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Other Melanie credits include music for the television series "Beauty and the Beast" and a track on The 6ths' "Hyacinths and Thistles" entitled, "I've Got New York," released in 2000. Although she is viewed by many as the definitive "flower child," she identifies herself as a Libertarian rather than a Liberal.—Preceding unsigned comment added by Rjstrock ( talk • contribs) 20:28, 17 September 2006 (UTC)
I have a CD titled Melanie / Shine On - The Latest and Greatest. It's produced by Melanie safka, Peter Schekeryk & Rolf Wetzel for PLH (Partner Licencing GmbH, Hamburg) 2000. I will add it to the albums. If it doesn't belong there, please change as appropriate. Hoverfish 15:20, 11 December 2006 (UTC)
This article and the Brand New Key article seem to disagree with each other about how innocent the lyrics are... AnonMoos 06:16, 2 January 2007 (UTC)
See the discussion at Talk:Brand_New_Key#Freudian_Symbolism.3F. Rammer ( talk) 02:26, 5 May 2012 (UTC)
The sentence In 1973 Melanie started to retreat from the spotlight to begin a family; one of many sacrifices she made for her career. doesn't make a lot of sense to me. A sacrifice for her family, sure, a sacrifice of her career, OK, but surely not a "sacrifice for her career. jiHymas@himivest.com 216.191.217.90 17:34, 14 June 2007 (UTC)
In Russian, her surname has even a meaning! safka means food, or breakfast! xD -andy 92.227.75.133 ( talk) 18:19, 15 April 2008 (UTC)
No consensus to move. Vegaswikian ( talk) 22:23, 20 April 2010 (UTC)
Melanie Safka → Melanie (singer) — She is professionally known as Melanie and the article name should reflect this. Cjc13 ( talk) 11:11, 7 April 2010 (UTC)
*'''Support'''
or *'''Oppose'''
, then sign your comment with ~~~~
. Since
polling is not a substitute for discussion, please explain your reasons, taking into account
Wikipedia's policy on article titles.The key word in the article name policy is "generally". In this case I believe there is an obvious exception to the general policy as Melanie is also often known as Melanie Safka - whereas people such as Madonna are nearly always known only by their first name. For instance, "Melanie Safka" is the name by which her songwriting is credited on her recordings and songbooks. Melanie isn't just a "singer", she is also an established songwriter and as such she is virtually always referred to as "Melanie Safka" instead of "Melanie" - and her songs have been recorded by many different artists. The suggestion that the article be renamed may be well-intentioned but it is seriously flawed in this instance. Afterwriting ( talk) 16:45, 12 April 2010 (UTC)
John Greenway recorded and appears to have composed in part The Psychotherapy Song. Pete Peterson wrote in a discussion at The Digital Tradition on 30 July 1999, "I have, on vinyl, an old record by John Greenway, author of American folksongs of Protest-- recorded about 1960 or so on which The Psychotherapy Song can be found. He claims to have written the last three verses and gotten the rest from the proverbial Man in the Bar." Note that the album mentioned is not American Folksongs of Protest itself. If I can identify the recording, I'll add it to the article. Hieronymus Illinensis ( talk) 08:51, 3 October 2010 (UTC)
In any event, Melanie first recorded it at an early stage of her career (not later on, as suggested by the heading in the article). The version I have is on a "Golden Hour" compilation, which gives the date as 1972. IXIA ( talk) 16:56, 24 May 2011 (UTC)
I just came across this artist because her song Brand New Key was used in one of the latest HP printer commercials ( http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ReTg9o_eNc8) In my opinion, that's important, timely, and relevant enough to allow for an add somewhere in this article. Neutralityisimportant ( talk) 02:43, 12 October 2011 (UTC)
Born Feb. 3, 1947 in Queens, N.Y. to a Russian-Ukrainian father and an Italian mother who Sang in jazz clubs, Melanie was a self-professed loner who divided her college years between a drama career and playing Greenwich Village coffeehouses. At age 20, she met music publisher-producer Schekeryk, who got her a deal with Columbia Records that lasted for two singles. — Preceding unsigned comment added by 91.77.30.78 ( talk) 12:09, 17 August 2012 (UTC)
Melanie doubtless inherited her musical instincts from her mother of whom she says, "She was a very pure singer; she would hold a note and not whine off like I do." Melanie's musical side flowered and became her sole interest while she was at school which caused her to be regarded rather as an outsider, especially as in addition, her mode of dress was a little different to the rest of her class.
