Melissa McClelland (born 18 May 1979) is an American-born Canadian singer-songwriter who lived in

Hamilton, Ontario Hamilton is a port city in the Canadian province of Ontario. Hamilton has a population of 569,353, and its census metropolitan area, which includes Burlington and Grimsby, has a population of 785,184. The city is approximately southwest of ...

, in her youth and now bases her career from

Toronto Toronto ( ; or ) is the capital city of the Canadian province of Ontario. With a recorded population of 2,794,356 in 2021, it is the most populous city in Canada and the fourth most populous city in North America. The city is the anch ...

, Ontario. McClelland's music is influenced by

blues Blues is a music genre and musical form which originated in the Deep South of the United States around the 1860s. Blues incorporated spirituals, work songs, field hollers, shouts, chants, and rhymed simple narrative ballads from the ...

and

Americana Americana may refer to: *Americana (music), a genre or style of American music *Americana (culture), artifacts of the culture of the United States Film, radio and television * ''Americana'' (1992 TV series), a documentary series presented by J ...

. A writer on CMJ's staff blog wrote that McClelland has "a persona reminiscent of a female

Tom Waits Thomas Alan Waits (born December 7, 1949) is an American musician, composer, songwriter, and actor. His lyrics often focus on the underbelly of society and are delivered in his trademark deep, gravelly voice. He worked primarily in jazz during ...

Biography

Melissa McClelland was born in

Chicago (''City in a Garden''); I Will , image_map = , map_caption = Interactive Map of Chicago , coordinates = , coordinates_footnotes = , subdivision_type = List of sovereign states, Count ...

, Illinois. She spent her youth in

Burlington, Ontario Burlington is a city in the Regional Municipality of Halton at the northwestern end of Lake Ontario in Ontario, Canada. Along with Milton to the north, it forms the western end of the Greater Toronto Area and is also part of the Hamilton m ...

before developing her career in

, Ontario. McClelland married

Luke Doucet Luke Doucet (born June 9, 1973) is a Canadian singer-songwriter and guitarist. He has written and performed as a solo artist and as a member of the indie rock band Veal and the folk rock band Whitehorse. In 2006 and 2011, Doucet was nominated fo ...

on 24 June 2006; the two have played together on numerous stages, including at the 2006

Calgary Folk Music Festival The Calgary Folk Music Festival (also known as "Calgary Folk Fest") is held in late July each year at Prince's Island Park, Calgary, Alberta, Canada. July 2022 is the Festival's 43rd edition. The four-day Calgary Folk Music Festival annually featu ...

. He has produced three of her records, ''Stranded in Suburbia'', ''Thumbelina's One Night Stand'' and ''Victoria Day.'' In 2006 McClelland opened for

Matthew Good Matthew Frederick Robert Good (born June 29, 1971) is a Canadian musician. He was the lead singer and songwriter for the Matthew Good Band, one of the most successful alternative rock bands in Canada during the 1990s and early 2000s. Since the ...

's solo acoustic tour across Canada. During the tour the two singers closed Matthew Good's set with a duet performance of the

Nine Inch Nails Nine Inch Nails, commonly abbreviated as NIN and stylized as NIИ, is an American industrial rock band formed in Cleveland in 1988. Singer, songwriter, multi-instrumentalist, and producer Trent Reznor was the only permanent member of the band ...

song " Hurt". She also works with

Sarah McLachlan Sarah Ann McLachlan OC OBC (born January 28, 1968) is a Canadian singer-songwriter. As of 2015, she had sold over 40 million albums worldwide. McLachlan's best-selling album to date is '' Surfacing'', for which she won two Grammy Awards (ou ...

, providing backing vocals at her live shows. McLachlan makes a guest appearance on the song "Go Down Matthew" from McClelland's album ''Thumbelina's One Night Stand''. Melissa McClelland at NXNE 2007

"Skyway Bridge" (off of ''Thumbelina's One Night Stand'') features

Greg Keelor James Gregory Keelor, (born Francis McIntyre, August 29, 1954) is a Canadian singer-songwriter and musician. He is best known as a member of the band Blue Rodeo, where he shares song writing and vocal duties with Jim Cuddy. Keelor has also rele ...

from

Blue Rodeo Blue Rodeo is a Canadian country rock band formed in 1984 in Toronto, Ontario. They have released 16 full-length studio albums, four live recordings, one greatest hits album, and two video/DVDs, along with multiple solo albums, side projects, ...

. Additionally, McClelland is the only guest artist on Blue Rodeo's 2008 live album, '' Blue Road''. Melissa_McClelland_at_Wolf_Trap_2019

In 2007 McClelland opened a tour with Jesse Cook and sang on his recording of "It Ain't Me Babe" (a

Bob Dylan Bob Dylan (legally Robert Dylan, born Robert Allen Zimmerman, May 24, 1941) is an American singer-songwriter. Often regarded as one of the greatest songwriters of all time, Dylan has been a major figure in popular culture during a career sp ...

cover) which was released on his 2007 album ''

Frontiers Frontiers may refer to: * Frontier, areas near or beyond a boundary Arts and entertainment Music * ''Frontiers'' (Journey album), 1983 * ''Frontiers'' (Jermaine Jackson album), 1978 * ''Frontiers'' (Jesse Cook album), 2007 * ''Frontiers'' ( ...

