Melanie (Melanie Safka) Tribute

Melanie, the singer / songwriter, passed away at the age of 76. I first discovered Melanie at the age of 8 when in 1971 she released her #1 hit Brand New Key. But she was a lot more than that hit. She was ahead of her time in many ways, including starting her own record label back in 1971 too. Here is my tribute to a fine artist who I will miss. Her Candle In The Rain will always shine bright to me.

[@limomangeno]

RIP. ..Melanie...Laydown /Candles in the Rain...Fantastic.

[@thesixthbeatle]

I did not know she started her own label....good memories of her great songs

[@TheAlanRosenbergShow]

Yes - ahead of her time. She left Buddah and started Neighborhood with her husband Peter. Brand New Key was #1 on it. @@thesixthbeatle

[@tarrtruck2869]

Melanie, what can you say? A true artist in every sense of the word. She blazed her own trail and was a true original. May her memory be eternal.

[@TheAlanRosenbergShow]

Beautifully said Tarr - thanks so much.

[@brendajoye5999]

The song Beautiful People was written from a beautiful person. Melanie.

[@TheAlanRosenbergShow]

Certainly one of my favorite Melanie songs. Absolutely beautiful.

[@jamesgee3052]

Thanks for nice tribute, it is very sad, she was a great artist and a beautiful voice.

[@TheAlanRosenbergShow]

Thanks so much. She sure was.

[@3636lk]

"she sang till she died" (The Actress) Such a overlooked artist, she had impressive vocals. Anyone who saw her Live will never forget the power of her voice.

[@TheAlanRosenbergShow]

Thanks - she sure did have an incredibly powerful voice

[@MisterWondrous]

Thank you from a new subscriber. Candles is epic. RIP Beautiful Melanie!

[@TheAlanRosenbergShow]

Thanks so much.

[@dasnolonger]

Great tribute. Her popular hits really were the tip of the iceberg! Such a large, varied back catalogue. She was one of a kind and way too underrated, still. RIP Melanie.

[@TheAlanRosenbergShow]

Beautiful tribute from you - so true. Thanks so much.

[@mikedavis7925]

Very sad indeed..never forget Candles in the rain or her great rendition of Ruby Tuesday. RIP 😢

[@TheAlanRosenbergShow]

Thanks so much - absolutel agree. And yes Ruby Tuesday is a wonderful cover version.

[@aisforapple2494]

🎶'And the saddest thing under the sun above is to say goodbye to the ones you love'🎶 Rest In Peace, Melanie Safka 🙏❤ 1947 - 2024 A beautiful woman. An incredible artist. A personal favorite. You will be terribly missed. 😢

[@TheAlanRosenbergShow]

Thank you so much for your beautiful touching and heartfelt tribute. Saddest thing indeed. She will be so missed.

[@jeremyshelman9716]

Thanks for doing this Melanie tribute. I got to see Melanie once at the Agora Theater in Columbus Ohio. She was touring the "Ballroom Streets" set. She was pure magic. I've never seen a performer with more presence and charisma. She brought the thunder and ended with such gentle kindness. We've lost someone special. I have to remember that Melanie had an incredibly long performing career on her own terms when I regret that the awards and celebration didn't happen to my wishes. If the "Photograph" album didn't do it, I don't know what would have. It was a masterpiece. I still hold out hope that the future will uncover the wealth she left in her songwriting.

[@TheAlanRosenbergShow]

What a beautiful tribute - thanks so much. Lucky you to see her around the Ballroom Streets album time period - my favorite Melanie album. And you're so right about Photograph. I bought the Rhino Handmade 2 CD set last year and I was blown away by how great it was. I already knew many of the songs of course, but still (and the bonus disc) it was an incredible album. One of my favorite albums of last year. Absolutely criminal that Atlantic ignored that album. It's a lost classic.

[@msminicooper2010]

Crying and crying when I heard the news an hour ago. Your tribute vid helped calm me down. Thank you.

[@TheAlanRosenbergShow]

It is a sad loss. Thanks so much. It means so much to me, that my little video, helped you in a small way. Thanks so much.

[@TangSongs]

Ah! Babe Rainbow and all of those gems that she wrote. Loved her then and loved her later material and will always love her.

[@TheAlanRosenbergShow]

Thanks for sharing your thoughts and tribute. Beautiful

[@nadinemarie3811]

Nice tribute to Melanie. I love Babe Rainbow, as well. One of my favorite Melanie songs.

