Come Away Melinda

Last updated

"Come Away Melinda" is a song written by Fred Hellerman and Fran Minkoff. An anti-war song, its first release was by Harry Belafonte in May 1963. Also in 1963 The Big 3 (folk group) a folk group with singer from the Mamas and Papas Cass Elliot before the advent of The Mamas and Papas recorded the song for their first album. The song was subsequently recorded by many other singers.

Recordings

The song was first released by Harry Belafonte in May 1963, as the closing track on his album Streets I Have Walked . [1] It had been performed by The Weavers (including Hellerman) at their 15th anniversary concerts on May 2 and 3, 1963, which were issued later that year as Reunion At Carnegie Hall, 1963. [2]

Later recordings include those by Judy Collins ( Judy Collins 3 ), Theodore Bikel (A Folksinger's Choice), Tim Rose (Tim Rose), Bobbie Gentry ( Local Gentry ), Uriah Heep ( ...Very 'Eavy ...Very 'Umble ), Velvett Fogg (Velvett Fogg), UFO ( UFO 1 ), Kenny Rankin (Mind-Dusters), The Big 3 (Live at the Recording Studio), John Miles, Cat's Eyes, and L.Stadt.

In the UK it was a number 47 hit for female singer Barry St. John in 1965. [3]

Related Research Articles

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Harry Belafonte</span> American singer and actor (1927–2023)

Harry Belafonte was an American singer, actor, and activist, who popularized calypso music with international audiences in the 1950s and 60s. Belafonte earned his career breakthrough with the album Calypso (1956), which was the first million-selling LP by a single artist.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Cass Elliot</span> American singer and actress (1941–1974)

Ellen Naomi Cohen, known professionally as Mama Cass and later on as Cass Elliot, was an American singer and voice actress. She was a member of the singing group the Mamas & the Papas. After the group broke up, Elliot released five solo albums. In 1998, she was posthumously inducted into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame for her work with the Mamas & the Papas.

The Weavers were an American folk music quartet based in the Greenwich Village area of New York City originally consisting of Lee Hays, Pete Seeger, Ronnie Gilbert, and Fred Hellerman. Founded in 1948, the group sang traditional folk songs from around the world, as well as blues, gospel music, children's songs, labor songs, and American ballads. The group sold millions of records at the height of their popularity, including the first folk song to reach No. 1 on popular music charts, their recording of Lead Belly's "Goodnight, Irene." Despite their popularity, the Weavers were blacklisted during much of the 1950s.

Melinda is a feminine given name.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Tim Rose</span> American musician

Timothy Alan Patrick Rose was an American singer and songwriter who spent much of his life in London, England, and had more success in Europe than in his native country.

Eric Weissberg was an American singer, banjo player, and multi-instrumentalist, whose most commercially successful recording was his banjo solo in "Dueling Banjos", featured as the theme of the film Deliverance (1972) and released as a single that reached number 2 in the United States and Canada in 1973.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">American folk music revival</span> 20th-century American musical movement

The American folk music revival began during the 1940s and peaked in popularity in the mid-1960s. Its roots went earlier, and performers like Josh White, Burl Ives, Woody Guthrie, Lead Belly, Big Bill Broonzy, Richard Dyer-Bennet, Oscar Brand, Jean Ritchie, John Jacob Niles, Susan Reed, Paul Robeson, Bessie Smith, Ma Rainey and Cisco Houston had enjoyed a limited general popularity in the 1930s and 1940s. The revival brought forward styles of American folk music that had in earlier times contributed to the development of country and western, blues, jazz, and rock and roll music.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Jay Berliner</span> American guitarist

Jay Berliner is an American guitarist who has worked with Harry Belafonte, Ron Carter, Charles Mingus, and Van Morrison, among others.

<i>A Maid of Constant Sorrow</i> 1961 studio album by Judy Collins

A Maid of Constant Sorrow is the debut album by American singer and songwriter Judy Collins, released in 1961 on Elektra Records and featuring traditional folk songs.

Velvett Fogg were a British psychedelic rock band. Tony Iommi was a member in mid-1968, but soon left to form Black Sabbath. Their lone eponymous album was released in January 1969, and re-released on CD by Sanctuary Records in 2002.

Fred Hellerman was an American folk singer, guitarist, producer, and songwriter. Hellerman was an original member of the seminal American folk group The Weavers, together with Pete Seeger, Lee Hays, and Ronnie Gilbert. He produced the record album Alice's Restaurant (1967) for Arlo Guthrie, played accompaniment guitar on scores of folk albums, and wrote a number of folk and protest songs.

<i>The Essential Harry Belafonte</i> 2005 greatest hits album by Harry Belafonte

The Essential Harry Belafonte is a two-disc compilation recording by Harry Belafonte, released in 2005 on the Legacy label. The 37 tracks span Belafonte's career from 1952 to 1977, including his RCA Victor and Columbia Records releases. All selections for inclusion were made by Belafonte himself.

<i>Judy Collins 3</i> 1964 studio album by Judy Collins

Judy Collins #3 is the third studio album by American singer and songwriter Judy Collins, released by Elektra Records in 1963. It spent 10 weeks on the Billboard Pop album charts in 1964, peaking at No. 126.

<i>Streets I Have Walked</i> 1963 studio album by Harry Belafonte

Streets I Have Walked is an album by Harry Belafonte, released in 1963. The album contains songs from around the world as well as gospel songs. It reached #30 on the Billboard Albums 200, making it his last studio album to reach the top 40.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">I'm Just a Country Boy</span> 1977 single by Don Williams

"I'm Just a Country Boy" is a song written by Fred Hellerman and Marshall Barer. In 1954, the song was recorded by Harry Belafonte accompanied by Hugo Winterhalter And His Orchestra and released on 78 rpm and 45 rpm record. It was the B-side of the record, "Hold 'Em Joe" (Calypso) being the A-side. The print on the record informs us that the song was written by Fred Brooks and Marshall Barer, noting that Fred Brooks was a pseudonym for Fred Hellerman who was blacklisted in the McCarthy era for his socialist ideals.

Frances Minkoff was an American lyricist best known for her songs co-written with Fred Hellerman of The Weavers.

The Big 3 was an American folk trio consisting of singer Cass Elliot (1941–1974), singer-songwriter-banjo player Tim Rose (1940–2002), and singer-guitarist Jim Hendricks.

FM Records was an American folk and jazz record label founded in 1963 by Monte Kay and Pete Kameron.

<i>Earthy!</i> 1963 studio album LP by Bobby Darin

Earthy! is an album of folk songs by American singer Bobby Darin, released in 1963, and arranged by Walter Raim. The album was reissued on CD in 2002 with Darin's release Golden Folk Hits.

"Mama Look at Bubu" is a song written by Trinidadian calypsonian Lord Melody, Harry Belafonte and Lord Burgess, and performed by Harry Belafonte featuring Bob Corwin's Orchestra & Chorus featuring Millard Thomas, Franz Casseus and Victor Messer on guitars. Although Belafonte gets co-writing credit on his 1957 release, the song first appeared on Lord Melody's single "Mama Look a Boo Boo" in 1955, and his debut album "Calypso Fiesta – Limbo In Trinidad" in 1956, with solo writing credit to Lord Melody.

References

  1. "Come Away Melinda", SecondhandSongs.com. Retrieved 15 March 2017
  2. "Come Away Melinda", The Weavers, SecondhandSongs.com. Retrieved 15 March 2017
  3. Betts, Graham (2004). Complete UK Hit Singles 1952-2004 (1st ed.). London: Collins. p. 674. ISBN   0-00-717931-6.