''. "It Ain't Me Babe" was released as a single from that album, which spent three weeks in the top position on ''Billboard''s world music charts. Also in 2007, McClelland's "Passenger 24" won in the 6th Annual Independent Music Awards for Best Americana Song. McClelland's song "Rooftop" was featured on the 2005 soundtrack CD of the television series '' Degrassi: The Next Generation''. The song was played on the ending montage of the 2004 episode "Time Stands Still Pt. 2", in which a main character,

Jimmy Brooks '' Degrassi: The Next Generation'' is a Canadian teen drama television series created by Linda Schuyler and Yan Moore. The series is now considered the first incarnation and premiered on CTV on October 14, 2001, and then ended on MTV Canada and T ...

(

Aubrey Graham Aubrey Drake Graham ( ; born October 24, 1986) is a Canadian rapper and singer. An influential figure in contemporary popular music, Drake has been credited for popularizing singing and R&B sensibilities in hip hop. He gained recognition by ...

) was shot by a bullied student, Rick Murray (

Ephraim Ellis Ephraim Todd Ellis (born February 23, 1985) is a Canadian actor. He is best known for playing Rick Murray on '' Degrassi: The Next Generation'' and Danny Ellis on ''Falcon Beach.'' Early life Ephraim Ellis was born in Toronto, Ontario on Febr ...

). She also performed the theme song for the children's reality show ''

This Is Daniel Cook ''This is Daniel Cook.'' is a Canadian children's television series created by J. J. Johnson and Blair Powers and produced by Toronto's Marblemedia and Sinking Ship Productions in association with Treehouse TV and TVO. It is shown in Canada on ...

''. In 2008, she contributed to the soundtrack of the film ''

One Week One Week may refer to: * One Week (1920 film), ''One Week'' (1920 film), a short film starring and co-directed by Buster Keaton * One Week (2008 film), ''One Week'' (2008 film), a Canadian feature film directed by Michael McGowan * One Week (song), ...

''.

Discography

As a solo artist * 2001: ''

Melissa McClelland Melissa McClelland (born 18 May 1979) is an American-born Canadian singer-songwriter who lived in Hamilton, Ontario, in her youth and now bases her career from Toronto, Ontario. McClelland's music is influenced by blues and Americana. A writer ...

'' (Daddy Warbucks Records/independent) * 20 April 2004: '' Stranded in Suburbia'' (

Orange Orange most often refers to: *Orange (fruit), the fruit of the tree species '' Citrus'' × ''sinensis'' ** Orange blossom, its fragrant flower *Orange (colour), from the color of an orange, occurs between red and yellow in the visible spectrum * ...

Universal Universal is the adjective for universe. Universal may also refer to: Companies * NBCUniversal, a media and entertainment company ** Universal Animation Studios, an American Animation studio, and a subsidiary of NBCUniversal ** Universal TV, a ...

) * 23 May 2006: '' Thumbelina's One Night Stand'' (Orange/Universal) * 14 April 2009: ''

Victoria Day Victoria Day (french: Fête de la Reine, lit=Celebration of the Queen) is a federal Canadian public holiday celebrated on the last Monday preceding May 25. Initially in honour of Queen Victoria's birthday, it has since been celebrated as the offi ...

'' (Six Shooter Records) As a member of

Whitehorse Whitehorse () is the capital of Yukon, and the largest city in Northern Canada. It was incorporated in 1950 and is located at kilometre 1426 (Historic Mile 918) on the Alaska Highway in southern Yukon. Whitehorse's downtown and Riverdale areas ...

* 30 August 2011: ''

'' (Six Shooter Records) * 28 August 2012: '' The Fate of the World Depends on This Kiss'' (Six Shooter Records) * 17 February 2015: ''

Leave No Bridge Unburned '' Leave No Bridge Unburned ''is the third studio album by Canadian rock band Whitehorse. Funded by Kickstarter, the album was released via Six Shooter Records on February 17, 2015. The album was a long-listed nominee for the 2015 Polaris M ...

'' (Six Shooter Records) * 7 July 2017: '' Panther in the Dollhouse'' (Six Shooter Records) * 2 November 2018: '' A Whitehorse Winter Classic'' (Six Shooter Records) * 19 March 2021: ''Modern Love'' (Six Shooter Records) * 8 September 2021: '' Strike Me Down'' (Six Shooter Records) * 13 January 2023: '' I'm Not Crying, You're Crying'' (Six Shooter Records)

'' Stranded in Suburbia ''

In 2004 McClelland released '' Stranded in Suburbia'' on

Orange Record Label Orange Record Label was a Canadian independent record label, located in Toronto, Ontario, Canada. Orange recordings were distributed in Canada by Universal Music Canada, which was also a minority stakeholder in the label. Orange is also used ...

