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52-469: Melanie Anne Safka Schekeryk (February 3, 1947 – January 23, 2024), professionally known as Melanie or Melanie Safka , was an American singer-songwriter. Melanie is widely known for the 1971–72 global hit " Brand New Key ", her 1970 version of the Rolling Stones' " Ruby Tuesday ", her composition " What Have They Done to My Song Ma ", and her 1970 international breakthrough hit " Lay Down (Candles in

104-475: A 2013 interview with music journalist Ray Shasho, Melanie elaborated on the origin of "Brand New Key": Of course I can see it symbolically with the key, but I just thought of roller skating. I was fasting with a twenty seven day fast on water. I broke the fast and went back to my life living in New Jersey and we were going to a flea market around six in the morning. On the way back ... and I had just broken

156-672: A bike and the vision of my dad holding the back fender of the tire. And me saying to my dad ... "You're holding, you're holding, you're holding, right?" Then I'd look back and he wasn't holding and I'd fall. So that whole thing came back to me and came out in this song. So it was not a deliberate or intentional sexual innuendo. The follow-up single to "Brand New Key" was "Ring the Living Bell". To compete with this release, Melanie's former record company released "The Nickel Song", which she had recorded while still signed to Buddah Records. Both songs were simultaneous top 40 hits while "Brand New Key"

208-736: A hit in Europe, Australia, Canada, and the United States in 1970. The B-side of the single featured Melanie's spoken-word track, "Candles in the Rain". Her first top 10 hit in America was "Lay Down", which peaked at No. 6 on the Billboard singles chart and achieved worldwide success. Her later hits included "Peace Will Come (According To Plan)" and a cover of the Rolling Stones ' " Ruby Tuesday ". In 1970, Melanie

260-476: A key and a lock have always been Freudian symbols, and pretty obvious ones at that. There was no deep serious expression behind the song, but people read things into it. They made up incredible stories as to what the lyrics said and what the song meant. In some places, it was even banned from the radio ... My idea about songs is that once you write them, you have very little say in their life afterward ... People will take it any way they want to take it. In

312-406: A world tour in favor of raising money for the organization. She also took time to raise her daughter. Melanie had another top 40 hit single in 1973 with "Bitter Bad", a song that marked a slight departure from the hippie sentiments of her earlier hits, with lyrics such as "If you do me wrong I'll put your first and last name in my rock n' roll song". Melanie's other chart hits during this period were

364-572: The Glastonbury (1971), Windsor (1972–74) and Stonehenge (1974) Free Festivals were all at IOW 1970, respectively Andrew Kerr , Ubi Dwyer and Wally Hope , inspired by the anarchistic nature of the breakdown of control by the original organisation and the subsequent freedom of the last days of the event. For the 50th anniversary of the event, a re-enactment was scheduled in the same location, with John Lodge , Ten Years After, Pentangle, The Pretty Things and Nik Turner all confirmed. However, this

416-927: The Irish Charts during 1975. In 1976 the same parody was covered in the UK as " The Combine Harvester ", by Scrumpy and Western band the Wurzels , reaching number one on the UK Singles Chart for two weeks in June. Theme song of the podcast Wife of the Party hosted by LeeAnn Kreischer, popular comedian Bert Kreischer's wife. Melanie's version is heard in the 1997 film Boogie Nights as Dirk Diggler ( Mark Wahlberg ) has his "audition" with Rollergirl ( Heather Graham ) in front of Jack Horner ( Burt Reynolds ). It can also be heard in Jackass 3D as

468-578: The Isle of Wight Festival , held between August 26 and 30, 1970, at Afton Down . At the festival, she was introduced by Keith Moon and received four standing ovations. She appeared again at the Isle of Wight Festival in 2010 . In June 1971, she was the artist who sang to herald in the summer solstice at Glastonbury Fayre (later the Glastonbury Festival) in England. She performed again at Glastonbury in 2011,

520-454: The Nashville metropolitan area . She died on January 23, 2024, at the age of 76. Her three children shared their mother's death in a Facebook post and her reps mentioned "an illness", but no cause was given. Brand New Key The song is sung from the viewpoint of a girl with roller skates trying to attract the attention of a boy. In an interview with Examiner.com , Melanie described