[@TheAlanRosenbergShow]

Thanks so much. Yea - Babe Rainbow always touched me as well.

[@Bohonk212]

Had her first, Born To Be. Always a fan. A voice that could be sweet, little girl innocent and deep-felt soul at the same time.

[@TheAlanRosenbergShow]

So true - her voice could be gentle and sweet, and loud and powerful, but always showing her emotions. Thanks so much.

[@andee7255]

The first Melanie album I ever had was the one she put out after "The Good Book," it was called "Stoneground Words." The single "Together Alone" is one of the songs on the single disc Buddah collection you featured here Alan. I was so happy when they released the album on cd (I originally had it on an 8-track tape); absolutely love that album! And here's another rave for "Lay Down (Candles in the Rain); awesome production on that song and a fan favorite. Thanks for the tribute. R.I.P. Melanie.

[@TheAlanRosenbergShow]

Thanks so much. Yes I love Together Alone as well. Another great Melanie song amongst so many. And Lay Down....is just so incredible. ..Truly one of the greatest songs of all time.

[@PEDRIBIRIS22]

Look what they done to my song ma… Fly high Melanie, you were well prepared to begin the definite journey!

[@TheAlanRosenbergShow]

Absolutely

[@ronalaurence4105]

Thank you, Alan, for your excellent tribute to Melanie. I think her handful of well-known songs is just the tip of the iceberg when it comes to her catalog, in general. [“Lay Down (Candles in the Rain)” always has been at the top of my list of desert island 45s.] The song titles you rattled off are well-selected examples of tunes that highlight Melanie’s gift for mixing catchy melodies with intelligent and insightful lyrics, which are delivered by the unique vocals of a sincere singer. And, as you said, Melanie was ahead of her time in several ways. (Check out the lyrics to “What Have They Done to My Song, Ma,” which was released in 1970.) Melanie was true to herself, and she embodied the bohemian/hippie ethos that really did make her one of the “Beautiful People.”

[@TheAlanRosenbergShow]

thank you. I didn't really touch on her bohemian / hippie ethos, but she sure did. As singer songwriters go at that time, she sure was a classic hippy young woman and ahead of her time in many ways.

[@frankingenito]

For a long time I only owned Ballroom streets. A few years ago I got really into her music and now I own 31 Melanie albums. A unique talent and a beautiful spirit. Very underrated. RIP Melanie, you were one of a kind.

[@TheAlanRosenbergShow]

Wow 31 albums - that's incredible. You're truly a mega fan and that's awesome. I still love Ballroom Streets the best - my favorite.

[@frankingenito]

I get obsessive with the artists I love. I also own 51 Fleetwood Mac albums and 48 Stones albums.​@@TheAlanRosenbergShow

[@barrymoore4470]

@@frankingenito I had no idea Fleetwood Mac even had that many albums!

[@frankingenito]

I'm including bootlegs and various live releases. They made 18 studio albums. ​@@barrymoore4470

[@TheAlanRosenbergShow]

@@frankingenito I’m very much a completist. Believe it or not I have almost 500 Stones albums. Multiple copies of each official, bootlegs, imports. Etc.

[@HTJB60]

So sad to hear the News of Melanie. I rarely write such comment's like this. Bit of a shock as I'm only a few month's short of 76 myself. (In very good health, touch wood.) Melanie was a great songwriter but I also felt a tremendous Singer of cover song's. She would take them and with her powerful voice, MAKE THEM HER'S. RIP Melanie. Michael Dark.

[@barrymoore4470]

Her covers of "Ruby Tuesday" and "Carolina on My Mind" really stand out, distinctive and heartfelt.

[@TheAlanRosenbergShow]

Thanks so much - absolutely right - she was great at doing other people's songs - changing the arrangement and really allowing her personality and style to own the new version. As others have said, and I'm a huge Stones fan, her version of Ruby Tuesday is epic, as are many of her other covers. Thanks for your tribute.

[@davidkunzli680]

Good Lord, Alan. You pulled that together really fast! You are ultra organized.... which I am not. I never saw her but would have loved to. You have a great momento from her show. She was really underrated. On a much happier note, saw that Mark Knopfler has a new album coming out. Superdeluxedition has an exclusive Blu-Ray of the album. I have heard one song. Nice.

