Pop-folk singer Melanie brings her brand new key to Fogartyville

Remember Melanie? If you’re old enough to have been conscious of popular music in the 1970s, of course you do.

She’s probably best known for her hit “Brand New Key” (aka “The Rollerskate Song”) which, depending on your point of view, is either one of the cutest or one of the most cloying songs of its generation. But she had a lot of other hits, including “Lay Down (Candles in the Rain),” the gospel inspired paean to the Woodstock festival, “What Have They Done to My Song?” and a surprisingly good cover of the Rolling Stones’ “Ruby Tuesday.”

She was at her commercial peak 40 years ago, but Melanie’s kept making music. (She won an Emmy Award in 1989 for her theme song for the TV series “Beauty and the Beast.”)

She’ll be in Sarasota on Thursday for a concert at Fogartyville.

Melanie was just 22, and had performed mostly in New York area coffee houses, when she played at Woodstock in 1969. She sang two songs on the first day, in between Ravi Shankar and Arlo Guthrie. One was her song “Beautiful People,” which became a minor hit. Legend has it that the crowd held up lighters and matches to show appreciation for her set, and that incident became the inspiration for “Lay Down (Candles in the Rain).”

Details: 7 p.m. June 1, Fogartyville Community Media and Arts Center, 525 Kumquat Court, Sarasota. $25 advance, $30 at the door. 941-545-5635, fogartyville.org.

This story was originally published May 31, 2017 at 4:51 PM with the headline "Pop-folk singer Melanie brings her brand new key to Fogartyville."