The singer, who went by the mononym Melanie, was 76 years old. She won an Emmy Award® in 1989 for her songwriting on the CBS series “Beauty and the Beast,” has died.
Her children shared the news Wednesday in a post on the singer/songwriter’s official Facebook page. “This is the hardest post for us to write, and there are so many things we want to say, first, and there’s no easy way except to say it,” the statement begins. “Mom passed, peacefully, out of this world and into the next on January, 23rd, 2024.”
The post continued, “She was one of the most talented, strong and passionate women of the era and every word she wrote, every note she sang reflected that. Our world is much dimmer, the colors of a dreary, rainy Tennessee pale with her absence today, but we know that she is still here, smiling down on all of us, on all of you, from the stars.”
Her first American hit was in 1970, “Lay Down Candles in the Rain” was a song written about her experience at Woodstock. The song peaked at No. 6 on the Billboard Pop Charts.
Melanie’s version of The Rolling Stones song Ruby Tuesday didn’t chart in the U.S., but was a top 10 hit on the UK charts.
Her song, “Look What They’ve Done to My Song, Ma,” some of which was sung in French, was also a Top 40 hit in the UK.
Melanie struck gold with her song, Brand New Key from her Gather Me LP, which soared to number one on the Billboard charts in 1971 in the U.S. and to #4 in the UK.
In 2015, a much more mature Melanie performed her hit, Look What They’ve Done to My Song, Ma, with current pop sensation Miley Cyrus.
Melanie continued to perform live until about nine years ago. She was married to producer Peter Schekeryk from 1968 until his death in 2010. They had three kids together.