[@TheAlanRosenbergShow]

Yea I had no idea. Saw that today as well. Looking forward to that release. And now sometime this year I have to get the new Dire Straits Live box. I have all their albums but now remastered, again and with bonus tracks and a previously unreleased live concert from 1979. Psyched for that one too.

[@mjames4709]

Nice tribute.

[@TheAlanRosenbergShow]

thanks so much

[@thesixthbeatle]

Nice one Alan....Melanie was a wonder, and often overlooked.

[@TheAlanRosenbergShow]

Thanks so much - totally agree with your Melanie comments. Absolutely.

[@JSB1882]

Melanie's album. "Crazy Love", is truly one of my all-time favorite albums.

[@TheAlanRosenbergShow]

I don’t Have that one. I’ll be on the lookout though

[@danaaronmusic]

The standard against whom all subsequent singer-songwriters must be measured. No one could hold a silent audience in the palm of her hand like Melanie. Feels like the 1970's just died.

[@TheAlanRosenbergShow]

thanks so much - love your wonderful passionate sentiments on Melanie. Such an overlooked and often sadly forgotten artists. A wonderful talent.

[@markspooner1224]

My heart sank when I saw Melanie tribute here, that is very sad news indeed. I love her music and her voice was unique. I'm sure Joanna Newsom ows her a debt.If Brand New Key is a novelty song I wonder if it's the first one to inspire a novelty song with 'The Combine Harvester'. BTW that signed cover is awesome!

[@TheAlanRosenbergShow]

Funny comparison - I tried to get into Joanna Newsom but the two albums I heard didn't grab me, so I didn't keep them. I think a lot of us first heard Melanie from Brand New Key, as I did with the single. But then we dove deeper and discovered a unique artist with depth, warmth and was the real deal.

[@barrymoore4470]

I only knew Melanie until very recently solely for "Brand New Key" [I had heard "Lay Down (Candles in the Rain)" before, but didn't know its title or that Melanie was the artist responsible for it], and misunderstood her as a mere novelty act with one hit to her credit. Upon news of her death, I sampled some of her music uploaded onto KZbin, and was deeply impressed with both her powerful and inimitable singing and her true poetic flair as a lyricist. I have no doubt now that she was one of the great singer-songwriters of the last century, and I am eager to explore her legacy further. So sad that she is no longer with us, but her music will surely endure.

[@TheAlanRosenbergShow]

What a beautiful tribute from you. Welcome to her world and I know you will enjoy the journey.

[@hunterhilton709]

Melanie was the best

[@TheAlanRosenbergShow]

Thanks.

[@TangSongs]

Apathy is a great track! Her 80s songs never gained traction but she did many great recordings throughout the decade!

[@TheAlanRosenbergShow]

Thanks so much - nice to see another fan of that work - I love Apathy - hopefully others will pick up on it.

[@craigblack7076]

"I Really Loved Harold" - my fathers name was always special plus I have a soft spot for "Someday I'll Be A Farmer.")))

[@TheAlanRosenbergShow]

Oh yea - I haven't heard I Really Loved Harold in a long long time - have to give it a listen. Only Melanie could have written that.

[@douglasweston126]

Hi Alan - nice tribute, such a gentle soul. I have her album "Candles In The Rain" - I must get an anthology or a best of CD. Cya Doug

[@TheAlanRosenbergShow]

Yea Anthology / Best of is a great way to go. Thanks.

[@andee7255]

54music2 just posted a little tribute to Melanie. They posted "Here I Am" from "Stoneground Words"; it was so fitting yet bittersweet. Just like to add that "Lay Down" is a song that is as iconic as much as Joni's "Woodstock." 🕯️

[@TheAlanRosenbergShow]

Absolutely. I think Lay Down is one of the greatest songs of all time. Criminally overlooked and oft forgotten over the decades. Should be played on classic rock radio and Sirius regularly.

[@truvakaplan2376]

Ballroom Streets. One of my favorite double albums: Save Me.

[@TheAlanRosenbergShow]

That's awesome - thanks. Agree

[@dynjarren8355]

Nice Tribute! I’m always upset to hear when a creative person passes because I know there won’t be anymore art coming from them and they can’t make any music live again. So it’s much worse then when a regular person dies. It just hits me harder. When I think that Mozart was shoveled into an anonymous grave because no one paid for his burial that always makes incredibly sad. To think that someone contributed so much to our musical lives gets treated like that really hits me hard. What are your views on it? Do you think we go to Heaven or do we just go into the ground like fertilizer? What say you? Because I don’t really know and my grains of sand are running out. What do you think?

