Susannah Melvoin (born January 26, 1964) is an American

vocalist Singing is the act of creating musical sounds with the voice. A person who sings is called a singer, artist or vocalist (in jazz and/or popular music). Singers perform music (arias, recitatives, songs, etc.) that can be sung with or without ...

and

songwriter A songwriter is a musician who professionally composes musical compositions or writes lyrics for songs, or both. The writer of the music for a song can be called a composer, although this term tends to be used mainly in the classical music gen ...

. Melvoin is best known for her association with

Prince A prince is a male ruler (ranked below a king, grand prince, and grand duke) or a male member of a monarch's or former monarch's family. ''Prince'' is also a title of nobility (often highest), often hereditary, in some European states. Th ...

in the mid-1980s. Melvoin comes from a musical family and is the twin sister of musician

Wendy Melvoin Wendy Ann Melvoin (born January 26, 1964) is an American guitarist and singer-songwriter, best known for her work with Prince as part of his backing band The Revolution, and for her collaboration with Lisa Coleman as one half of the duo Wendy ...

, sister of

Jonathan Melvoin Jonathan David Melvoin (December 6, 1961 – July 12, 1996) was an American musician, active in the 1980s and 1990s. Early life He was the son of Constance (née Ives) and Mike Melvoin, keyboardist for The Wrecking Crew, and brother of ...

(former touring

keyboardist A keyboardist or keyboard player is a musician who plays keyboard instruments. Until the early 1960s musicians who played keyboards were generally classified as either pianists or organists. Since the mid-1960s, a plethora of new musical instr ...

with

the Smashing Pumpkins The Smashing Pumpkins (also referred to as simply Smashing Pumpkins) are an American alternative rock band from Chicago. Formed in 1988 by frontman and guitarist Billy Corgan, bassist D'arcy Wretzky, guitarist James Iha and drummer Jimmy Ch ...

), and daughter of

jazz Jazz is a music genre that originated in the African-American communities of New Orleans, Louisiana in the late 19th and early 20th centuries, with its roots in blues and ragtime. Since the 1920s Jazz Age, it has been recognized as a major ...

pianist A pianist ( , ) is an individual musician who plays the piano. Since most forms of Western music can make use of the piano, pianists have a wide repertoire and a wide variety of styles to choose from, among them traditional classical music, ja ...

(and former

NARAS The Recording Academy (formally the National Academy of Recording Arts and Sciences; abbreviated NARAS) is an American learned academy of musicians, producers, recording engineers, and other musical professionals. It is famous for its Grammy A ...

president)

Michael Melvoin Mike Melvoin (May 10, 1937February 22, 2012) was an American jazz pianist, composer, and arranger. He served as chairman and president of The Recording Academy and worked as a prolific studio musician, recording with Frank Sinatra, John Lennon, ...

Work with Prince

Melvoin got her start working with Prince in the mid-1980s during sister

Wendy Wendy is a given name now generally given to girls in English-speaking countries. In Britain, Wendy appeared as a masculine name in a parish record in 1615. It was also used as a surname in Britain from at least the 17th century. Its popularity ...

's stint with The Revolution. During this period, Melvoin was tapped to be a joint lead vocalist of one of Prince's side projects: The Family. Prince wrote The Family's 1985 song "

Nothing Compares 2 U "Nothing Compares 2 U" is a song written and composed by Prince for his side project, The Family; the song featured on their eponymous 1985 debut album. The song features lyrics exploring feelings of longing from the point of view of an abando ...

" about Melvoin. It charted when Sinéad O'Connor covered it in 1990. Melvoin later joined the expanded line-up of The Revolution – adding backing vocals to ''

Parade A parade is a procession of people, usually organized along a street, often in costume, and often accompanied by marching bands, float (parade), floats, or sometimes large balloons. Parades are held for a wide range of reasons, but are usually ce ...

'' including the 1986 single "

Anotherloverholenyohead "Anotherloverholenyohead" is a 1986 song by Prince and The Revolution, from the album ''Parade'', the soundtrack to the film ''Under the Cherry Moon''. The song is essentially a full band performance by Prince & the Revolution, with backing vocal ...

." She designed the '' Dream Factory'' jacket and received a credit on ''

Sign o' the Times ''Sign o' the Times'' (often stylized as ''Sign "☮︎" the Times'') is the ninth studio album by American singer, songwriter, producer, and multi-instrumentalist Prince. It was first released on March 30, 1987 as a double album by Paisley Park ...

'' co-writing the song "Starfish and Coffee." Melvoin was engaged to Prince who wrote several songs about her.

Later work

Melvoin has subsequently worked as a background vocalist for such artists as Roger Waters,

Eric Clapton Eric Patrick Clapton (born 1945) is an English rock and blues guitarist, singer, and songwriter. He is often regarded as one of the most successful and influential guitarists in rock music. Clapton ranked second in ''Rolling Stone''s list of ...

, and

Mike Oldfield Mike may refer to: Animals * Mike (cat), cat and guardian of the British Museum * Mike the Headless Chicken, chicken that lived for 18 months after his head had been cut off * Mike (chimpanzee), a chimpanzee featured in several books and documen ...

and has performed vocals on

Wendy & Lisa Wendy & Lisa (briefly known as Girl Bros.) are a music duo consisting of Wendy Melvoin and Lisa Coleman. They began working with Prince in the early 1980s and were part of his band the Revolution, before branching out on their own and releasin ...

albums. She co-wrote songs for Eric Clapton and then-husband

Doyle Bramhall II Doyle Bramhall II (born December 24, 1968) is an American guitarist, producer and songwriter best known for his work with Eric Clapton and Roger Waters. He is the son of the songwriter and drummer Doyle Bramhall. Early life Bramhall was born i ...

's band,

Arc Angels Arc Angels is a Blues rock supergroup formed in Austin, Texas in the early 1990s. The band came together after the death of Stevie Ray Vaughan and was composed of Vaughan’s friends Doyle Bramhall II and Charlie Sexton and two of the band memb ...

. She also co-wrote songs performed by Madonna, such as ''

Ray of Light ''Ray of Light'' is the seventh studio album by American singer-songwriter Madonna, released in early 1998 by Maverick Records. A stylistic and aesthetical departure from her previous work, ''Ray of Light'' is an electronica and techno-pop reco ...

''s fourth track "Candy Perfume Girl", which was written with

William Orbit William Mark Wainwright (born 15 December 1956),"William Orbit." ''Contemporary Musicians''. Vol. 30. Farmington Hills, MI: Gale, 2000. Retrieved via ''Biography in Context'' database, 7 May 2017. Available onlinvia ''Encyclopedia.com'' known ...

. It was to have been "what she thought would either become her solo debut or an album by Orbit’s Strange Cargo project, which she – and, it turns out, Madonna – both loved." Orbit offered Madonna the songs he had written with Melvoin, who received no credit or compensation. She stated that she "has no beef with Madonna," but added that "had I gotten proper publishing on ''Ray of Light'', I wouldn’t be worried about my financial life.” Outside of music, she has performed in small or cameo roles in three small-budget films, including '' Skin & Bone'' and '' Luster''.

Personal life

Melvoin was married to

, with whom she had two children. The couple separated in 2010. Their subsequent divorce proceedings were characterized in the tabloids as being "messy," due in part to Bramhall's relationship with actress Renee Zellweger, which started in 2012 before the divorce was settled.

References

External links

*
Interview
{{DEFAULTSORT:Melvoin, Susannah 1964 births American women singers American women songwriters Living people Singers from Los Angeles Twin musicians The Revolution (band) members American twins Waldorf school alumni Writers from Los Angeles Singer-songwriters from California