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Melissa Etheridge

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Article Genealogy
Parent: Berklee College of Music Hop 4
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Melissa Etheridge
Melissa Etheridge
source
NameMelissa Etheridge
CaptionEtheridge performing in 2019
Backgroundsolo_singer
Birth nameMelissa Lou Etheridge
Birth date29 May 1961
Birth placeLeavenworth, Kansas, U.S.
GenreRock, roots rock, folk rock, country rock
OccupationSinger-songwriter, musician
InstrumentVocals, guitar, harmonica, piano
Years active1975–present
LabelIsland, Mercury, Stax
Associated actsThe Staxx Brothers
Websitemelissaetheridge.com

Melissa Etheridge is an American rock singer, songwriter, and guitarist known for her raspy, powerful vocals and confessional songwriting. She rose to fame in the late 1980s with her self-titled debut album and achieved mainstream success with the release of her fourth album, Yes I Am. A prominent figure in LGBT culture, she is celebrated for her advocacy and her enduring career in American music.

Early life and education

Born in Leavenworth, Kansas, she was raised in a middle-class family and developed an early interest in music, learning guitar as a teenager. She began performing in local bands around Kansas and briefly attended the Berklee College of Music in Boston before leaving to pursue a professional music career. Her early influences included rock and roll pioneers and singer-songwriters from the 1970s.

Musical career

After moving to Los Angeles, she built a following on the West Coast club circuit and was signed by Island Records founder Chris Blackwell. Her self-titled debut album in 1988 featured the hit "Bring Me Some Water" and earned her a Grammy Award nomination. The follow-up albums Brave and Crazy and Never Enough continued her success, but it was 1993's Yes I Am that catapulted her to stardom, featuring the massive singles "Come to My Window" and "I'm the Only One". Subsequent albums like Your Little Secret and Skin solidified her status as a major rock music artist. She has released numerous studio albums, including The Awakening and One Way Out, and is known for her energetic live performances, documented on releases like Melissa Etheridge: A Little Bit of Me Live.

Activism and public life

A prominent activist, she publicly came out as a lesbian at the 1993 Triangle Ball, inaugurating President Bill Clinton. She has been a vocal advocate for LGBT rights, environmentalism, and cannabis legalization. In 2005, she performed a moving rendition of "Piece of My Heart" at the Grammy Awards while undergoing treatment for breast cancer, raising significant awareness. She has supported numerous organizations, including the Human Rights Campaign and the Breast Cancer Research Foundation. Her political engagement includes performing at events for Barack Obama and speaking at the 2016 Democratic National Convention.

Personal life

She was in a long-term relationship with filmmaker Julie Cypher; the couple's two children were conceived via artificial insemination with sperm from musician David Crosby. Following that relationship, she was married to actress Tammy Lynn Michaels from 2003 to 2010, with whom she had twins. She married television producer Linda Wallem in 2014. Her personal health journey, including her battle with and recovery from breast cancer, has been widely documented and integrated into her music and public speaking.

Discography

* Melissa Etheridge (1988) * Brave and Crazy (1989) * Never Enough (1992) * Yes I Am (1993) * Your Little Secret (1995) * Skin (2001) * Lucky (2004) * The Awakening (2007) * Fearless Love (2010) * 4th Street Feeling (2012) * This Is M.E. (2014) * Memphis Rock and Soul (2016) * The Medicine Show (2019) * One Way Out (2021)

Awards and recognition

She has won two Grammy Awards from fifteen nominations, including Best Female Rock Vocal Performance for "Ain't It Heavy" and "Come to My Window". She received an Academy Award for Best Original Song for "I Need to Wake Up" from the documentary An Inconvenient Truth. Other honors include a Star on the Hollywood Walk of Fame, a GLAAD Media Award, and the ASCAP Founders Award. In 2011, she was inducted into the Songwriters Hall of Fame.

Category:American rock singers Category:American singer-songwriters Category:Grammy Award winners Category:1961 births Category:Living people