Memorable Mondays: Melissa Etheridge

 Are you looking for a female heartland rocker? Someone with lyricism confessional and meaningful, paving paths for many songwriters today? Then we are taking a trip to Leavenworth, Kansas. Seems a strange place, but Melissa Etheridge is on her own playing field. A cancer survivor, successful songwriter, and gay before it was okay to say it. Etheridge played in local country music groups in her teen years until graduation in 1979. She attended three semesters at the Berklee College of Music before dropping out and moving to Los Angeles to pursue music. 

Her discovery came at a bar in Pasadena, California. She befriended some players on a women's soccer team and they came to see her play. One of them had a husband, Bill Leopold, in the music business. He was impressed and helped push her career. Early on, she was discovered by Island Records and signed a publishing deal to write songs for films. Her first more polished effort actually got rejected by Island. She then wrote her stripped down debut in just four day. Her self-titled album release in 1988, became an underground hit, and was nominated for a grammy. 

Her sophomore release, Brave and Crazy, followed a similar musical pattern to her debut and got her another grammy nomination. The album kept her lyrical intensity but also showed inspiration from another heartland rocker - Bruce Springsteen. Her touring philosophy also was inspired by him. A fun sidenote as well - Bono played harmonica on her second album. 

Her next album release was plagued with people noticing her sexuality coming to light, and much of the lyricism of Never Enough tapped into the issue. It did not have the chart success of her first two releases, but she finally won her first Grammy award. It was deemed more personal and mature than her prior two releases. 

In 1993, Etheridge publically came out as a lesbian. This led to the release of her next album, conveniently titled Yes I Am. This became a commercial breakthrough and went 6x Platinum. Critics also acclaimed it. "Come to My Window" became a pivotal hit for her career. During this time, she also boycotted playing shows in Colorado due to their passing of Amendment 2 against gay marriage. Her next album in 1995, Your Little Secret, was not as beloved by critics but became her highest charting album. After this, she took a break from music to care for her first two children Bailey and Beckett. 

She returned to music with the 1999 release of Breakdown, which includes song Scarecrow dedicated to Matthew Shepherd, victim of a gay-related hate crime. The album was nominated for many awards but did not take home the victories. Some reviewers about this time were suggesting her heartland rock just did not elevate her to the next level this time. She considered it a rather dark time in her life and a dark themed album.

Skin released in 2001 and was an album she considered as close as she came to a concept. The album was inspired by her separation from her 12 year relationship with Julie Cypher. She played almost every instrument and wrote all the songs without any other co-writers. It got her back into positive critical reviews but did not have great album sales. In 2002, she released an autobiography titled "The Truth Is: My Life in Love and Music". 

2004 brought the release of Lucky, including song "Tuesday Morning" dedicated to the memory of 9/11 and Mark Bingham. Sadly the album lacked promotion because in October the same year, Etheridge was diagnosed with breast cancer. Despite this, she performed a tribute to Janis Joplin singing Piece of My Heart, bald from her chemotherapy. This moment was heavily praised, even inspiring India.Arie to mention it in song "I Am Not My Hair". 

Etheridge began to scale back a bit on her career, spending a few years more involved with benefit concerts, soundtrack songs, and political convention performances. She released the Awakening in 2007, an album centered around her love for God and part of her difficult journey. She released a Christmas album in 2008. Fearless Love came in 2010 to solid reviews, saying the album returned to her early 1988 grit. 

In 2012, she released 4th Street Feeling, which received middling to higher reviews. Many critics enjoyed that it was more restrained for her. Holding back a little could make the hit where it is hit harder. 2014 brought the release of This is M.E. The album did not sell many copies and was released via her own label, ME Records. Previously all her work come from major labels. The album got praise for trying different sounds. 

Her next release in 2016 would actually be a cover album. MEmphis Rock and Sold covered various blues and soul covers. She even used Al Green's microphone to record. It received much praise for staying true to originals and trying to get it right, while some did say they felt the album was a "soul album lacking soul". In 2019 she returned to her own work and released via Concord through her own MLE music. She felt compelled to write again with the grim political climate after the 2016 election. In 2020, Etheridge announced her song with Cypher, Beckett, passed away from causes related to opiod addiction at the age of 20. Her most recent release, 2021's One Way Out, is actually a bit of a compiling of older songs she felt she could not release at the time. It was deemed a return to form once more. 

A well-done career of heartland rock and endearing confessionalism, it is not too late to give Etheridge a chance. She has stayed authentic to herself through her career and did not let fame change her for the worse.