Melanie Safka

Melanie Anne Safka-Schekeryk (born February 3, 1947) is an American singer-songwriter.Melanie grew up in the Astoria neighborhood of Queens, New York
Usually known professionally as Melanie, she is best known for her hits "Brand New Key", "Lay Down (Candles in the Rain)" and "What Have They Done To My Song Ma". Melanie has sold over 25 million records over the course of her career.
Politically engaged against the Vietnam War and in favor of the Summer of Love generation that dominated the American counterculture, it was the only artist to participate in the banned Powder Ridge Rock Festival, a music festival canceled by the court at the request of residents in Connecticut after 30 000 people are already in place without food, water and electricity cut off, and sang alone for the present, a happening on a stage atop a truck along with the audience with only his guitar. When she became an official UNICEF ambassador in 1972, she agreed to forgo a world tour in favour of raising money for the organization.In 1976, Melanie released one album on Atlantic Records, Photograph, which was overseen by Ahmet Ertegün. The album was praised by the New York Times as one of the year's best, although it was largely ignored by the public. It was re-issued on CD in 2005 with an additional disc of unreleased material.Melanie identifies herself politically as a Libertarian, stating: "I'm a total Libertarian, and I am not a Democrat, a Socialist, or a Republican." For a time, at the beginning of her career, Melanie was a follower of Meher Baba and this influenced some of her songs (such as "Love to Lose Again" and "Candles in the Rain"). Over time she became disenchanted with other followers and then disassociated herself from Meher Baba. In 2006 she underwent a life-altering experience with Mata Amritanandamayi or Amma (Mother) as she is also known, or as the "hugging saint" from India, which inspired Melanie to write "Motherhood Of Love", one of her more recent songs. Melanie currently resides in Nashville.

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