Schekeryk, Melanie (b. 1947)

American folk singer. Name variations: Melanie; Melanie Safka. Born Melanie Safka on February 3, 1947, in Queens, New York; daughter of Fred Safka and Polly Safka; married Peter Schekeryk, on December 31, 1968; children: Leilah (b. 1973); Jeordie (b. 1975); Beau Jarred (b. 1981).

Known to her American and European fans simply as Melanie, Melanie Schekeryk has enjoyed a career as a rock, pop, and folk singer-songwriter for over 30 years. Born in 1947 in New York, she gave her first performance on a radio broadcast at age four. After high school graduation, Melanie went on to study at the American Academy of Dramatic Arts in New York, while performing at night at clubs and coffeehouses. She turned professional in 1967 with a record contract for the Columbia Records label. In 1968, she married music publisher Peter Schekeryk. Melanie performed at the original Woodstock Music and Art Fair in 1969 in Bethel, New York, an appearance which gained her considerable recognition and boosted record sales; her next album, Candles in the Rain, sold over a million copies in 1970 and earned her Billboard's award as top female vocalist. Her record label also promoted her work heavily in England and Western Europe, where her records were often in the top ten in sales.

Melanie and her husband started Neighborhood Records in 1971 and released the song which would become her biggest hit, "Brand New Key," a light tune about a pair of roller skates. It sold over 3 million copies and was #1 in the United States. "At the time, it killed me," said Schekeryk, "because it marked me as this cute, ever-so-sunny performer, and I wanted to be deep, dark, and brooding." Her other hit songs include "What Have They Done to My Song, Ma?," "Lay Down," and "Beautiful People." In 1971, Melanie, always politically active and an advocate for a range of social issues, performed for the UN General Assembly and became a spokeswoman for UNICEF, touring to raise money for the fund in 1972. She continued to write and release new albums as well as contribute to political causes throughout the 1970s and 1980s, although she took some time off to care for her three children. Melanie has the distinction of being the first female pop artist to have three albums on Billboard charts simultaneously. In 1989, she was honored with an Emmy award for writing "The First Time I Loved Forever" for the television production "Beauty and the Beast: A Distant Shore" for CBS. Now living in Clearwater, Florida, Melanie is perhaps best known in Western Europe, where her blend of rock and folk music styles and her unique, expressive voice have won her many loyal fans. However, she is still popular in the States and continues to write and perform at folk, bluegrass, and pop concerts, with her children serving as backup.

sources:

Larkin, Colin, ed. The Encyclopedia of Popular Music. Vol. V. London: Muze UK, 1998.

People Weekly. June 17, 1996, p. 136.

Shaw, Arnold. Dictionary of American Pop-Rock. NY: Schirmer Books, 1982.

Laura York , M.A. in History, University of California, Riverside, California