572-500: The theme song for the television series Beauty and the Beast . With one exception, her albums were produced by her husband, Peter Schekeryk, who died suddenly in 2010. Her three children — Leilah, Jeordie, and Beau-Jarred — are also musicians. Beau-Jarred is a guitarist and accompanied his mother on tour. One of Melanie's later albums, Paled By Dimmer Light (2004), was co-produced by Peter and Beau-Jarred Schekeryk and includes

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624-412: The yachting set, and many of the traditional residents deplored the huge influx of " hippies " and "freaks". This led to the introduction of sections to the "Isle of Wight County Council Act 1971" designed to control any further large overnight gatherings. Renting a few acres of suitable farmland to hold a music festival had in earlier years been a simple commercial matter between the promoters and one of

676-666: The "Apocalypse DJ" running sketch portion of the third episode of the 2022 The Kids in the Hall revival series. The sketches depict a radio DJ (played by Dave Foley ) playing the song over and over again in the aftermath of an apocalypse caused by a "DNA Bomb". The song is also heard in Family Guy season 20, episode 18, "Girlfriend, Eh?". On the October 17, 2016, episode of singing competition television show The Voice , Team Miley (Cyrus) contestants Darby Walker and Karlee Metzger performed

728-616: The 15th annual Woody Guthrie Folk Festival , which is held to celebrate Woody Guthrie's life and music. In October 2012, Melanie collaborated with John Haldoupis, artistic and managing director of Blackfriars Theatre in Rochester, New York , to create an original musical about her love story with her late husband. Melanie and the Record Man made its premiere on October 19, with performances scheduled until October 28. The musical, conceived and designed by Haldoupis, featured Melanie's music and told

780-533: The 40th anniversary of the original festival. Melanie left Buddah Records when they insisted that she produce albums on demand. In 1971, she formed her own label, Neighborhood Records , with Peter Schekeryk, who was also her producer and husband. She had her biggest American hit on the Neighborhood label, the novelty-sounding late 1971 No. 1 hit " Brand New Key " (often referred to as "The Roller Skate Song"). "Brand New Key" sold over three million copies worldwide and

832-590: The BBC's Jools' Annual Hootenanny . At the time of her death in 2024, Melanie was working on a covers album titled Second Hand Smoke . Melanie married record producer Peter Schekeryk in 1968. They had three children; daughter Leilah born in 1973, daughter Jeordie in 1975, and son Beau-Jarred in 1980. Leilah and Jeordie, when aged seven and six, released a cover of " There's No One Quite Like Grandma " that charted in Canada, reaching No. 27. Peter Schekeryk died in 2010. Melanie

884-539: The Family Stone , Ten Years After , Emerson, Lake & Palmer and Free also took part. The event had a magnificent but impractical site, since the prevailing wind blew the sound sideways across the venue, and the sound system had to be augmented by Pink Floyd 's PA . Organizers also faced the logistical problems involved in transporting some 600,000 people onto an island with a population of fewer than 100,000. The Island's transport services were already stretched by

936-422: The Family Stone, Ten Years After, Miles Davis, Kris Kristofferson, Procol Harum, Cactus, Leonard Cohen and David Bromberg. The album went on to reach number 47 on the U.S. Billboard 200 album chart that same year. All the performances at the festival were professionally filmed by award-winning film director Murray Lerner . with a view to releasing a documentary film but due to financial difficulties, nothing

988-517: The Rain) ", which was inspired by her experience of performing at the 1969 Woodstock music festival. Melanie was born and raised in the Astoria neighborhood of Queens , New York City. Her father, Frederick M. Safka (1924–2009), was of Ukrainian ancestry, and her mother, jazz singer Pauline "Polly" Altomare (1926–2003), was of Italian heritage. Melanie made her first public singing appearance at age four on

1040-406: The annual influx of summer holiday-makers at the same time. French anarchists armed with knives were already causing trouble on the ferry crossing. Political and logistical difficulties resulted in the organisers eventually realising that the festival would not make a profit and declaring it to be "a free festival", although the majority of the audience had paid for tickets in advance, and the event

1092-459: The cast members try launching themselves into the inflatable swimming pool. On April 4, 2016, Jimmy Fallon lip synced the song during a "Lip Sync Battle" on The Tonight Show Starring Jimmy Fallon , while he competed with actress Melissa McCarthy . During the 16th season of American Idol , contestant Maddie Poppe performed the song during the Top 24 elimination round. The song is played during

