A Cover of The Rolling Stones’ ‘Ruby Tuesday’ Was More Popular Than the Original in the U.K.
The Rolling Stones‘ “Ruby Tuesday” is one of the most famous ballads by the band. A 1970s folk singer covered the track. Subsequently, the cover became a big hit in the United Kingdom.
A folk singer discussed why the press didn’t treat her the same as Joan Baez, Joni Mitchell, and Janis Joplin
Melanie is a folk singer who found some success in the 1970s, particularly with her song “Brand New Key.” During a 2021 interview with The Guardian, she discussed why the press did not treat her as well as other female singers such as Joan Baez, Joni Mitchell, and Janis Joplin. “I could speculate,” she said. “It wasn’t the age of smiling women. It had to be much more broody and I was way too cherubic.
“Men can be cute,” she opined. “Randy Newman can sing ‘Short People’ and that’s OK because he’s a guy, he’s got something to say. But a girl? How could she possibly have any social significance?”
Melanie doesn’t consider herself a hippie but she still covered The Rolling Stones’ ‘Ruby Tuesday’
Melanie further discussed her life in the public eye. “There was a big gap between my reality and the reality of how I was being perceived,” she said. “I was an introvert and all of a sudden I’m a celebrity. I knew that I wasn’t being presented in the way that I am.”
While she might be associated with the hippie generation, she doesn’t see herself that way. “I never even felt like I was a hippie, I didn’t like the term,” she said. “If anything, I was the beat generation — people in the Village expressing themselves in so many ways, not being pigeonholed.” While she doesn’t identify as a hippie, she performed a hit cover of The Rolling Stones’ hippie-ish “Ruby Tuesday.”
How The Rolling Stones’ ‘Ruby Tuesday’ and Melanie’s cover of it performed on the pop charts in the United Kingdom
According to The Official Charts Company, the original “Ruby Tuesday” never charted in the United Kingdom. A live version hit No. 59 on the chart for two weeks. The live version of the song appeared on the album Flashpoint, which reached No. 6 in the U.K. and remained on the chart for seven weeks.
Melanie’s version of the song was more popular in the United Kingdom. The Official Charts Company says the track reached No. 9 there and stayed on the chart for five weeks. Melanie included her cover on the album Candles in the Rain. The album reached No. 5 in the U.K. and lasted on the chart for 31 weeks.
Melanie might not be as famous as The Rolling Stones but her version of “Ruby Tuesday” outperformed a version by the band.
