Melanie Safka

American singer and songwriter, born 3 February 1947 in Astoria, New York City, USA, died on January 23, 2024 in Old Hickory, Davidson County, Tennessee.

Her mother was a jazz singer, and Melanie turned to music at an early age, making her public singing appearance on the talent show “Live Like a Millionaire” at 4. By the time she was in high school in Long Branch, N.J., she was already singing in local coffee houses, and eventually moved her act to the folk dens of New York while studying acting at the American Academy of Dramatic Arts. She earned a contract with Columbia Records and released two singles on the label before moving to Buddah. She initially found particular success in Europe, where she appeared frequently on television; her 1969 single “Bobo’s Party” reached No. 1 in France. A presence on the New York folk scene when she appeared at Woodstock in 1969, she was one of only two women who performed unaccompanied at the festival (Joan Baez was the other). The experience was the basis of “Lay Down (Candles in the Rain),” her breakthrough hit, and possibly her most popular song today, despite “Brand New Key” having been more ubiquitous in its day. Candles lighting up became a trademark of her shows for about a year after that, Melanie said, and that song “became so connected with my concerts that my shows were getting banned because fire departments wouldn’t approve them,” she said. In 1971, along with her husband Peter Schekeryk, she launched Neighborhood Records, making her the first American woman to open a mainstream record label. Among other accolades, she received an Emmy award for composing lyrics for the theme song of the hit television series Beauty and the Beast. At the time of her passing, Melanie had been working on a new record of cover songs, “Second Hand Smoke,” for the Cleopatra label; it would have been her 32nd album.