This isolation had the effect of making Melanie more absorbed in her music and more determined than ever to be different in both dress and behaviour. "School was the time when things started getting bad for me. I didn't have a happy time. It was OK in the low grades. but after that it was pretty difficult. I didn't have an easy time with other people, I couldn't get on with them. I was very much alone and the other kids didn't seem to want to know me, so I spent the time I was by myself writing, playing, singing and falling in love with everybody."
Mama Mama, written when she was 15, conveys all the anguish of her school life. It also conveys something of her attitude and regard for her mother. "She's in all my songs. I haven't got a kind of mother complex. It just happens. It must seem like I'm very dependent on her and always asking her questions. Really I'm very independent unless there's a lot of people around me and I don't have to be."
The first signs of this independence made themselves clear when Melanie ran away from high school in New Jersey. "We had moved from New York to New Jersey, you see, and there it was even worse at school. People in the town were afraid of someone different someone who showed signs of individuality was considered a nut, Even the teachers thought I was strange. One terrible one on my first day said, 'You wear your hair like a witch'. They sent me to the school psychologist!"
Melanie Safka, then an aspiring teen actress rather than a singer, mistakenly entered the office of aspiring music producer, Ukraine-born Peter Schekeryk, one day, and thus began a working relationship and a long marriage with plenty of ups and downs but always enduring.
But as the 1970s went on and a record collaboration with legendary producer Ahmet Ertegun went south for reasons never revealed (the 1976 album, PHOTOGRAPH, withdrawn quickly from sale in spite of good reviews, was finally released as a 2 CD set just a few years ago) Melanie and Peter turned more towards concerts in Europe, where she can still command a substantial audience even at age 63.
The couple even tried rock-inspired rhythms, but the next time Melanie's style made an impression in the USA was in the 1980s, when she wrote a song for the cult hit show BEAUTY AND THE BEAST, "The Last Time I Loved Forever", and won an Emmy.
The couple had three children, daughters Leilah and Jeordie, and son Beau Jarred, the youngest.
All the children became involved in the music business to some extent, performing with their mother, providing back-up vocals, instruments, and even, in the late 1990s, briefly forming their own band they called "Safka" in her honor. Jeordie and Beau have done solo albums.
The family, when not touring together, had homes ranging from New Jersey to Florida to Nashville, Tennessee.
The couple once owned and operated a restaurant in Florida reflecting Melanie's interest in natural foods. — Preceding unsigned comment added by 91.77.30.78 ( talk) 12:24, 17 August 2012 (UTC)
I recall a 70's TV spot where they sing "Look what we've done to our Mustang", to the tune of "What have they done to my song Ma". Does anyone have any details? Ironically, I think they really did mess up the Mustang at that point, so it was appropriate to choose that song.
