Melanie @ Woodstock 1969 / Wollongong 1976

Mr Tambourine & Tuning My Guitar at Woodstock, 15 August 1969, YouTube, duration: 6.19 minutes.

Contents

  1. Candles in the Wind
  2. Woodstock 1969
  3. Wollongong 1976
  4. Looking back
  5. References

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When I think of Melanie, I think of her smile, and her joyfulness ...... and her incredible voice (MO 2026)

1. Candles in the rain

One of the hit songs of the writer's youth was Melanie Safka's Candles in the Rain, released in April 1970. It arose out of the young 22 year old's 34 minute long standing-ovation performance before some 400,000 people at the Woodstock Music and Arts Festival on the evening of Friday, 15 August 1969. Melanie was not on the bill, arrived at the festival alone, waited all day to go on, was given a life-saving pot of tea by Joan Baez, and went on late in the evening after Ravi Shankar, just as it was beginning to rain. She talks about leaving her body as she walked on stage to perform. The rest is history....

Melanie was little known prior to that performance, and remained a second-tier international artist the rest of her long life, with occasional international hit songs such as Beautiful People and Brand New Key. Prior to the Woodstock performance, an English documentary appeared which in part introduced her to a European audience who would stay with her the rest of her life.

Melanie, London, July 1969, Melanie - Official page of Melanie Safka, 29 April 2018, YouTube, duration: 25.14 minutes.

The visit to England was in association with her involvement in the soundtrack to the film All the Right Noises (1970).

The present writer was fortunate to see Melanie live during 1976 when she and her band performed at Wollongong Town Hall in Australia. Since that time he has always spoken of her to others as the best female vocalist he ever heard, bar none. Her voice was strong and powerful, yet she was so beautiful and soft. Melanie died in 2024 and just prior to that the writer had seen a 2015 YouTube video of her singing in a backyard with Mylie Cyrus, who herself was obviously an adoring fan, as is the present writer. This article focuses on perhaps the most iconic event in Melanie's life, namely her Woodstock performance. It also briefly refers to her Wollongong appearance in 1976 and provides links to videos which look back on her career.

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2. Woodstock 1969

At Woodstock on 15 August 1969 Melanie performed the following songs (listed in order of performance, along with duration:

  1. Close to it all, 3.32 minutes
  2. Momma Momma, 4.34 minutes [briefly following by rain interruption]
  3. Beautiful [Wet] People, 4.11 minutes
  4. Animal Crackers, 2.54 minutes
  5. Mr Tambourine Man, 2.27 minutes (filmed)
  6. Tuning my Guitar, 5.17 minutes (filmed)
  7. [Encore] Birthday of the Sun, 3.43 minutes (filmed)

Audio recordings of the complete set (34 minutes long) are available here:

* Melanie at Woodstock (audio), 14 September 2021, YouTube, duration: 40.17 minutes. Includes stage announcements for first 6.15 minutes.

* Close to it all, live at Woodstock 1969 (audio), Melanie - Official page of Melanie Safka, 25 July 2019, YouTube, duration: 3.31 minutes. Includes links to other songs in the set.

Known video recording are presented below.

* Melanie at Woodstock - Birthday of the Sun, 10 August 2014, YouTube, duration: 3.46 minutes. From the Woodstock - Lost Performances video.

Other videos exist where both Melanie and others comment upon her performance at Woodstock. The most complete account is to be found in the following interview from 2023.

* How did Melanie perform before 500,000 people at Woodstock? She left her body!, Media Path, 31 March 2023, YouTube, duration: 2.49 minutes. Full episode (76.06 minutes) here.

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3. Wollongong 1976/1977

During 1976 or 1977 Melanie toured Australia in support of her new LP Photograph. The precise date is not known, and it is not listed on the Melanie Australian tours website, but it may have been around 10 July 1977 when she visited New South Wales. The writer was fortunate to see her and band perform at the Wollongong Town Hall. He left the concert amazed by the power of her voice - the best female singer he had ever heard, either before or since.

Monika Heart, Wollongong Town Hall, 1977. Source: Facebook.

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4. Looking back

* Remember Melanie Safka? From Woodstock Icon to Forgotten Legend, Band History and Retro Rewind, 25 June 2026, YouTube, duration: 21.12 minutes.

* Happy Hippie Presents: Miley Cyrus & Melanie Safka - Look What They've Done to My Song Ma, Mylie Cyrus, 12 May 2015, YouTube, duration: 3.40 minutes.

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References

O'Hara, Gerry (writer & director), All the Right Noises [cinematographic film], Trigon Productions Ltd., London, 1969, duration: 90.47 minutes. Soundtrack by Melanie.

How did Melanie perform before 500,000 people at Woodstock? She left her body!, YouTube, duration: 2.49 minutes.

Melanie Safka, Melanie, London, July 1969, Melanie - Official page of Melanie Safka, 29 April 2018, YouTube, duration: 25.14 minutes.

-----, Melanie at Woodstock, 15 August 1969 (audio), 14 September 2021, YouTube, duration: 40.17 minutes. Includes stage announcements for first 6.15 minutes.

-----, Close to it all, live at Woodstock, 15 August 1969 (audio), Melanie - Official page of Melanie Safka, 25 July 2019, YouTube, duration: 3.31 minutes. Includes links to other songs in the set.

-----, More Melanie at Woodstock, 15 August 1969, YouTube, duration: 6.19 minutes. Songs: Mr Tambourine Man and Tuning My Guitar.

-----, Melanie at Woodstock, 15 August 1969 - Birthday of the Sun, YouTube, duration: 3.46 minutes. From the Woodstock - Lost Performances video.

-----, Melanie's Woodstock moment of grace, Media Path, episode 131, YouTube, duration: 0.30 minutes.

Wikipedia, All the Right Noises (1970), Wikipedia, accessed 14 July 2026.

-----, Candles in the Rain, Wikipedia, accessed 14 July 2026.

-----, Melanie, Wikipedia, accessed 14 July 2026.

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Music: Alison MacCallum - Superman | Bee Gees, Wollongong 1963-66 | Blue Fender Bronco 1968 | Bob Dylan | Bowie | Cold Chisel @ Gong 1976+ | Cream Gibson SG | Expression 1981-85 | Finch, Bulli, 2020 | Free | Fuzz Tone | Garbage | Gun - Race with the Devil 1968 | Jackson C. Frank | Jeff Buckley | Jimi Hendrix Flying V | Jimmy Page Dragon Telecaster | Jo Ann Kelly | Kahvas Jute & Chariot 1970-2005 | Kate Bush | Led Zeppelin bootlegs | Leftards - Gong punk 2017+ | Little Richard, Wollongong 1957 | LPs / CDs | MC5 | Melanie | Nick Drake | Peter Green | Rory Gallagher | Shocking Blue | Vamps 1965-77 | Yardbirds |

Last updated: 17 July 2026

Micheal Organ, Australia

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