John Napper is a British citizen who moved to Brazil when he retired from his work in London. He has lived Rio de Janeiro for a decade now. Both of us like music and I was surprised to know that Napper was a Melanie Safka fan.
I lived in the USA in the early 1970s and had the chance to be exposed to the beautiful music Melanie made in those post-Woodstock years. I first heard Melanie singing 'Brand new key' but it was listening to her 'Candles in the rain' album that I fell in love with her voice and her music. Here's what John Napper wrote about her.
Hi, Carlus
I was introduced to Melanie in 1971 by a fellow student who was a big fan and played her 1st four albums (total output at that time) constantly. Unfortunately I eventually lost touch with him but I still like her a lot. I agree with you that her version of 'Ruby Tuesday' is better than the Rolling Stones' original. She also did a brilliant version of 'Wild horses', another Stones' song. Most of her recordings are her own songs but she usually includes a couple of covers on each album which are always adapted to her own style and excellent in my opinion.
You had referred to the song 'Look what they've done to my song, Ma!' which is what she actually sings but the title is 'What have they done to my song, Ma!'.
Melanie one gave an interview to NME in which she said she'd gone into the studio and recorded 'Ruby Tuesday' with just her guitar as she would sing it on stage and thought that was fine. Later she was asked to listen to the finished recording and was not at all happy that strings had been added. Peronally I think it works well, but she was upset at the time and found a corner to sit and think about it... and that's when she wrote 'What have they done to my song, Ma!'. Both songs were included on the album 'Candles in the rain' and ironically issued as a double A-side single which became her first UK chart hit.
I got to see Melanie live in the Royal Albert Hall in 1975, where she was the only act and was accompanied by a single guitarrist whose name I can't recall. I still have the concert programme but he doesn't get a mention, unfortunately. She was on stage for around 3 hours, running well over the schedule finish-line, eventually finishing when her eldest daughter came on stage, apparently unplanned but I suspect it was a ploy by her husband to call time.
I eventually got to see her again much later in 2010, at The Stables which is a small theatre in Wavenden, just outside Milton Keynes, that is now an independent venue run by a trust but was originally created by the late Johnny Dankworth and his wife Cleo Laine on their property. It is an excellent theatre, obviously much more intimate than the Royal Albert Hall and she was able to hold conversations with members of the audience during her show which was nice.
This time she had a support act, her own son Beau Jared who is billed as a guitar-virtuoso and I won't argue with that. Afterwards they sat at the merchandise-table in the theatre-reception and signed autographs. I dashed out to my car and returned with my 1975 programme for her to sign. Melanie was very happy to see that and looked through it before asking if Beau Jared could take a photo of it. Obviously that was no problem and I was impressed that she asked permission, after all she is the star and I just happen to have kept an old concert-programme.
Concert-programmes seem to be a thing of the past. I had a small collection which I put on eBay when I was having a big clear-out in preparation for emigrating to Brazil, but this signed one is not for sale.
I'm guessing that you don't know the story of how she got started in the music business. The programme includes a short biography having the sotry of how she trained to be an actress. One day she went for an audition and went to the wrong office which was that of Peter Schekeryk, a music producer. As it happened, she was carrying a guitar-case and he asked her to play something seeing that she was there. I don't know what song she performed for him but the result was a recording-contract and later marriage which lasted until he died which sadly was not long after I saw her at The Stables.
Melanie had never planned to be a recording star and always gives me the impression that she never really thought of herself as a star, just a singer performing for friends. Even though she obviously doesn't believe how successful she is. It's like she is still playing for fun in a Greenwich Village folk-club. What's more, her voice is still as good as ever.
Cheers, John Napper.
You had referred to the song 'Look what they've done to my song, Ma!' which is what she actually sings but the title is 'What have they done to my song, Ma!'.
Melanie one gave an interview to NME in which she said she'd gone into the studio and recorded 'Ruby Tuesday' with just her guitar as she would sing it on stage and thought that was fine. Later she was asked to listen to the finished recording and was not at all happy that strings had been added. Peronally I think it works well, but she was upset at the time and found a corner to sit and think about it... and that's when she wrote 'What have they done to my song, Ma!'. Both songs were included on the album 'Candles in the rain' and ironically issued as a double A-side single which became her first UK chart hit.
I got to see Melanie live in the Royal Albert Hall in 1975, where she was the only act and was accompanied by a single guitarrist whose name I can't recall. I still have the concert programme but he doesn't get a mention, unfortunately. She was on stage for around 3 hours, running well over the schedule finish-line, eventually finishing when her eldest daughter came on stage, apparently unplanned but I suspect it was a ploy by her husband to call time.
I eventually got to see her again much later in 2010, at The Stables which is a small theatre in Wavenden, just outside Milton Keynes, that is now an independent venue run by a trust but was originally created by the late Johnny Dankworth and his wife Cleo Laine on their property. It is an excellent theatre, obviously much more intimate than the Royal Albert Hall and she was able to hold conversations with members of the audience during her show which was nice.
This time she had a support act, her own son Beau Jared who is billed as a guitar-virtuoso and I won't argue with that. Afterwards they sat at the merchandise-table in the theatre-reception and signed autographs. I dashed out to my car and returned with my 1975 programme for her to sign. Melanie was very happy to see that and looked through it before asking if Beau Jared could take a photo of it. Obviously that was no problem and I was impressed that she asked permission, after all she is the star and I just happen to have kept an old concert-programme.
Concert-programmes seem to be a thing of the past. I had a small collection which I put on eBay when I was having a big clear-out in preparation for emigrating to Brazil, but this signed one is not for sale.
I'm guessing that you don't know the story of how she got started in the music business. The programme includes a short biography having the sotry of how she trained to be an actress. One day she went for an audition and went to the wrong office which was that of Peter Schekeryk, a music producer. As it happened, she was carrying a guitar-case and he asked her to play something seeing that she was there. I don't know what song she performed for him but the result was a recording-contract and later marriage which lasted until he died which sadly was not long after I saw her at The Stables.
Melanie had never planned to be a recording star and always gives me the impression that she never really thought of herself as a star, just a singer performing for friends. Even though she obviously doesn't believe how successful she is. It's like she is still playing for fun in a Greenwich Village folk-club. What's more, her voice is still as good as ever.
Cheers, John Napper.
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