In the article, the title is quoted as "What have they done to my song", then it says that Ray Charles sang it as "Look What They've Done To My Song, Ma". But Melanie sang it this way too. Am I missing something? X10 ( talk) 16:01, 22 September 2013 (UTC)
The link to the liberarianism statement doesn't work, can't be found on the net. I don't want to remove the reference, but also I don't know what to replace it with. X10 ( talk) 17:14, 23 September 2013 (UTC)
The article lacks any discussion of the nature of her voice. Kdammers ( talk) 06:32, 2 October 2017 (UTC)
The result of the move request was: page moved. Andrewa ( talk) 06:56, 21 November 2017 (UTC)
Melanie Safka → Melanie (singer) – A return of the unsuccessful RM, above, from seven-and-a-half years ago (April 2010). Subject appears within the all-inclusive List of one-word stage names, but direct examples would be such singers as Aaliyah, Adele, Anitta (singer), Basia, Beyoncé, Björk, Cher, Dalida, Drake (musician), Fergie (singer), Lorde, Lulu (singer), Madonna (entertainer), Nicole (Chilean singer), Nicole (German singer), Pink (singer), Selena, Sting (musician), etc. As for the two entries under the article's section header "External links", her website makes no mention of the surname "Safka" within the biographical section or anywhere else, while the other entry, although titled "A Guide to the Recordings of Melanie Safka", depicts all of subject's record covers, none of which contains "Safka". —Roman Spinner (talk)(contribs) 23:20, 13 November 2017 (UTC)
I think that it would be a good change. The "Safka" is so obscure that it impedes a search for the article. North8000 ( talk) 05:08, 20 November 2017 (UTC)
Closing comment:There has been some movement since the last RM:
But consensus can change, and there is support above and no opposition, so despite the support not being in the format of a formal !vote I'm seeing a new consensus. Andrewa ( talk) 06:56, 21 November 2017 (UTC)
according to her own twitter account, melanie is a scientologist, yet it was deleted almost as soon as it was added. https://twitter.com/melaniesafka/status/974354482636050432 she also won a scientology award, yet that milestone achievement was also immediately removed. https://www.pr.com/press-release/624339 — Preceding unsigned comment added by 71.181.82.156 ( talk) 23:37, 3 September 2018 (UTC)
ok fine (by 71.181.82.156)
The song "I don't eat animals" was her MOST memorable song for many of that generation. The article fails to mention that or Melanie's vegetarian diet. MaynardClark ( talk) 04:32, 15 July 2020 (UTC)
I have changed the article name back to Melanie Safka as per MOS:BIOGRAPHY (at MOS:SURNAME) where it says:
"For people well known by one-word names, nicknames, or pseudonyms, but who often also use their legal names professionally—e.g., musician/actors André Benjamin ("André 3000"), Jennifer Lopez ("J.Lo"); doctor/broadcaster Drew Pinsky ("Dr. Drew")—use the legal surname."
As Melanie also frequently uses "Melanie Safka" as her professional name (as is clear from her website and her various social media accounts) then this style principle applies to this article. Therefore "Safka" should usually also replace "Melanie" throughout the article. Quizical ( talk) 22:59, 29 November 2020 (UTC)
@ SuzQ!: You may want to read Wikipedia:Manual of Style. You've been editing in violation of the MOS, in particular MOS:LQ and MOS:ELLIPSIS. GA-RT-22 ( talk) 04:11, 26 January 2024 (UTC)
Per the overall MOS guidance to use logical quotation, punctuation should be placed outside the quotation marks (title formatting) of songs: Bob Dylan's Highway 61 Revisited album includes the songs "Like a Rolling Stone", "Ballad of a Thin Man", and "Desolation Row". Of course, if the song title itself contains punctuation, it goes inside: "Help!" by the Beatles was featured in both a film and an album.And such punctuation certainly does not belong inside piped wikilinks. Esowteric + Talk + Breadcrumbs 09:36, 26 January 2024 (UTC)
Hi, the article includes a quote: "I'm a total Libertarian, and I am not a Democrat, a Socialist, or a Republican."