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1144-456: The fast, from the flea market, we passed a McDonald's and the aroma hit me, and I had been a vegetarian before the fast. So we pulled into the McDonald's and I got the whole works ... the burger, the shake and the fries ... and no sooner after I finished that last bite of my burger ... that song was in my head. The aroma brought back memories of roller skating and learning to ride

1196-902: The festival itself. Chief Constable, Hampshire Constabulary , Sir Douglas Osmond emphasised the peaceful nature of the event in his evidence given to the Stevenson Report, 1971 (submitted to parliament as evidence in favour of future Isle of Wight Festivals). By the end of the festival, the press representatives became almost desperate for material and they seemed a little disappointed that the patrons had been so well behaved. A number of other performances were later released on various formats: VHS, LaserDisc, cassette tape, CD, DVD, Blu-ray & Vinyl records: Other audience/soundboard recordings in different audio formats are circulating, among others are: Ten Years After, John Sebastian, Joan Baez, Richie Havens, Joni Mitchell, Procol Harum, Family, Kris Kristofferson, Pentangle ... The founders/main instigators of

1248-714: The folk clubs of Greenwich Village , such as The Bitter End , and signed her first recording contract with Columbia Records . Melanie released two singles on the label in the U.S. She subsequently signed with Buddah Records and found her first chart success in Europe in 1969 with "Bobo's Party", which reached No. 1 in France. Her popularity in Europe resulted in performances on European television programs such as Beat-Club in West Germany. Her debut album received positive reviews from Billboard , which described her voice as "wise beyond her years" and said her "non-conformist approach to

1300-461: The inspiration for the song: I was fasting with a 27-day fast on water. I broke the fast and went back to my life living in New Jersey and we were going to a flea market around six in the morning. On the way back… and I had just broken the fast, from the flea market, we passed a McDonald's and the aroma hit me, and I had been a vegetarian before the fast. So we pulled into the McDonald's and I got

1352-472: The local farmers, but by 1970 this had become subject to approval decisions from several local council committees who were heavily lobbied by residents' associations opposing the festival. As a result of this public scrutiny, the preferred ideal location for the third Festival was blocked, and the promoters in the end had no choice but to accept the only venue on offer by the authorities: East Afton Farm, Afton Down . One unintended result of this choice of location

1404-456: The music and lyrics for a theatrical musical , Ace of Diamonds , with a book by Ed Kelleher and Seymour Vall based on a series of letters written by Annie Oakley . Though never fully produced, several staged readings were performed at the Lincoln Center , with Melanie as the narrator and pop singer and actress Annie Golden as Oakley. Melanie won an Emmy Award for writing the lyrics to

1456-507: The pantheon of iconic female singers. Meltdown was all the better for her presence." The concert was filmed for a DVD , Melanie: For One Night Only , which was released in October 2007. She recorded "Psychotherapy", sung to the tune of the " Battle Hymn of the Republic ", which parodied aspects of Freudian psychoanalysis. The song has been played on The Dr. Demento Show . In July 2012, Melanie headlined along with Arlo Guthrie and Judy Collins at

1508-464: The radio show Live Like A Millionaire , performing the song "Gimme a Little Kiss". She moved with her family to Long Branch, New Jersey , and attended Long Branch High School . Disturbed that she was rejected by her schoolmates as a " beatnik ", she ran away to California. After her return to New Jersey, she transferred to Red Bank High School in Red Bank, New Jersey . She graduated in 1966, although she

1560-637: The selections on this LP make her a new talent to be reckoned with". Later in 1969, Melanie had a hit in the Netherlands with "Beautiful People". She was one of only three solo female artists who performed at the Woodstock festival in 1969, and her first hit song, " Lay Down (Candles in the Rain) ", was inspired by the Woodstock audience lighting candles during her set as well as being influenced by her following of Indian spiritual master Meher Baba . The record became

1612-552: The self-penned "Together Alone" and a cover of " Will You Love Me Tomorrow ", which reached No 37 in the UK Singles Chart in March 1974. In 1976, Melanie released one album on Atlantic Records , Photograph , which was produced by Ahmet Ertegun . 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 compact disc in 2005 with an additional disc of unreleased material. Also in 1976, Melanie appeared at

