Video: Brand New Key

Queens of Vinyl is a series where we will explore the sounds, styles, and impact of some of the most incredible and influential female artists ever pressed to vinyl. This week: Melanie It was at the age of four that Melanie Safka made her debut on the radio show, Live Like a Millionaire. It wouldn't be for another 18 years, in 1969, that Melanie would begin to take the music world by storm. The 1969 Woodstock was 3 days of Peace & [...]

I'm in Chicago now, getting lost every time I leave my apartment. More to come soon.

Which version of the song do you prefer? Melanie The Dollyrots There's no video, but if you want to hear ANOTHER version of the song, check out Zella Day's MySpace page .

Okay, the video below is of course, the 1972 smash "Brand New Key" by Woodstock phenom Melanie , a record that today may strike you as either charmingly proto-feminist or deeply irritating on a purely aural level. In any case, therein lies a tale. Before we get to that, I should add that although her music has never been particularly to my taste, I think she's on balance quite a bit better than her rep as a hippie relic suggests. Yeah, I found her irksome back in the day, but several of her [...]