I liked Janis Joplin, (who doesn't?) but...

[Archae]

Anyone also remember Melanie?

She was best known for her song "Brand New Key,"

But she did a hilarious take on Freud and psychotherapy.

[Tom_Foolery]

1. I Remember her very well...

[DawgHouse]

2. Oh I loved Melanie!

[Tatiana La Belle]

6. I always wondered what this one was about.

Look what they've done to my brain, ma...

[DawgHouse]

9. I always thought it was just about how

artists have their music changed or edited by producers so that it's no longer as they originally intended.

Miley Cyrus does a nice version of this song on her Backyard Sessions album.

[Tatiana La Belle]

17. Thanks.

It was odd coming out around the same time as the MKUltra experiments. I also wondered if it was a reference to drug use.

[lastlib]

3. She has an AWESOME cover of "All Along The Watchtower"!!!!

It's ALMOST as good as Hendrix's! (And for me, a Jimi worshiper of the highest order, to say that, well, it takes some damn good playin'!)

And I can NOT find it ANYwhere online! even after dozens of searches. I've even made inquiries to the satellite radio station I first heard it on, without success. Drives me nuts. I GOTTA find that song!

[Skittles]

4. I thought Lay Down was her best song

[ailsagirl]

26. I agree-- wonderful song!!

Thanks so much for posting!!

(to be honest, I never could get into Brand New Key)

[hunter]

5. Hmmm... sounds familiar...

Haven't changed my sig here for more than a decade.

[NorthCarolinaL]

7. Janis, Raquel Welch, and Douglas Fairbanks on Dick Cavett

Interesting discussion and youtube comments. You almost knew Janis and Raquel would disagree. You could almost her Raquel saying I wish I had her fiery demeanor and brain. You could almost hear Janis saying I wish I had those hot legs.

The old days were nice when they just discussed things unscripted. The "stuff" title is apt. They just casually converse, but have a good conversation.

[Joe Shlabotnik]

8. I must confess,

I'm probably the only person on DU who doesn't like Janis. I'll admit she had a ton of passion, but I cannot stand her screechy voice.

[malthaussen]

11. I doubt there are many who like Janis's voice.

But if performance were all about voice, Bob Dylan would never have sold a record.

-- Mal

[CanSocDem]

13. She introduced me...

...to the idea of singing a song with feeling. It was 1967 and I had never heard that before from a pop star.

Soon there was a whole new level of 'music with feeling', that became part of the cultural revolution that insisted that ALL art should be made with "feeling". Like you say, the sound of the voice was unimportant.


.

[malthaussen]

15. I don't much like Billie Holliday's voice, either...

... but again, her voice is not what makes her vocals distinctive.

-- Mal

[retread]

25. Not the only one!

[panader0]

10. Tracy Nelson of the Bay Area band Mother Earth was the best white female blues

singer of her time. (late sixties)

[cliffordu]

18. And then there was Lydia Pence.....with cold blood

[malthaussen]

12. Yep, many of us remember Melanie. n/t

[Coventina]

14. I have to say.....I don't like Janis Joplin

I know, that makes me Satan, but her voice is always nails on a chalkboard for me.

[KamaAina]

19. You're lucky I don't use Ignore!

[Coventina]

20. I know, I fully accept that it's a character defect (maybe ear defect?) of mine.

Most of the people I love and respect love her.
But, I don't know....I just can't stand it.

I'm very sorry.

[KamaAina]

21. Aren't you from Texas?

I hope to FSM it's a hell of a long way from Port Arthur!

[Coventina]

22. No, I have relatives there, but have never visited them.

I'm in Arizona, although originally from Seattle.

(I have a very strange biography, but, I suppose that's true of a lot of folks).

[cwydro]

16. Dang, now I've got an earworm!

I remember her AND that song!

[pinboy3niner]

23. 'Brand New Key' is a very annoying earworm

The guy who was my medic in Vietnam found me 20 years later and I learned that after the war he played backup (bass guitar) for Melanie on a couple of her international tours. But I didn't hold it against him.

[ghostsinthemachine]

24. If you liked Janis you will LOVE Carolyn Wonderland

Even more cuz she is an amazing guitar player as well..... Comes from Port Arthur too.....

For Molly Ivins:

[LiberalEsto]

27. Melanie's mother made me buy her first single record

Mrs. Safka, Melanie's mom had a small store at the Monmouth Mall in New Jersey way back in the distant past. She mostly sold hats and handbags. I was walking around the mall, probably with my godmother who lived in Monmouth County, and stopped to look at the hats. Mrs. Safka, who was quite a saleswoman, talked me into buying the 45 rpm single with "Brand New Key" on it. I wasn't terribly impressed when I played it, because I preferred groups like The Doors.

A few years later I lent it to Bennet Z., an obnoxious twerp at Rutgers, and he never returned it. I wouldn't have cared except that it might have been worth money at some point.