Melanie, 76, a singer-songwriter and Emmy winner whose career began at Woodstock, passes away.

The Jersey Shore-born musician, who performed songs such as “Beautiful People” on the first day of Woodstock in 1969, has died, her children said.

Melanie, 76, a singer-songwriter and Emmy winner whose career began at Woodstock, passes away.

The vocalist, 76 years old, went by the stage name Melanie.

Her children shared the news Wednesday in a post on the singer/songwriter’s official Facebook page. “This is the hardest post for us to write, and there are so many things we want to say, first, and there’s no easy way except to say it,” the statement begins. “Mom passed, peacefully, out of this world and into the next on January, 23rd, 2024.”

The vocalist, 76 years old, went by the stage name Melanie.

The post went on, “Everything she wrote and every note she sung proved that she was one of the most gifted, strong, and passionate women of the era. Though her absence has made the world much darker and the colors of a gray, rainy Tennessee pallid, we know that she is still here, grinning down from the stars at all of us and you.”

Leilah, Jeordie, and Beau Jarred, her children, revealed that details regarding a celebration of life would soon be available. Everyone who want to attend and celebrate her is welcome to attend. As soon as the specifics are finalized, they will be released. We want to see you there,” the message says.

One of her many achievements was sharing the 1989 Emmy Award for Outstanding Achievement in Music and Lyrics with Lee Holdridge, for writing the words for the theme song for “Beauty and the Beast” (1987–1990). Renn Woods, Linda Hamilton, Ron Perlman, Roy Dotrice, and Jay Acovone were the series’ main cast members.

One of her many achievements was sharing the 1989 Emmy Award for Outstanding Achievement in Music and Lyrics with Lee Holdridge, for writing the words for the theme song for “Beauty and the Beast” (1987–1990). Renn Woods, Linda Hamilton, Ron Perlman, Roy Dotrice, and Jay Acovone were the series’ main cast members.

Melanie’s repertoire features her hits “What Have They Done to My Song Ma,” “Lay Down (Candles in the Rain),” and the Billboard Hot 100 chart-topper “Brand New Key,” which Ray Charles and Nina Simone also released in their own versions. Melanie became the first American woman to create a mainstream musical label when she co-founded Neighborhood Records with her husband, Peter Schekeryk, according to her website.

Melanie ‘walked off a celebrity’ after her Woodstock performance.

Melanie recounted her experience at Woodstock in August 1969 in an interview with the Asbury Park Press, a member of the USA TODAY network, in 2018. She had been driven to Max Yasgar’s farm in Bethel, New York, by her mother, Polly Safka.

Only my mother and I were there. I was without a roadie and without a band. Peter (Schekeryk), my manager, spouse, and producer, was not with me. Particularly in America, I was somewhat unknown,” she remarked. Her debut hit, “Beautiful People,” was getting some attention at the time.

“People really connected quickly with me and it instantly resonated with 500,000 people at that one moment,” Melanie stated. “I walked on the stage an unknown person and walked off a celebrity.”