. In the same year, her side-band Ladybird Sideshow released a live album entitled '' Ladybird Sideshow Live at the Orange Lounge''.

'' Thumbelina's One Night Stand ''

McClelland's follow-up album, '' Thumbelina's One Night Stand'' was released in 2006. Reviews drew attention to the eclectic nature of the album. ''Exclaim! Magazine'' described the album as "impossible to pin down stylistically, as it segues from roots-y rock ("Passenger 24") to country ("Taxi Ride") to chamber pop ("Solitary Life") to folk (a cover of Randy Newman's "Dayton Ohio") and blues ("Go Down Matthew")."

'' Victoria Day ''

In late 2008 Melissa McClelland began work on ''Victoria Day'', her fourth album, and first for Six Shooter Records. ''Victoria Day'' was scheduled for release on 14 April 2009. The album was recorded at Canterbury Music by Jeremy Darby, and was produced by Luke Doucet. ''Victoria Day'' has a vintage 1950s sound, combining dixieland with "high lonesome twang". "Seasoned Lovers", from ''Victoria Day'', features vocals from Canadian singer-songwriter

Ron Sexsmith Ronald Eldon Sexsmith (born January 8, 1964) is a Canadian singer-songwriter from St. Catharines, Ontario. He was the songwriter of the year at the 2005 Juno Awards. He began releasing recordings of his own material in 1985 at age 21, and has s ...

'' Whitehorse ''

In 2011 McClelland and her husband

released a self-titled album under the moniker

on Six Shooter Records. It included reworked versions of McClelland's hit "Passenger 24" and Doucet's hit "Broken" and was recorded at the Catherine North studio in Hamilton, Ontario,

's house in Vancouver, British Columbia and a studio located at McLelland's and Doucet's house.

Collaborations

*2004: '' Outlaws (Live & Unreleased)'' by

(Providing vocals on "Gun St. Girl") *2004: '' Ladybird Sideshow Live at the Orange Lounge'' by Ladybird Sideshow *2006: ''Do You Hear What I Hear?'' (Providing vocals on "O Holy Night") *2007: ''

This is Daniel Cook ''This is Daniel Cook.'' is a Canadian children's television series created by J. J. Johnson and Blair Powers and produced by Toronto's Marblemedia and Sinking Ship Productions in association with Treehouse TV and TVO. It is shown in Canada on ...

– Here We Are!'' (Providing vocals on "This Is Daniel Cook Theme Song") *2007: ''

'' by Jesse Cook (Providing vocals on "It Ain't Me Babe") *2007: '' Borrowed Tunes II: A Tribute to Neil Young'' (Providing vocals on "Cinnamon Girl") *2008: ''

Blood's Too Rich ''Blood's Too Rich'' by Luke Doucet & the White Falcon is Luke Doucet's third studio album. The album was released in Canada on January 8, 2008 by Six Shooter Records. Six Shooter Records released the album in the United States on June 24, 2008. ...

'' by

and the White Falcon *2008: '' Blue Road (Live at Massey Hall)'' by

(Providing vocals on "Know Where You Go" and "Tell Me Your Dream") *2008: ''

'' Soundtrack (Providing vocals on "

Un Canadien errant "Un Canadien errant" ("A Wandering Canadian") is a song written in 1842 by Antoine Gérin-Lajoie after the Lower Canada Rebellion of 1837–38. Some of the rebels were condemned to death, others forced into exile to the United States and as far as ...

") *2010: '' First of the Last to Know'' by

Peter Katz Peter Katz is an American film producer. His work includes ''Pop Skull'', ''Home Sick'' and ''Mortuary''. Career Katz has produced genre films that have screened at the AFI Fest, Rome Film Festival, as well as the New Zealand International Fi ...

(Providing vocals on "Let Me Know") *2010: '' Steel City Trawler'' by

and the White Falcon

DVDs

*2007: '' Pedal to Steel'' *2007: '' Jesse Cook: One Night at the Metropolis'' (Special Guest Appearance) *2008: '' Blue Road (Live at Massey Hall Bootleg)'' by

(Providing vocals on "Know Where You Go" and "Tell Me Your Dream")

Covers

*2001: Rob Lamothe covered "Whisper" on '' Steering with My Knee''

Notes

External links

{{DEFAULTSORT:McClelland, Melissa 1979 births Living people American expatriate musicians in Canada Musicians from Toronto Canadian women singer-songwriters Canadian singer-songwriters Canadian women guitarists Canadian pop guitarists Independent Music Awards winners Six Shooter Records artists 1970s births Musicians from Hamilton, Ontario Canadian women pop singers Guitarists from Chicago 21st-century Canadian women singers 21st-century American guitarists 21st-century American women guitarists