Birth name Melissa Lou Etheridge
Born May 29, 1961 (1961-05-29) (age 47)
Origin Leavenworth, Kansas
Genre(s) Rock
Occupation(s) Singer-songwriter, musician, activist
Instrument(s) Vocals, guitar, piano
Years active 1988-present
Label(s) Island Records
Website MelissaEtheridge.com

Melissa Etheridge became one of the most popular recording artists of the '90s due to her mixture of confessional lyrics, pop-based folk-rock, and raspy, Janis Joplin/Rod Stewart-esque vocals. But the road to stardom was not all smooth sailing for Etheridge as she debated behind the scenes whether or not to disclose to the public that she was gay early on in her career. Born May 29, 1961, in Leavenworth, KS, Etheridge first picked up the guitar at the age of eight and began penning her own songs shortly thereafter. Playing in local bands throughout her teens, Etheridge then attended the renowned Berklee College of Music in Boston, MA. The up-and-coming singer/songwriter and guitarist dropped out after a year before making her way to Los Angeles in the early '80s to give a shot at a career in music. Etheridge's music at this point was slightly more bluesy than her subsequently renowned folk-pop style, as a demo of original compositions caught the attention of Bill Leopold, who signed on as Etheridge's manager. Soon after, steady gigs began coming her way, including a five-night-a-week residency at the Executive Suite in Long Beach, which led to a bidding war between such major record labels as A&M, Capitol, EMI, and Warner Bros., but it was Island Records that Etheridge decided to go with.

Etheridge's first recorded work appeared on the forgotten soundtrack to the Nick Nolte prison movie Weeds before her self-titled debut was issued in 1988. The album quickly drew comparisons to such heavyweights as Bruce Springsteen and John Mellencamp, as it spawned the hit single "Bring Me Some Water" and earned gold certification. In the wake of the album's success, Etheridge performed at the Grammy Awards the following year and contributed vocals to Don Henley's The End of the Innocence. Etheridge managed to avoid the dreaded sophomore slump with 1989's Brave and Crazy, which followed the same musical formula as its predecessor and proved to be another gold-certified success. It would be nearly three years before Etheridge's next studio album appeared, however, and 1992 signaled the arrival of Never Enough, an album that proved to be more musically varied.

But it was Etheridge's fourth release that would prove to be her massive commercial breakthrough. Tired of rumors and questions regarding her sexuality, Etheridge decided to put the speculation to rest once and for all, titling the album Yes I Am. Ex-Police producer Hugh Padgham guided the album, which spawned two major MTV/radio hits with "I'm the Only One" and "Come to My Window" (the latter of which featured a video with movie actress Juliette Lewis); the album would sell a staggering six million copies in the U.S. during a single-year period and earned a 1995 Grammy Award for Best Female Rock Vocalist. But subsequent releases failed to match the success of Yes I Am, including 1995's Your Little Secret, 1999's Breakdown, and 2001's Skin, the latter of which dealt with her separation from Julie Cypher. (Cypher had birthed the couple's two children via artificial insemination; CSN&Y's David Crosby was the father.)

2002 saw the release of Etheridge's autobiography, -The Truth Is: My Life in Love and Music, and 2004's Lucky was her celebration of a new romance. Later that same year Etheridge revealed that she'd been diagnosed with breast cancer. But early detection allowed for recovery, and she gave strength to many of those stricken by the disease with a powerful performance of Janis Joplin's "Piece of My Heart" at the 47th Annual Grammys, held in February 2005. That September Etheridge released Greatest Hits: The Road Less Traveled, a compilation of career highlights and new material. It featured a cover of Tom Petty's "Refugee" as well as "Piece of My Heart" and a new song dedicated to breast cancer survivors. In 2007 Etheridge released her first studio album of new material in three years, The Awakening, on Island. Greg Prato, All Music Guide

Melissa Etheridge spells it out in the liner notes to her recent CD/DVD package "The Awakening Live": She contracted cancer, endured 10 weeks of chemotherapy and, she writes, "I walked away from the experience enlightened."

She's now sharing that enlightenment with concert-goers. "The Awakening Live" CD contains well over an hour of live music interspersed with life lessons that -- and you don't have to tell her this -- veer close to preaching.

"It's a fine line, and I do know I'm dangerously walking on that fine line," the Grammy- and Oscar-winning rocker said in a recent phone conversation during a tour stop in Washington, D.C. "I try very hard to make it very entertaining. For 'The Awakening' I just spoke in between the songs. Now I do musical pieces to speak over so it's not quite so preachy. It's all extemporaneous so that's dangerous, as I can go off on a tangent."

