It’s not clear how much she has let this go. But there is also an astute perception that, despite her complexities, she was often misunderstood as an artist, regularly made to feel like “a piece of Woodstock fluff” in the press. There is an endearing innocence to Melanie, even now, alongside a mellow acceptance of the many twists and turns in her career. I don’t have any hit records, nobody knows who I am.’ I had no musicians with me, no roadie – I even brought my mom!” I had no idea! I walked into the lobby and there was Janis Joplin.” Aged 22, Melanie had never seen a famous person before. I pictured families with picnic blankets, and arts and crafts. “I just thought it was a weekend of singing. “It was an unbelievably frightening day,” she says. In 1969, she was helicoptered on to the stage at Woodstock festival where she was, in her own words, “an industry buzz” without a clue. Born Melanie Safka, she was raised in Queens, New York, and her vagabond journey as a musician began in Greenwich Village in the late 1960s. This year marks the 50th anniversary of her kaleidoscopic classic 1971 album Gather Me.
0 Comments
Leave a Reply. |