Top 10 Melanie Songs

Photo: William Morris Agency (management)/Neighborhood Music / Public domain

Our Top 10 Melanie songs list takes a look at some of the most memorable Melanie songs of this fabulous artist’s career. Melanie was born in Queens, New York. Her birth name was Melanie Anne Safka. Melanie’s rise to musical fame began in the late 1960s when one of her first songs, “Bobo’s Party,” hit number one in France in 1969. That same year, Melanie would perform at New York’s Woodstock Festival, which would help ignite her musical career.

Melanie was known as a passionate singer-songwriter. She recorded mostly her own songs, but did record various cover songs throughout her career. Once again, her emotional, passionate singing would transform songs by the Rolling Stones, Bob Dylan, Jim Croce, and others into her own magical versions. Her commercial peak occurred in 1972 when her own composition and recording for the song “Brand New Key” hit number one in the United States and many other countries. It was one of the most popular songs of the decade.

Melanie has released a massive body of work. She has released music in every decade since the 1960s. She has continued to perform and inspire countless musicians. She is truly a musical legend. Our top 10 Melanie songs list is just a small sampling of some of her great songs. We hope this list inspires you to check out all the wonderful Melanie albums this brilliant artist has released.

# 10 – Momma Momma

We open up our top 10 Melanie songs list with the excellent track “Momma Momma.” The song was released on Melanie’s first album entitled Born to Be. The album was released in 1968. The title of the album was later changed to My First Album. The lyric “Sometimes I feel like my life has come and gone” is one that many of us can relate too. Listen to Melanie sing this song with such passion. Her vocal performances would be the reason we fell in love with her so many years ago,

# 9 – Save Me

Continuing with our top 10 Melanie songs, we turn to the album Ballroom Streets. The album was released in 1978. It was originally released as a two-record set fueled with live performances of old and new songs recorded in front of a small studio audience. The CD contained bonus tracks not originally on the 1978 album. “Save Me” was the second track on the CD. It’s amazing how great this sounds as a live recording. One of our favorite Melanie albums.

# 8 -Love to Lose Again

This wonderful Melanie song, “Love To Lose Again,” was released on the album entitled Madrugada. The album was released in 1974. “Love To Lose Again” was the opening track on the album. Melanie wrote the song. It was one of two singles released from the album. The album’s second single was a great version of Jim Croce’s “Lovers Cross.”

# 7 – Beautiful People

“Beautiful People” has always been one of our favorite Melanie songs. This fantastic track was released on the album “Melanie.” The album was released in 1969. It was Melanie’s second album and was released initially in the UK under the name Affectionately Melanie. “Beautiful People” was one of the songs Melanie performed at Woodstock in 1969. This song stands as one of the most essential in Melanie’s career because of her Woodstock performance, which catapulted her to fame, as it did for so many others, such as Richie Havens, Joe Cocker, Janis Joplin, and many more.

# 6 – Bobo’s Party

Melanie’s “Bobo’s Party” was one of her first hit singles. The song was released on her first album, entitled Born to Be. Melanie wrote the song. All the songs on her first album were written by her, except Bob Dylan’s “Mr. Tambourine Man. Bobo’s Party was Melanie’s first successful hit, reaching number one in France in 1968.

# 5 – Bitter Bad

As we enter the second half of our top 10 Melanie songs list, we turn to some of her most successful singles. The song “Bitter Bad” was released in 1972. The song is fueled by that same uptempo groove behind the biggest single of her career, called “Brand New Key.”

# 4 – Ruby Tuesday

Melanie made this great Rolling Stones song her own with her passionate cover of the Mick Jagger/ Keith Richards-penned song. It’s not easy to take a classic song from a legendary band and apply your own twist on it that rock fans will accept. However, Melanie made it work with her emotionally solid vocal performance on the Rolling Stones’ “Ruby Tuesday.”

# 3 – Look What They’ve Done To My Song, Ma

This is just one of those songs you can’t stop singing once you hear it. The song has a certain cabaret feel to it that just gets in your blood. Melanie wrote the song. It was released in 1970 and appeared on her Candles in the Rain album. The song was a top forty hit in multiple countries, including the United States, Canada, and the United Kingdom.

# 2 – Lay Down (Candles in the Rain)

As we close in on the number one spot on our top 10 Melanie songs list, we turn to one of the biggest hits of her career. “Lay Down (Candles in the Rain)” was also Melanie’s first big-time hit. The song was inspired by her performance at Woodstock in 1969. One year later, in 1970, she released the song on her Candles in the Rain album. The song peaked at number six on the Billboard Hot 100.

# 1 -Brand New Key

Well, there was no way we could have had any other song at number one on our Top 10 Melanie Songs list. This was easily the most successful song of Melanie’s career. You don’t get much bigger than a number-one record. “Brand New Key” hit number one in 1971 on both the United States Billboard and Cashbox’s Top 100 lists. It also hit number one in four other countries, including Canada, New Zealand, South Africa, and the United Kingdom.