. However, the source for that quote is a permanent dead-link. I think the obituary in
The Telegraph has a very similar quote, judging by the Google search preview, but I can't be sure, as I do not have a subscription. Could someone please check and attempt to verify. Here's the citation:
Thanks a lot. Esowteric + Talk + Breadcrumbs 16:38, 26 January 2024 (UTC)
Politically, she identified as a libertarian – "I am not a Democrat, a Socialist, or a Republican," she said. Esowteric + Talk + Breadcrumbs 16:52, 26 January 2024 (UTC)
Meher Baba is no longer mentioned in this article. Should he be? The Category:Followers of Meher Baba is still there. Thanks. Martinevans123 ( talk) 18:44, 3 February 2024 (UTC)
This is the
talk page for discussing improvements to the
Melanie (singer) article. This is not a forum for general discussion of the article's subject. |
Article policies
|
Find sources: Google ( books · news · scholar · free images · WP refs) · FENS · JSTOR · TWL |
A news item involving Melanie (singer) was featured on Wikipedia's Main Page in the In the news section on 31 January 2024. |
This article is rated B-class on Wikipedia's
content assessment scale. It is of interest to the following WikiProjects: | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
|
Other Melanie credits include music for the television series "Beauty and the Beast" and a track on The 6ths' "Hyacinths and Thistles" entitled, "I've Got New York," released in 2000. Although she is viewed by many as the definitive "flower child," she identifies herself as a Libertarian rather than a Liberal.—Preceding unsigned comment added by Rjstrock ( talk • contribs) 20:28, 17 September 2006 (UTC)
I have a CD titled Melanie / Shine On - The Latest and Greatest. It's produced by Melanie safka, Peter Schekeryk & Rolf Wetzel for PLH (Partner Licencing GmbH, Hamburg) 2000. I will add it to the albums. If it doesn't belong there, please change as appropriate. Hoverfish 15:20, 11 December 2006 (UTC)
This article and the Brand New Key article seem to disagree with each other about how innocent the lyrics are... AnonMoos 06:16, 2 January 2007 (UTC)
See the discussion at Talk:Brand_New_Key#Freudian_Symbolism.3F. Rammer ( talk) 02:26, 5 May 2012 (UTC)
The sentence In 1973 Melanie started to retreat from the spotlight to begin a family; one of many sacrifices she made for her career. doesn't make a lot of sense to me. A sacrifice for her family, sure, a sacrifice of her career, OK, but surely not a "sacrifice for her career. jiHymas@himivest.com 216.191.217.90 17:34, 14 June 2007 (UTC)
In Russian, her surname has even a meaning! safka means food, or breakfast! xD -andy 92.227.75.133 ( talk) 18:19, 15 April 2008 (UTC)
No consensus to move. Vegaswikian ( talk) 22:23, 20 April 2010 (UTC)
Melanie Safka → Melanie (singer) — She is professionally known as Melanie and the article name should reflect this. Cjc13 ( talk) 11:11, 7 April 2010 (UTC)
*'''Support'''
or *'''Oppose'''
, then sign your comment with ~~~~
. Since
polling is not a substitute for discussion, please explain your reasons, taking into account
Wikipedia's policy on article titles.The key word in the article name policy is "generally". In this case I believe there is an obvious exception to the general policy as Melanie is also often known as Melanie Safka - whereas people such as Madonna are nearly always known only by their first name. For instance, "Melanie Safka" is the name by which her songwriting is credited on her recordings and songbooks. Melanie isn't just a "singer", she is also an established songwriter and as such she is virtually always referred to as "Melanie Safka" instead of "Melanie" - and her songs have been recorded by many different artists. The suggestion that the article be renamed may be well-intentioned but it is seriously flawed in this instance. Afterwriting ( talk) 16:45, 12 April 2010 (UTC)
John Greenway recorded and appears to have composed in part The Psychotherapy Song. Pete Peterson wrote in a discussion at The Digital Tradition on 30 July 1999, "I have, on vinyl, an old record by John Greenway, author of American folksongs of Protest-- recorded about 1960 or so on which The Psychotherapy Song can be found. He claims to have written the last three verses and gotten the rest from the proverbial Man in the Bar." Note that the album mentioned is not American Folksongs of Protest itself. If I can identify the recording, I'll add it to the article. Hieronymus Illinensis ( talk) 08:51, 3 October 2010 (UTC)
In any event, Melanie first recorded it at an early stage of her career (not later on, as suggested by the heading in the article). The version I have is on a "Golden Hour" compilation, which gives the date as 1972. IXIA ( talk) 16:56, 24 May 2011 (UTC)
I just came across this artist because her song Brand New Key was used in one of the latest HP printer commercials ( http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ReTg9o_eNc8) In my opinion, that's important, timely, and relevant enough to allow for an add somewhere in this article. Neutralityisimportant ( talk) 02:43, 12 October 2011 (UTC)
Born Feb. 3, 1947 in Queens, N.Y. to a Russian-Ukrainian father and an Italian mother who Sang in jazz clubs, Melanie was a self-professed loner who divided her college years between a drama career and playing Greenwich Village coffeehouses. At age 20, she met music publisher-producer Schekeryk, who got her a deal with Columbia Records that lasted for two singles. — Preceding unsigned comment added by 91.77.30.78 ( talk) 12:09, 17 August 2012 (UTC)
Melanie doubtless inherited her musical instincts from her mother of whom she says, "She was a very pure singer; she would hold a note and not whine off like I do." Melanie's musical side flowered and became her sole interest while she was at school which caused her to be regarded rather as an outsider, especially as in addition, her mode of dress was a little different to the rest of her class.
