Melissa Ferrick (born September 21, 1970) is an American singer-songwriter. Her song "Drive" (2000) is considered a lesbian anthem. She is a music professor at Northeastern University and at Berklee College of Music.

Early life

Ferrick was raised in Ipswich, Massachusetts. Her father John was a public school teacher who managed several

free-jazz Free jazz is an experimental approach to jazz improvisation that developed in the late 1950s and early 1960s when musicians attempted to change or break down jazz conventions, such as regular tempos, tones, and chord changes. Musicians durin ...

bands on the side. As a child, Ferrick would often accompany her father to clubs on

Boston Boston (), officially the City of Boston, is the state capital and most populous city of the Commonwealth of Massachusetts, as well as the cultural and financial center of the New England region of the United States. It is the 24th- mo ...

's North Shore to watch the bands play. She began taking classical violin lessons at the age of five, and then moved on to the piano. In elementary and junior high school, she learned the trumpet and bass. Altogether, she received 15 years of formal music training, including two years at Berklee College of Music. She dropped out to pursue her music career.

Career

Ferrick began her career singing and playing in coffeehouses in the East Village, New York City. She received a great deal of publicity in 1991 when she replaced, at the last minute, the opening act for the singer Morrissey on tour. She was subsequently signed to a recording contract with Atlantic Records and released her first two albums, '' Massive Blur'', in 1993 and ''Willing to Wait'', in 1995. In 1996, she—in her words–"bottomed out" on alcohol. After sobering up, she returned to music, signing with the indie label What Are Records?. Ferrick released three albums on the label; ''Made of Honor'', ''Everything I Need'', and ''Freedom'', the latter inspired by Janet Jackson's ''

The Velvet Rope ''The Velvet Rope'' is the sixth studio album by American singer Janet Jackson. The album was released on October 7, 1997, through Virgin Records. Prior to its release, she renegotiated her contract with Virgin for US$80 million, the largest rec ...

''. Her 1998 album ''Everything I Need'' was nominated for Album of the Year by the Gay & Lesbian American Music Awards (GLAMA). In 2000, Ferrick founded her own record label, Right On Records. The first studio album released on her own label was ''Skinnier Faster Live at the B.P.C.''. ''In the Eyes of Strangers'', released in October 2006, was the sixth album released on her own label. Ferrick partially financed the recording costs with song sales via her website. Her fourteenth album, ''Goodbye Youth'', was released September 2008. In Spring 2010, she released an album of cover songs called ''Enough About Me''. In 2011, she released the album ''Still Right Here'' featuring original songs. During live performances, Ferrick mostly accompanies herself on a Collings OM3 SB acoustic guitar. She has also experimented with loop pedals and a range of accompaniments, including, in particular, brass instruments. Ferrick's rigorous touring schedule generally includes more than 150 shows per year. She plays solo gigs in small to medium-sized clubs and numerous festivals, as well as larger venues accompanied by a band. In 2007, she performed at the

Michigan Womyn's Music Festival The Michigan Womyn's Music Festival, often referred to as MWMF or Michfest, was a feminist women's music festival held annually from 1976 to 2015 in Oceana County, Michigan, on privately owned woodland near Hart Township referred to as "The L ...

, and opened for Ani Difranco. Her song "Drive" from the ''Freedom'' album became popularly known as a "lesbian anthem". Her musical inspirations include Bruce Springsteen,

The Pretenders Pretenders are an English–American rock band formed in March 1978. The original band consisted of founder and main songwriter Chrissie Hynde (lead vocals, rhythm guitar), James Honeyman-Scott (lead guitar, backing vocals, keyboards), Pete ...

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, Paul Simon,

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, Radiohead, Dave Matthews, and

Joan Armatrading Joan Anita Barbara Armatrading, (, born 9 December 1950) is a Kittitian-English singer-songwriter and guitarist. A three-time Grammy Award nominee, Armatrading has also been nominated twice for BRIT Awards as Best Female Artist. She received ...

Personal life

Melissa Ferrick identifies as a gender-nonconforming queer. Ferrick uses she/they pronouns.

Discography

* 1993 – '' Massive Blur'' * 1995 – ''Willing to Wait'' * 1996 – ''Made of Honor'' * 1997 – ''Melissa Ferrick +1'' (live) * 1998 – ''Everything I Need'' * 2000 – ''Freedom'' * 2001 – ''Skinnier, Faster, Live at the B.P.C.'' (live) * 2001 – ''Valentine Heartache'' * 2002 – ''Listen Hard'' * 2003 – ''70 People at 7000 Feet'' (live) * 2004 – ''The Other Side'' * 2006 – ''In the Eyes of Strangers'' * 2006 – ''Decade'' (video) * 2007 – ''Live at Union Hall'' (live) * 2008 – ''Goodbye Youth'' * 2010 – ''Enough About Me'' * 2011 – ''Still Right Here'' * 2013 – ''The Truth Is'' * 2015 – ''Melissa Ferrick''

References

External links

*
Melissa Ferrick interview on The Lesbian Podcast
*
Goldenrod Music
{{DEFAULTSORT:Ferrick, Melissa Living people 1970 births American singer-songwriters American folk singers People from Ipswich, Massachusetts Berklee College of Music alumni Lesbian artists American lesbian musicians American LGBT singers LGBT songwriters LGBT people from Massachusetts Singer-songwriters from Massachusetts Guitarists from Massachusetts Harvard Graduate School of Education alumni 20th-century American guitarists 21st-century American guitarists 20th-century American singers 21st-century American singers 20th-century LGBT people 21st-century LGBT people Non-binary musicians