She said she's not sharing her awakening to the detriment of the music or her audiences. "When I'm doing the last number, they feel like they rocked, they feel good," she said.

Fans at Saturday's show at the Shelburne Museum should expect a similar format. "I tell my life story," Etheridge said. "In it I try to explain the awakening and maybe leave people with a little something."

Read the complete article Here: burlingtonfreepress.com

My wife and I have had the pleasure of seeing Melissa Etheridge in concert 3 times. The latest, was July 5, 2008 at the Medowbrook Cellular Pavilion - Gilford NH. WOW what a tremendous show she put on.

Melissa and her new band started playing at 7:16pm and played until about 10:00pm. The band was fantastic! Her lead guitarist Phillip is incredible, I could have listened to just him play for hours.

Melissa appeared happy, light and full of life. She was playful with the audience through out the show, and genuinely seem happy to be playing there. She told the story of her life though her music sharing little anecdotes before each song.

The Revival Tour, as it's call, felt like just that in the best possible way. Her experience with cancer has definitely changed her. And though I've always found her to be inspiring, she was much more so on this tour. Her message was clear to me Be strong, fear makes you weak, speak true and spread the love.

I left the concert feeling inspired and wanting more, I sure hope she comes back next year.

Set List from Medowbrook Cellular Pavilion - Gilford NH
All There Is
Ain't It Heavy
Ruins
California
Precious Pain
Meet Me In The Back
Unexpected Rain
Bring Me Some Water
I Want To Come Over
Angels Would Fall
I'm The Only One
If I Wanted To
I've Loved You Before
I Run For Life
2001/Wake Up
Message/Window
All We Can Really Do
Kingdom Of Heaven
Open Your Mind
The Awakening

ENCORE:
Not Tonight/Like The Way I Do

Melissa Etheridge's awakening
Latest disc tracks singer's deeply personal and spiritual journey
Lara Purvis, The Ottawa Citizen
Published: Monday, July 21, 2008

"The tendency for me to write so intimately about my personal life came from my experiences early in my career, playing in bars for something like, 10 people. The songs that had the most impact on people -- the ones that they came and spoke to me about -- were always the personal ones. So I made a choice 25 years ago, to exercise the creative muscle and only speak the truth."

Melissa Etheridge's voice is husky and vulnerable as she speaks over the phone from her hotel room in Poughkeepsie, New York. She's reflecting on her 2007 release, The Awakening, a concept album based on Etheridge's deeply personal and spiritual journey during her struggle with breast cancer in 2004.

"The Awakening was about sharing my truth. That was a lesson I learned when I came out as a lesbian in 1993. I learned that every time I chose to let people in, I was rewarded for it. When I first came out everything exploded, my career totally took off. So that became the way I lived my life." Read the complete article here: canada.com

The Tao of Etheridge
Post-cancer, Melissa Etheridge finds strength in music, family, spirituality - and Obama

JENNY ELISCU

The rule in the Etheridge household is that you must remove your shoes before you enter. It's an appropriate policy for the musician's new Calabasas, California, home - an oasis of overstuffed shabby chic that Melissa Etheridge moved to six months ago with her wife, Tammy Lynn, their 19-month-old twins, Miller Steven and Johnnie Rose, and Etheridge's two older children, 11-year-old Bailey and nine-year-old Beckett. The family lives in a pretty gated community with horses grazing in residents' fields and, nearby the gates, the kind of progressive elementary school where the other kids don't think anything of the fact that Bailey and Beckett's mom is a lesbian rock star. For Etheridge, the joy of this place is the freedom it symbolizes and the new life she's embracing in the aftermath of her battle with breast cancer four years ago. "I've become a completely different person," Etheridge says, her bare feet tucked beneath her on the couch in a room that doubles as her office and studio. "I'm not 'the only one who'd walk across the fire for you' anymore."

It's amazing what a brush with death will do to one's sense of faith and purpose,...........

Read the Complete article Here: rollingstone.com

Thursday, July 10, 2008
By MARIE P. GRADY

Somebody bring Melissa Etheridge some water. At 47, the rock icon has finally found the higher power most of us can only dream of, and it is within.

Maybe it always was.

How else could a 20-something girl guitar player from Leavenworth, Kan., break every barrier in the often misogynistic rock music culture just by being herself and score a Top 10 hit with "Bring Me Some Water." Why else would she ignore advice and declare, "Yes I Am" Read the full article here: masslive.com

I admire Melissa Etheridge, for the truth she has always spoken, her passion for life and music, and for her courage to be open about her life.