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1664-449: The song as the bonus track on her 2010 Unbroken album. Olivia Newton-John covered the song on the soundtrack album for the film A Few Best Men in 2012. Jessica Frech covered the song on her 2012 Reality album. The New York-based singer Jaymay covered the song in 2013. Ray Conniff & The Singers did a cover version on their album I'd Like To Teach The World (In Perfect Harmony) album in 1971. Maddie Poppe covered it in

1716-533: The song in a Battle round. In the first online episode of the Comeback Stage of the singing competition television show The Voice , no-chair reject Klea Olson performed the song as part of a Battle round against fellow Team Bebe (Rexha) members Nathan and Chesi Arnett, who performed the song " Tulsa Time ". Isle of Wight Festival 1970 The Isle of Wight Festival 1970 was a music festival held between 26 and 30 August 1970 at Afton Down , an area on

1768-642: The song on her 1999 top-10 album Everything's Gonna Be Alright . The cellist band Rasputina had a version on the album Thanks for the Ether . Todd Rundgren played a cover on his 2018 tour. On August 1, 2018, at Daryl's House Club in Pawling, New York , Melanie joined Rundgren onstage to sing "Brand New Key". A female-fronted punk trio, the Dollyrots , included a version on their album Because I'm Awesome . The 2006 American Idol runner-up, Katharine McPhee , covered

1820-565: The song, but people read things into it. They made up incredible stories as to what the lyrics said and what the song meant. In some places, it was even banned from the radio. My idea about songs is that once you write them, you have very little say in their life afterward. It's a lot like having a baby. You conceive a song, deliver it, and then give it as good a start as you can. After that, it's on its own. People will take it any way they want to take it. Shipments figures based on certification alone. Country singer Deana Carter covered

1872-647: The songs "To Be The One", "Extraordinary", "Make It Work", and "I Tried To Die Young". In 2007, Melanie was invited by Jarvis Cocker to perform at the Meltdown festival at the Royal Festival Hall in London. Her sold-out performance was critically acclaimed, with The Independent saying, "It was hard to disagree that Melanie has earned her place alongside Joan Baez , Judy Collins , Buffy Sainte-Marie , Laura Nyro , Joni Mitchell , Nico , and Marianne Faithfull in

1924-710: The story of meeting Peter, falling in love, and working together to produce her music. Melanie performed during the musical and was also the narrator. In June 2014, she toured Australia for the first time since 1977. In April 2015, Melanie was inducted into Red Bank Regional's "Distinguished Alumni Hall of Fame". She received the Sandy Hosey Lifetime Achievement Award at the Artists Music Guild's 2015 AMG Heritage Awards on November 14, 2015, in Monroe , North Carolina. On New Year's Eve 2019, she performed on

1976-417: The top-24 stage of American Idol season 1 on ABC and later went on to win. The Wiggles covered it on their 2022 album Rewiggled . A version of the song entitled the " Combine Harvester ", with new rustic-themed lyrics by Irish songwriter Brendan O'Shaughnessy (including "I've got a brand new combine harvester An' I'll give you the key"), was recorded by Irish comedian Brendan Grace , reaching No. 1 on

2028-492: The tribute concert for Phil Ochs , who had committed suicide on April 9 that year. Held on May 28 at New York City's Felt Forum , Melanie performed an emotional version of Ochs's songs " Chords of Fame " and "Miranda". She had appeared with Ochs on stage in 1974 at his "Evening with Salvador Allende " concert (also held at the Felt Forum), along with Dave Van Ronk , Arlo Guthrie , Bob Dylan , and others. In 1983, Melanie wrote

2080-514: The western side of the Isle of Wight in England. It was the last of three consecutive music festivals to take place on the island between 1968 and 1970 and often acknowledged as the largest musical event of its time, with a larger attendance than Woodstock . Although estimates vary, Guinness World Records estimated 600,000 to 700,000 people attended. It was organised and promoted by local brothers, Ron and Ray Foulk through their company Fiery Creations Ltd and their brother Bill Foulk. Ron Smith

2132-567: The whole works... the burger, the shake, and the fries... and no sooner after I finished that last bite of my burger… that song was in my head. The aroma brought back memories of roller skating and learning to ride a bike and the vision of my dad holding the back fender of the tire. And me saying to my dad... "You're holding, you're holding, you're holding, right?" Then I'd look back and he wasn't holding and I'd fall. So that whole thing came back to me and came out in this song. The song has been described as folk music , pop music , and soft rock . It

