CANDLES IN THE RAIN (LP)

AVAILABLE NOW ON VINYL !!!!

Melanie's classic 'Candles In The Rain' has been remastered and will be reissued in November to mark its 50th anniversary. No talent who came out of Woodstock and who continued actively performing more than a quarter century later remained as closely associated with the 1960s and "flower power" than Melanie. Born Melanie Safka in Astoria, Queens, in 1947, she made her first public appearance at age four on a radio show, later studying at the New York Academy of Fine Arts, After mounting a singing career while in college, she later sang in clubs in Greenwich Village, and was signed to a publishing contract in 1967, She recorded her first single, "Beautiful People," for Columbia Records that same year, Her relationship with the record company was short-lived, however, and after one more single she left the label. In 1969, she chanced to meet producer Peter Schekeryk, and after a hastily arranged audition, he took charge of her career, Her first album, Born to Be, was recorded and released by Buddah later that same year, On August 16, Melanie took the stage at the Woodstock Music & Art Festival in Bethel, New York; her song "Birthday of the Sun" was later released on the Woodstock 2 album, and 20 years later it was released on video as part of Woodstock: The Lost Performances, alongside the work of Janis Joplin, Crosby, Stills & Nash, and The Who. Soon afterward, she cut her second album, Affectionately, which did slightly better than her first; however, her commercial breakthrough came 11 months after Woodstock, when she released the song "Lay Down (Candles in the Rain)," recorded with The Edwin Hawkins Singers, The song, written as a tribute to the audience at Woodstock and displaying the feel of a gospel hymn, rose to number six on the U.S, charts, while the accompanying LP, entitled Candles in the Rain, reached the Top 20.