[@TheAlanRosenbergShow]

I wish I knew my friend but I've no idea. The art world is even worse than the music world in that many times, "art" only becomes valuable after the artist is deceased. The music world is completely messed up over the decades. Which is the main reason why I started this channel. So I can try to expose the music that I love through my huge collection. If even a few people discover Lay Down (and other songs) from Melanie through my channel, then it was a little success. But of course it's better to discover the music while the artist is still alive and performing.

[@thomaswery3087]

Jeez Alan they're all dying off.So sad

[@TheAlanRosenbergShow]

Yea - so sad indeed. I believe she was 76. I didn't see any report on how she passed away. Sad loss though. We're at that age my friend.

[@SpenceCurry]

So sad. Liked her early 70s stuff like madgrugda and stoneground words

[@TheAlanRosenbergShow]

That Photograph album is great

[@anthonyferguson4102]

They have the ballroom cd on eBay on tomato records I have the cd but they do have it on eBay -- Anthony

[@TheAlanRosenbergShow]

Thanks. I’ve never seen it. I want to make sure they fit the whole double vinyl on one cd. Sometimes they cut off a song or two. Thanks again

[@anthonyferguson4102]

@@TheAlanRosenbergShow it’s not the full lp the medley is not on it that’s the most important part of the lp you should check out Phil Aston now spring channel he said the same thing you said about this wonderful lp it’s a shame the entire LP is not on cd and you are welcome I had Melanie many many times at westbury music fair and she signed my entire LP collection of her LP’s what a wonderful human being she was may she rest in peace -- Anthony

[@TheAlanRosenbergShow]

thanks so much for the info. I had a feeling the CD wouldn't be complete. thanks for sharing your wonderful personal memories of Melanie. As an aside, I'm a lifelong long islander and have been going to Westbury Music Fair my whole life. One of my favorite venues to this day. Especially the older I get, nothing beats the intimacy and great sound of a venue like yours. Just thought I'd mention that, even though its off topic. Thanks again.@@anthonyferguson4102

[@anthonyferguson4102]

That’s fantastic and you are welcome --- Anthony

[@Musician-Songwriter]

I had the pleasure of being kicked off her Tour Bus in 1989 with Richie Havens and the guys from Canned Heat, Lol!

[@TheAlanRosenbergShow]

There's a great story, buried there......!!!! Would love to hear that, but certainly respect your privacy.

[@Musician-Songwriter]

@@TheAlanRosenbergShowThere's a few, Lol! but, anyway, back in the mid to late 80's I lived in Ft. Lauderdale, FL. and so did Harvey Mandel and his son, Eric. Eric and I became friends through Harv's Gf at the time, she lived around the corner from me, anyway, in 1989 Harv and Eric had to fly out to L.A. because they put together a 20 year Mini Woodstock Reunion so, the deal was that when they criss crossed the USA and got to Miami, I was to pick up Harv's Gf and her son and bring them down to the Miami/Dade Metro Zoo for the concert, there's a big field at the zoo for these purposes so, at the concert, Canned Heat did their set, Richie Havens got up and did his set, then Melanie went on Stage to do her set so, Richie and Fito and Harv all said. "Let's go on Melanie's bus and smoke it out" Melanie disliked drugs so, it was a prank, anyway, we were all the way in the back of the bus in her bedroom and I'll tell ya, they smoked a lot of joints in a short period of time, Lol! all of a sudden, I hear this lady screaming like a Mad Woman Screaming!!!, "You guys are fucking assholes, Fito! Richie! get the fuck off of my bus!! Lmfao!! we exited the bus and Melanie asked me who I was, and I just said I was with Harv and she said, "I'm usually not this mean but, those guys know I hate that shit!" Lol! it's a wonderful memory and I didn't mind sharing, RIP Melanie.

[@TarBabyJim]

What other artist in 1972 would allow a fan to hold his hand on her leg as she sang at a concert? That young boy was me. I loved her my whole life. I will miss her voice. Thank God we have over 30 albums to remember her by. Nice tribute, thank you.

[@TheAlanRosenbergShow]

That’s an incredible wonderful personal story. Thanks for sharing your unforgettable experience

[@ronalaurence4105]

What a truly extraordinary experience you shared with the one-of-a-kind Melanie! She really was special in so many ways.

[@TheAlanRosenbergShow]

You actually hear that happen on the Leftover Wine live album. Incredible.