Melanie Safka (usually referred to as simply "Melanie") was a singer/songwriter who was considered a hippie pop singer who sang hippie pop songs, but she never personally identified with being a hippie. And she was signed to bubblegum pop label Buddah. And Buddah wasn't exactly Vanguard or even Reprise in the echelons of hippie rock.
But while wannabe hippie girls everywhere loved her. She was the Jewel of her day.
But before Melanie had her famous Woodstock appearance and her 1970s mega-hits "Lay Down (Candles In The Rain)" and "Brand New Key", she recorded a Christmas song called "Merry Christmas", based on the traditional carol "We Wish You a Merry Christmas". It was originally on her debut LP in 1968 Born To Be. After her Woodstock appearance and the success of "Lay Down", Buddah re-released Born To Be, retitled as My First Album.
On this track Melanie, changes the "We" in "We Wish You a Merry Christmas" to "I". And literally demands her figgy pudding and her cup of good cheer. Now.
She still performs and releases new music and her old classics independently.