This isolation had the effect of making Melanie more absorbed in her music and more determined than ever to be different in both dress and behaviour. "School was the time when things started getting bad for me. I didn't have a happy time. It was OK in the low grades. but after that it was pretty difficult. I didn't have an easy time with other people, I couldn't get on with them. I was very much alone and the other kids didn't seem to want to know me, so I spent the time I was by myself writing, playing, singing and falling in love with everybody."
Mama Mama, written when she was 15, conveys all the anguish of her school life. It also conveys something of her attitude and regard for her mother. "She's in all my songs. I haven't got a kind of mother complex. It just happens. It must seem like I'm very dependent on her and always asking her questions. Really I'm very independent unless there's a lot of people around me and I don't have to be."
The first signs of this independence made themselves clear when Melanie ran away from high school in New Jersey. "We had moved from New York to New Jersey, you see, and there it was even worse at school. People in the town were afraid of someone different someone who showed signs of individuality was considered a nut, Even the teachers thought I was strange. One terrible one on my first day said, 'You wear your hair like a witch'. They sent me to the school psychologist!"
Melanie Safka, then an aspiring teen actress rather than a singer, mistakenly entered the office of aspiring music producer, Ukraine-born Peter Schekeryk, one day, and thus began a working relationship and a long marriage with plenty of ups and downs but always enduring.
But as the 1970s went on and a record collaboration with legendary producer Ahmet Ertegun went south for reasons never revealed (the 1976 album, PHOTOGRAPH, withdrawn quickly from sale in spite of good reviews, was finally released as a 2 CD set just a few years ago) Melanie and Peter turned more towards concerts in Europe, where she can still command a substantial audience even at age 63.
The couple even tried rock-inspired rhythms, but the next time Melanie's style made an impression in the USA was in the 1980s, when she wrote a song for the cult hit show BEAUTY AND THE BEAST, "The Last Time I Loved Forever", and won an Emmy.
The couple had three children, daughters Leilah and Jeordie, and son Beau Jarred, the youngest.
All the children became involved in the music business to some extent, performing with their mother, providing back-up vocals, instruments, and even, in the late 1990s, briefly forming their own band they called "Safka" in her honor. Jeordie and Beau have done solo albums.
The family, when not touring together, had homes ranging from New Jersey to Florida to Nashville, Tennessee.
The couple once owned and operated a restaurant in Florida reflecting Melanie's interest in natural foods. — Preceding unsigned comment added by 91.77.30.78 ( talk) 12:24, 17 August 2012 (UTC)
I recall a 70's TV spot where they sing "Look what we've done to our Mustang", to the tune of "What have they done to my song Ma". Does anyone have any details? Ironically, I think they really did mess up the Mustang at that point, so it was appropriate to choose that song.
