A Soloist at Woodstock, Melanie Later Scored a #1 Hit with "Brand New Key" and Kept On Singing

Melanie was 22 and relatively unknown in the U.S. when she was invited to perform at Woodstock. Her set, which began at 1:30 a.m. in front of a throng of people holding lit candles in the rain, inspired her to write "Lay Down (Candles in the Rain)," which became her first U.S. hit. Another of her songs, "Brand New Key," was her biggest hit, reaching number 1 on the Billboard Hot 100 in December 1971.To hear Melanie sing "Brand New Key," check out this charming video.The photo of Melanie in the thumbnail for this episode is a 1975 publicity shot credited to the William Morris Agency. There are a couple of other images in the chapters, one from her "Candles in the Rain" album cover. The second one is a 1971 Billboard advertisement for "Brand New Key." I found both the publicity shot and the ad on Wikipedia.This tribute is one of 41 stories that Sheldon Zoldan, a longtime journalist, has written about the music notables who passed away in 2024. He's written tributes for other years as well. You can listen to the ones from 2023 on Everyday Creation. Sheldon also created Song of the Day, which was a daily feature delivered to an email list of subscribers. He ended it in early 2026 which, I suppose, means that Song of the Day deserves a tribute of its own. The good thing is that the tributes to music makers live on. Each is a snapshot of the life of one music maker whose work made an impact on the lives of many.Send us Fan MailThis is Kate Jones. Thank you for listening to Everyday Creation®, available on YouTube and in major podcast directories including Apple, Spotify, iHeart and Audible.