"First Time I Loved Forever" was written by Melanie and is part of the film "Beauty and the Beast." In the video, though, it is sung by Lisa Angelle, not Melanie.  There are also a few YouTube fan videos included for this song. Also, some of the video of live performances around the world is not the best quality, but is included for its archival and documentary value.

Melanie had just gotten back from yet another European tour. Unless you're a touring musician, you might not know how hard it is to eat healthy when you're on the road. In Europe, where Melanie is a big star, people were always offering her rich, fattening food - and she was hesitant to turn it down for fear of hurting the feelings of her biggest fans.

So when her entourage would come back to the States, she would head to Murfreesboro to "detox", even though they lived near our own house in Old Hickory. There was something soothing and relaxing about Genesis, where you kick back on a strict vegetarian diet, sleep late if you wanted without the phone ringing, get up when you wanted and write the next song. That's the life Melanie lived at Genesis.

Several nights Penny and I would sit and listen to Melanie and her son play together, practicing for the next gig. On a few occasions I was even invited to join them, which I did; it was a rare opportunity for an amateur like myself.

I took particular note of how open Melanie was to suggestions from her son, Beau Jarred, watching him and learning from him. He is her pride and joy and, she says, a far better guitarist than she will ever be. And I have to admit, he is pretty damned good! He's a virtuoso on the guitar.

Melanie was just 16 when she was invited, almost by accident, to appear at Woodstock. The Melanie of that era was young, beautiful, bubbly, whimsical, sometimes silly and always the eternal optimist, known for such songs as "Brand New Key", "Lay Down a Candle in the Rain" and "What Have They Done To My Song Ma?"

The Melanie of today is wiser, sadder, and while maybe a little more cynical, still full of energy when she performs and she now has a more powerful voice than ever and a wider repertoire. There's a lot more to her than there was in Woodstock. Her songs are more political, more biting, more philosophical, more observant and wiser to the ways of the world.

There is a sadness in her eyes in her more private moments, a sadness I've seen in many of the musicians I've known. Perhaps it's been because so many of them have been fleeced (or as Marshall Chapman would say, "rode hard and put up wet") and they've lost the idealism and optimism most of us have when we're young. But you can see the disappointment in her eyes - until she picks up that guitar, closes her eyes and opens her mouth.

I won't tell everything I know about Melanie and her career - I won't tell embarrassing secrets about any of the musicians I've known. The times we've spent together, and this is true of them all, were private and privileged ... time between friends, not between "star" and "journalist" or "star and fan."

To tell you the truth, I wasn't that big a fan of Melanie's until I met her. She gets little airplay in the U.S., so most of us know her only from "Brand New Key" song (still the most-played!). No, I became a fan after spending time with her and hearing the powerful projection of her voice, with little trace of her trademark "warbling" of days gone by.

We haven't seen them or heard from them since we left Murfreesboro, but I wish Melanie and her family well. They're good people and, like most of us, still struggling to make ends meet from day to day. Yes, even "stars" like Melanie and my late friend Mickey Newbury struggle through financial hardship, no matter how famous they may be.

God bless, Melanie! May you live long and prosper, songbird.

www.melaniesmusic.com

www.myspace.com/melaniesafkamusic