Episode 131

At the dawn of the singer/songwriter era, there was a time when the genre was dominated by men. Then, along came Melanie. With but one minor hit charting at one radio station, she took the stage at Woodstock. Just Melanie. Her guitar and 500,000 peace loving new friends, holding candles in the rain. The experience inspired Melanie’s anthem, Lay Down, landing her new album in the collection of every aspiring hippy girl the world over.

The hits kept coming. Ruby Tuesday, What Have They Done To My Song, Ma? And Brand New Key. Melanie was everywhere. Writing, touring and creating a soundtrack that inspired young girls to grow into women who went after their dreams.

Melanie Safka has raised a family but she’s never stopped making music. Her story-telling is as epic as her songs. She shares how she defied her parents’ debutant dreams for her and followed her passions, how she quite accidentally met her producer/manager/husband, Peter Schekeryk, her out of body Woodstock experience, featuring a pot of tea sent over by Joan Baez, her spiritual collaboration with The Edwin Hawkins Singers, how fasting, hallucinating and McDonald’s inspired the roller skate song, Brand New Key and her recent backyard duet with super fan, Miley Cyrus.