Song:Brand New Key
Album:Beautiful People: The Greatest Hits Of Melanie
Brand New Key may be one of the silliest number one hits in pop history. The success of the song was fueled by perception of sexual innuendo and that singer songwriter Melanie Safka seemed a little goofy anyway. Her hippy image seems more enduring than other artists of that era. She was born Feb. 3, 1947 in Queens, NY and sang in Greenwich Village clubs while attending the New York Academy of Fine Arts. In 1967, she released two singles on Columbia that went nowhere. In 1969, she met Peter Shekeryk and he got her a contract with Buddah Records. The two would marry and have three kids. Her 1969 debut album Affectionately Melanie did OK. But her breakthrough came after she performed at the Woodstock festival. That appearance inspired her to write Lay Down (Candles In The Rain) which reached #6 on the Billboard Hot 100 in 1970 and the album reached #17 on the Billboard Hot 200 and was certified Gold. Her cover of The Rolling Stones' Ruby Tuesday also charted and her song Look What They've Done To My Song Ma was a hit for The New Seekers. But she was butting heads with Buddah. They were putting pressure on her to record new music. So she and Shekeryk left Buddah and started Neighborhood Records with distribution from Paramount Pictures' Famous Music division. Gather Me was her first album on her new label. It reached #15 on the Billboard Hot 200 and was certified Gold. Brand New Key topped the Billboard Hot 100. Though Brand New Key is clearly performed in a very lighthearted way, some radio stations banned it for sexual innuendo. Melanie said she was going for a cute 30s style tune and "key" and "lock" are obvious Fruedian symbols for sex. She thinks some folks read too much into the song. It's funny because one group that covered Brand New Key was the kids music group Sharon, Lois & Bram. Melanie continued to record but didn't tour as much as she concentrated on raising her family. By 1975, she closed Neighborhood Records and hasn't been significant since then. But she did win an Emmy in 1989 for writing the theme song for the TV series Beauty and the Beast. Melanie last recorded in 2004 but she still tours and her son Beau-Jarred Shekeryk tours with her. This 1999 comp is perfect. Here's Melanie performing Brand New Key 1971.
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