Music sensation Melanie Safka passed away on Tuesday. She was 76. Safka penned several hits in her career. She is most known for 1970’s hits such as “Brand New Key” and “Lay Down (Candles in the Rain).”
Per Variety, no information on Safka’s cause of death has been released. “No information on the cause of death was immediately given,” Variety wrote.
“But Melanie — full name Melanie Safka — had been in the studio earlier this month working on a new record of cover songs, “Second Hand Smoke,” for the Cleopatra label; it would have been her 32nd album, the label said.”
Safka’s Children Respond to Singer’s Passing
She leaves behind three children Leilah, Jeordie, and Beau Jarred. On Tuesday they posted a Facebook message in response to their mother’s passing.
“We are heartbroken but want to thank every one of you for the affection you have for our Mother, and to tell you that she loved all of you so much!” the post reads.
“She was one of the most talented, strong, and passionate women of the era and every word she wrote, every note she sang reflected that. Our world is much dimmer, the colors of a dreary, rainy Tennessee pale with her absence today, but we know that she is still here, smiling down on all of us, on all of you, from the stars.”
Safka Reflects on Famed Woodstock Performance
Safka also performed at Woodstock. Woodstock, a three-day music festival in 1969, featured over 400,000 attendees. It is still one of the largest music festivals in History. In August 1989 Safka recalled her famed performance to Rolling Stone.
“I started walking across that bridge to the stage, and I just left my body, going to a side, higher view. I watched myself walk onto the stage, sit down, and sing a couple of lines. And when I felt it was safe, I came back,” Safka said.
“If you hear people talking about Woodstock today and you weren’t there, it must be like listening to old war stories. It was an amazing experience to be there, to be in that time, and to live through that group of people who were acknowledging each other as if we were all in one family.
“Woodstock was an affirmation that we were part of each other. That there was more to life than doing what your mother and father told you.”