Melissa Etheridge has been playing guitar since the age of eight and writing song since she was ten. It’s no wonder she has penned some of the biggest hits of any woman rocker in the industry.
Melissa was born on May 29, 1961 in Leavenworth, Kansas. She honed her skills in numerous small time bands throughout her teens and developed her musical style at an early age. In 1979 she enrolled in the Berklee College of Music in Boston but dropped out after only a year. Melissa stayed in Boston though, and played in local bars, gaining a following.
For her 21st birthday, she moved to LA and her popularity grew there as she became a regular at clubs and bars, honing her writing and stage performance. It all paid off when one night in 1986 the founder of Island Records her Melissa perform and signed her to his label.
In 1988 Melissa’s first record was released. It managed to capture the Melissa sound her fans would come to know; raw, gritty, and full of emotion. The album, simply titled Melissa Etheridge, sold over 2 million copies. The hit songs “Similar Features” and “Bring Me Some Water” were Melissa’s first of many. “Similar Features” asks the question of a former love if the new replacement is there because of a physical resemblance, leaving the listener to decide both the answer and also the relationship.
Her second effort in 1989, titled Brave and Crazy, was just that. It went platinum and scored Melissa three Grammy nominations. The hit single “No Souvenirs” received a lot of radio play and was the first song many people remember noticing from Etheridge. It tells a story of a woman reevaluating a relationship and taking stock of herself and her life, seeing what’s left. It’s a journey within a journey. You Can Sleep While I Drive” is a slower hit song, chronicling a road trip that takes the listener along for the ride.
Melissa’s third album, Never Enough, hit the charts in 1992 and also went platinum. “Ain’t It Heavy” was a big hit for her, earning Melissa a Grammy for Best Female Rock Vocal Performance.
In a move that could have potentially derailed her career, Etheridge was true to herself and confirmed the ongoing speculation about her sexual orientation. To the credit of her fans, and giving hope of acceptance to others, Melissa only gained popularity. She also began to publicly support various causes such as human and animal rights and women’s and gay rights.
Her 1993 album Yes I Am rocketed her into stardom. It sold over six million copies, cementing Melissa as a major force on the music scene. The single “Come To My Window” off that album became one of the biggest hits of the year, winning Melissa a second Grammy in 1995. The video starred Juliette Lewis and received a huge amount of airplay on MTV.
“I’m The Only One,” “If I Wanted To,” and “I Will Never Be The Same” were three more hits from that amazingly successful album and became concert favorites when Melissa was on tour.
Your Little Secret was released later that year and it made its debut on Billboard’s chart at number 6. The record became Melissa’s first top ten L.P.
In 1999, after a four year hiatus during which she started a family, Etheridge came back with Breakdown, which didn’t really score any major hit singles. After her breakup with long time partner Julie Cypher in 2000, Melissa composed and recorded Skin in 2001. This album was a sort of catharsis for her, a way to work through the personal issues of loosing a partner and sharing custody of their two children. The songs tell the story of her coming of age in a way and emerging as a new person. Again, there were no notable single hits from this work.
Melissa’s 2004 effort, Lucky, is the flip side of Skin. Having met Tammy Lynn Michaels, Etheridge writes of love in all its glory, reflecting on her new relationship. Yet still, while popular with her fans, this record also had no standout hits.
Greatest Hits: The Road Less Traveled, is Melissa’s latest cd to date. A triumph of sorts, she recorded it after her bout with breast cancer and the anthem “I Run For Life” is a classic Etheridge song. It is full of emotion, sung with that raw, gravelly yet smooth voice her fans love. On the same album she does an incredible cover of Janis Joplin’s “Piece Of My Heart” that the legend would surely be proud of.
Melissa Etheridge is a true icon of rock and embodies what the music has always stood for; freedom, self expression, and contagious energy. No matter if her songs break into the top forty or not, her music continues to reach out and touch lives both on and off the stage. Her career is a top ten in rock itself.
Reference:
- Melissa Etheridge’s official site: www.melissaetheridge.com
