Must have been a dream, I don't believe where I've been, come on...I'm (eleven days--gadzooks!) late again....
My introduction to this week's tune is a bit convoluted--I remembered the popular version by the New Seekers (released as "Look What They've Done to My Song, Ma") from 1970, but upon this week's artist's passing I was reading her obituary and discovered that she'd actually written it and recorded it first (under the title "What Have They Done to My Song Ma"). I gave her version a listen and just immediately fell in love with it. Nothing against the charting rendition, though. It's a lovely piece of seventies pop....
Melanie (professionally, Melanie Safka by birth, Melanie Safka-Schekeryk by marriage) was born in New York City in 1947 and began performing at coffeehouses throughout the city after she graduated from high school. She was signed to Columbia records in 1969, had a hit in the Netherlands (so many cools Dutch kids!), before having a career altering performance at Woodstock (one of only three solo women artists to perform there). Her first hit in America was inspired by the audience at Woodstock and rose to #6. She had a humongous hit with "Brand New Key" in 1971 (my father was a big fan of the song) and parlayed her early successes into a career that spanned over fifty years. Over the years she performed at numerous music festivals, won an Emmy for writing the theme song to the TV series Beauty and the Beast, and wrote the music and lyrics for a theatrical musical about Annie Oakley. For her career, Melanie released twenty-eight studio albums (with two charting in the top twenty), thirteen live albums, fourteen compilations, and fifty-nine singles (with a number one and a number six hit). Sadly, Melanie passed away in 2024 from an undisclosed illness.
Fun Fact: Melanie attended Red Bank High School in, of all places, Red Bank, New Jersey. She was not allowed to attend her graduation ceremony because of an overdue library book. However, in 2014 she was inducted into the school's Hall of Fame. Kind of bullshit, but it's proof that fame opens a lot of fucking doors....
"What Have They Done to My Song Ma" was released as the B-side of "Ruby Tuesday" (a cover of the Stones song) on Melanie's 1970 album, the rather illuminating wetly entitled Candles in the Rain. The single reached #39 in the U.K., #6 in Norway (so many cool Norwegian kids!), and #14 in Belgium (so many cool kids in the Wallonia region!). The album reached #17. For posterity, the New Seekers version hit #14 (with a bullet!).
There is so much to love about this song, beginning with the song's theme, which is that no matter how beautiful you try to make something the powers that be (read Corporate America) are going to do everything in their power to fuck it up. Secondly, and the reason I chose Melanie's version, is just the rawness of her performance, with her raspy vocals capturing all of the disappointment of having your dreams crushed. Thirdly, the music is oddly reminiscent of circus music, which may or may not be a nod to the often-surreal nature of life. Finally, about halfway through the song, Melanie starts singing in French (a nod to existentialism?)! How fucking cool is that? As the week has progressed (well, eleven days actually), it has amazed me how with every listen the song gets better and better to me. Just a wonderful slice of rock and roll at a critical juncture not only for the world at large, but for art itself as well.
Lyric Sheet: "Well they tied it up in a plastic bag/And turned it upside down ma/Look what they done to my song..."
Enjoy:
Fuck Donald Trump
Peace,
emaycee
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