In the article, the title is quoted as "What have they done to my song", then it says that Ray Charles sang it as "Look What They've Done To My Song, Ma". But Melanie sang it this way too. Am I missing something? X10 ( talk) 16:01, 22 September 2013 (UTC)
The link to the liberarianism statement doesn't work, can't be found on the net. I don't want to remove the reference, but also I don't know what to replace it with. X10 ( talk) 17:14, 23 September 2013 (UTC)
The article lacks any discussion of the nature of her voice. Kdammers ( talk) 06:32, 2 October 2017 (UTC)
The result of the move request was: page moved. Andrewa ( talk) 06:56, 21 November 2017 (UTC)
Melanie Safka → Melanie (singer) – A return of the unsuccessful RM, above, from seven-and-a-half years ago (April 2010). Subject appears within the all-inclusive List of one-word stage names, but direct examples would be such singers as Aaliyah, Adele, Anitta (singer), Basia, Beyoncé, Björk, Cher, Dalida, Drake (musician), Fergie (singer), Lorde, Lulu (singer), Madonna (entertainer), Nicole (Chilean singer), Nicole (German singer), Pink (singer), Selena, Sting (musician), etc. As for the two entries under the article's section header "External links", her website makes no mention of the surname "Safka" within the biographical section or anywhere else, while the other entry, although titled "A Guide to the Recordings of Melanie Safka", depicts all of subject's record covers, none of which contains "Safka". —Roman Spinner (talk)(contribs) 23:20, 13 November 2017 (UTC)
I think that it would be a good change. The "Safka" is so obscure that it impedes a search for the article. North8000 ( talk) 05:08, 20 November 2017 (UTC)
Closing comment:There has been some movement since the last RM:
But consensus can change, and there is support above and no opposition, so despite the support not being in the format of a formal !vote I'm seeing a new consensus. Andrewa ( talk) 06:56, 21 November 2017 (UTC)
according to her own twitter account, melanie is a scientologist, yet it was deleted almost as soon as it was added. https://twitter.com/melaniesafka/status/974354482636050432 she also won a scientology award, yet that milestone achievement was also immediately removed. https://www.pr.com/press-release/624339 — Preceding unsigned comment added by 71.181.82.156 ( talk) 23:37, 3 September 2018 (UTC)
ok fine (by 71.181.82.156)
The song "I don't eat animals" was her MOST memorable song for many of that generation. The article fails to mention that or Melanie's vegetarian diet. MaynardClark ( talk) 04:32, 15 July 2020 (UTC)
I have changed the article name back to Melanie Safka as per MOS:BIOGRAPHY (at MOS:SURNAME) where it says:
"For people well known by one-word names, nicknames, or pseudonyms, but who often also use their legal names professionally—e.g., musician/actors André Benjamin ("André 3000"), Jennifer Lopez ("J.Lo"); doctor/broadcaster Drew Pinsky ("Dr. Drew")—use the legal surname."
As Melanie also frequently uses "Melanie Safka" as her professional name (as is clear from her website and her various social media accounts) then this style principle applies to this article. Therefore "Safka" should usually also replace "Melanie" throughout the article. Quizical ( talk) 22:59, 29 November 2020 (UTC)
@ SuzQ!: You may want to read Wikipedia:Manual of Style. You've been editing in violation of the MOS, in particular MOS:LQ and MOS:ELLIPSIS. GA-RT-22 ( talk) 04:11, 26 January 2024 (UTC)
Per the overall MOS guidance to use logical quotation, punctuation should be placed outside the quotation marks (title formatting) of songs: Bob Dylan's Highway 61 Revisited album includes the songs "Like a Rolling Stone", "Ballad of a Thin Man", and "Desolation Row". Of course, if the song title itself contains punctuation, it goes inside: "Help!" by the Beatles was featured in both a film and an album.And such punctuation certainly does not belong inside piped wikilinks. Esowteric + Talk + Breadcrumbs 09:36, 26 January 2024 (UTC)
Hi, the article includes a quote: "I'm a total Libertarian, and I am not a Democrat, a Socialist, or a Republican."
. However, the source for that quote is a permanent dead-link. I think the obituary in
The Telegraph has a very similar quote, judging by the Google search preview, but I can't be sure, as I do not have a subscription. Could someone please check and attempt to verify. Here's the citation:
Thanks a lot. Esowteric + Talk + Breadcrumbs 16:38, 26 January 2024 (UTC)
Politically, she identified as a libertarian – "I am not a Democrat, a Socialist, or a Republican," she said. Esowteric + Talk + Breadcrumbs 16:52, 26 January 2024 (UTC)
Meher Baba is no longer mentioned in this article. Should he be? The Category:Followers of Meher Baba is still there. Thanks. Martinevans123 ( talk) 18:44, 3 February 2024 (UTC)