CHATTER AWAY: Overnight Open Thread

Variety reports:

Melanie, the singer who performed at Woodstock in 1969 and had major pop hits with “Brand New Key” and “Lay Down (Candles in the Rain)” in the early ’70s, died Tuesday at age 76. News of the death came from her publicity firm, Glass Onyon PR.

Melanie’s first pop hit was “Lay Down (Candles in the Rain),” a gospel-flavored collaboration with the Edwin Hawkins Singers that reached No. 6 on the Hot 100 in 1970.

It was followed in 1971 by “Brand New Key,” an inescapable hit that was taken as a sort of children’s tune by some and full of sexual innuendo by others. It reached No. 1, and was her only other top 10 hit in the U.S.

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