Melanie Safka grew up in the Astoria neighborhood of Queens in New York City. She is best known for her hits "Brand New Key", "Lay Down (Candles in the Rain)" and "What They Done To My Song Ma". Melanie has sold over 25 million records over the course of her career.

Initially signed to Columbia Records in the United States, Melanie released two singles on the label. Subsequently she signed with Buddah Records and first found chart success in Europe when her 1969 song "Bobo's Party" reached Number 1 in France. Her debut album received rave reviews from Billboard Magazine which heralded her voice as "... wise beyond her years. Her non-conformist approach to the selections on this LP make her a new talent to be reckoned with."
Later in 1969 Melanie had a hit in the Netherlands with "Beautiful People" before performing at the Woodstock Festival. The inspiration for her signature song "Lay Down (Candles in the Rain)" apparently arose from the Woodstock audience lighting candles during her set. A gospel-boosted genuine one-off, that combined high drama with Melanie's trademark hippie sincerity, the recording became a hit in Europe, Australia, Canada and the United States in the spring and summer of 1970. The B-side of the single featured Melanie's spoken-word track "Candles in the Rain". "Lay Down" became Melanie's first Top Ten hit in America, peaking at #6 on the Billboard singles chart, and a worldwide success. Later hits included "Peace Will Come (According To Plan)" and a cover of the Rolling Stones' "Ruby Tuesday".
In 1970 Melanie was the only artist to brave the court injunction banning the Powder Ridge Rock Festival, playing for the crowd on a homemade stage powered by Mister Softee trucks. Shortly following this performance, Melanie played at the Strawberry Fields music festival, held on August 7-9, 1970 at Mosport Racetrack, Ontario, Canada. She also performed at the Isle of Wight Festival in 1970 where she was introduced by Keith Moon and received four standing ovations. Melanie was also the artist who sang to herald in the summer solstice at Glastonbury Fayre (later the Glastonbury Festival) in England in June 1971.
After leaving Buddah Records because they insisted that she produce albums on demand, Melanie formed her own label, Neighborhood Records, in 1971 with her producer/husband Peter Schekeryk.
It was on the Neighborhood label that Melanie had her biggest American hit with the novelty-sounding 1972 number one, "Brand New Key" (often referred to as "The Roller Skate Song"). "Brand New Key" sold over three million copies worldwide and was featured in the 1997 movie Boogie Nights.

Melanie's most recent album, Paled by Dimmer Light, was released in 2004. It was co-produced by Peter and Beau-Jarred Schekeryk and includes the songs "To Be the One", "Extraordinary", "Make It Work" and "I Tried to Die Young". In early 2005 most of Melanie's back-catalogue was re-released on the internet-only music label ItsAboutMusic.com. After a series of disagreements the relationship between the artist and the label was severed.
In 2007, Melanie was invited by Jarvis Cocker to perform at the Meltdown Festival at the Royal Festival Hall in London. Her sold-out performance received critical acclaim with The Independent claiming "it was hard to disagree that Melanie has earned her place alongside Joan Baez, Judy Collins, Joni Mitchell and Marianne Faithfull in the pantheon of iconic female singers. Meltdown was all the better for her presence". The concert was filmed for a DVD entitled Melanie: For One Night Only which was released in October 2007.
She also recorded a song called "Psychotherapy", sung to the tune of the "Battle Hymn of the Republic", which parodies aspects of Freudian psychoanalysis. It has been played on the Dr. Demento show.

Melanie identifies herself politically as a Libertarian, stating: "I'm a total Libertarian, and I am not a Democrat, a Socialist, or a Republican."
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