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2184-487: Was a vegetarian in the early 1970s; she also practiced fasting . Melanie identified herself politically as a libertarian , stating, "I am not a Democrat , a Socialist , or a Republican ." She said that she had experienced acceptance from a "universal force of motherhood" after receiving a hug from Mata Amritanandamayi , a.k.a. Amma ("Mother") or the "hugging saint" from India, as she is also known, which had inspired her to write "Motherhood of Love". Melanie resided in

2236-424: Was arranged by Roger Kellaway . Melanie has acknowledged the possibility of detecting sexual innuendo in the lyrics, but has denied any deeper meaning: [The song], "Brand New Key", I wrote in about fifteen minutes one night. I thought it was cute; a kind of old thirties tune. I guess a key and a lock have always been Freudian symbols, and pretty obvious ones at that. There was no deep serious expression behind

2288-402: Was featured in the 1997 movie Boogie Nights . When first released, "Brand New Key" was banned by some radio stations because some inferred sexual innuendo in the lyrics. Melanie acknowledged the possibility of reading an unintended sexual innuendo in the song, stating: I wrote ['Brand New Key'] in about fifteen minutes one night. I thought it was cute; a kind of old thirties tune. I guess

2340-501: Was filmed contemporaneously. The commercial failings of the festival ensured it was the last event of its kind on the Isle of Wight for thirty-two years. The opposition to the proposed 1970 festival from the residents of the Isle of Wight was much better coordinated than it had been in previous years. The Isle of Wight was a favoured retirement destination of the British well-heeled, and a haven of

2392-618: Was just three songs with The Band at a Woody Guthrie Memorial Concert. Many excerpts from this festival have appeared on record and video. The 1970 version, following Woodstock in the previous year, set out to move one step forward and enlisted Jimi Hendrix . With Hendrix confirmed, artists such as Rory Gallagher , Cactus , Chicago , the Doors , Lighthouse , the Moody Blues , the Who , Miles Davis , Joan Baez , Joni Mitchell , Jethro Tull , Sly and

2444-586: Was prevented from attending her graduation ceremony because of an overdue library book. She was inducted into the school's hall of fame in 2014. In the 1960s, Melanie started performing at The Inkwell, a coffee house in the West End section of Long Branch. After high school, her parents insisted that she attend college, so she studied acting at the American Academy of Dramatic Arts in New York. She began singing in

2496-425: Was released until 27 years after the event. Finally, Lerner distilled material from the festival into the film Message to Love : The Isle of Wight Festival which was premiered at a San Jose film festival in 1995 and released in 1997. A CD of the soundtrack was also issued by Castle Communications/Sony Legacy in 1997. The film puts a negative slant on the 1970 event by splicing in footage of violent incidents preceding

2548-601: Was site manager and Rikki Farr acted as compere . The preceding Isle of Wight Festivals , also promoted by the Foulks, had already gained a good reputation in 1968 and 1969 by featuring acts such as Jefferson Airplane , Tyrannosaurus Rex , the Move , the Pretty Things , Joe Cocker , the Moody Blues (performed at the 1969 festival), the Who , and Bob Dylan in his second performance since his 1966 motorcycle accident -the first one

2600-575: Was still on the charts, setting a record for the first female performer to have three top 40 hits at the same time. Melanie won Billboard ' s No. 1 Top Female Vocalist award for 1972 and was awarded two gold albums, and a gold single for "Brand New Key". Three of her compositions were hits for the New Seekers . She is also known for her musical adaptations of children's songs, including "Alexander Beetle" and "Christopher Robin". When she became an official UNICEF ambassador in 1972, she agreed to forego

2652-442: Was that, since it was overlooked by a large hill, a significant number of people were able to watch the proceedings for free. On the bill, but did not perform: This three-LP set on CBS Records devoted the first disk to Second Annual Atlanta International Pop Festival , and two disks to the later Isle of Wight. Teo Macero is credited as the producer for the Isle of Wight disks. It featured in order billed: Jimi Hendrix, Sly and

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2704-592: Was the only artist to ignore a court injunction banning the Powder Ridge Rock Festival , which was scheduled to be held on July 31, August 1 and 2, 1970. She played for the crowd on a homemade stage powered by Mister Softee trucks. Not long after this performance, she played at the Strawberry Fields Festival held from August 7 to 9, 1970, at Mosport Park in Ontario, Canada. She also performed at

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