles in the Rain),” a gospel-inspired collaboration with the Edwin Hawkins Singers that reached No. 6 on the Hot 100 in 1970. “Brand New Key” followed in 1971. an inescapable hit that was interpreted by some as a kind of children's song and by others full of sexual innuendos. It reached number 1 and was her only other top 10 hit in the US. She also reached the top 10 in the UK with a cover of the Rolling Stones' “Ruby Tuesday”.
“It was the bane of my existence for a few years,” Melanie told the Guardian in 2021 about “Brand New Key,” which was perceived by many as a novelty song due to its childlike tone. The singer said it was composed as a blues song, but she sped it up in search of greater commercial appeal.
Melanie didn't always get her money's worth in the male-dominated folk rock scene of the time and was rarely mentioned even in the company of female artists like Joni Mitchell. She speculated with the Guardian about why this might be: “It wasn't the age of smiling women,” she said. “It had to be a lot more brooding and I was way too angelic. Men can be sweet. Randy Newman can sing “Short People” and that’s okay because he’s a guy, he’s got something to say. But a girl? How could it possibly have any social significance?”
Safka was born on February 3, 1947 in Astoria, New York and grew up in Queens. She studied at the American Academy of Dramatic Arts, but it was her interest in performing in the folk clubs of Greenwich Village that led to her ultimate career path.
She was virtually unknown when she was flown by helicopter to the Woodstock festival in 1969, before she had any hits on the radio. In 1989 and again in 2019, as the festival reached significant anniversaries, she wrote about the experience for Rolling Stone.
“I had my first out-of-body experience. I was terrified,” she said. “I just left my body and went to a higher side. I watched myself walk on stage, sit down and sing a few lines. And when I felt it was safe, I came back. Just before I went on, it started to rain. Ravi Shankar had just finished his performance and the announcer said that lighting candles would help keep the rain away. By the time I finished my set, the whole hill was just a collection of little flickering lights. I think that’s one of the reasons I came back to my body.”
This experience was the basis for “Lay Down (Candles in the Rain),” their breakthrough hit and possibly their most popular song today, although “Brand New Key” was more ubiquitous in its day. Candle lighting became the hallmark of her shows for about a year afterward, Melanie said, and that song “became so closely associated with my concerts that my shows were banned because the fire department wouldn't approve them,” she said.
Her husband, producer and manager Peter Schekeryk died in 2010. She had collaborated musically with her son Beau Jarred and daughters Leilah and Jeordie on recordings and concerts in recent years.
Melanie had her biggest hits in the early 1970s with the Buddah label, which she left in 1971 to found her own label and thus become a pioneer for independent artists. She recently signed with Los Angeles-based label Cleopatra, who are in the process of compiling her entire post-Buddah catalog for a reissue.
According to her label, Melanie recorded a cover of Morrissey's “Ouija Board Ouija Board” in early January for an upcoming tribute album celebrating his music. (Morrissey was known to be a fan of hers and had covered “Some Say (I Got Devil)”.) She had also just recorded a version of Nine Inch Nails' “Hurt” for her planned covers album, Second Hand Smoke.”
Other songs she recorded for the new album included “Creep” by Radiohead, “Nights In White Satin” by the Moody Blues, “Enjoy The Silence” by Depeche Mode and “Everyone Says Hi” by David Bowie.
In their Facebook statement, the singer's three children said: “We are planning a celebration of life for mom and it is open to anyone who would like to come and celebrate her.” Details will be announced as they become available. We look forward to seeing you there.”