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TL;DR:

  • Melanie’s “Brand New Key” inspired many interpretations and Melanie discussed one of them.
  • Melanie compared the controversy surrounding the song to the theory that Paul McCartney died.
  • “Brand New Key” became a massive hit for Melanie but it wasn’t her only famous song.
"Brand New Key" singer Melanie in black-and-white
Melanie | Michael Ochs Archives / Stringer

Some classic rock songs were hugely controversial even if they wouldn’t raise an eyebrow today. For example, Melanie’s “Brand New Key” got banned from radio stations across the United States. Melanie discussed the inspiration behind the song.

Melanie’s ‘Brand New Key’ inspired fans to read into the song

During a 2021 interview with The Tennessean, Melanie was asked if the key in “Brand New Key” was a sexual innuendo. “Well, you know what’s really funny — it was banned on radio stations at first, all over America,” she said.

Melanie compared these bans to a famous Fab Four controversy. “It was a time where people were reading into things,” she recalled. “Paul is dead. All of that stuff with Abbey Road.” For context, some Beatles fans felt Paul died and was replaced with a body double. These conspiracy theorists thought there were secret messages about his death on the cover of Abbey Road.

Melanie gave fans more insight into “Brand New Key.” “It had all kinds of meanings,” she said. “I’m gonna say, subconsciously, there could have been some sort of Freudian thing.”

Melanie revealed some of the experiences that inspired her to write the track

Melanie said “Brand New Key” was consciously inspired by skating. “I was just remembering roller skating and learning the apparatus,” she recalled. “It was a thing that went onto your skate to tighten it and I remember going down ‘Suicide Hill’ and breaking my front tooth and it was a beautiful tooth and I was so afraid my mom was gonna kill me because she was so proud of my teeth.”

She was also inspired by some experiences with her father. “My dad holding the back of a bicycle with the training wheel raised up,” she remembered. “‘You’re holding, Dad, right? You’re holding?’ I would hear him say, ‘Yeah!’ as he got quieter and quieter.”

Related

Why The Rolling Stones’ ‘Let’s Spend the Night Together’ Was Widely Banned

‘Brand New Key’ was not her only famous song

Stereogum reports “Brand New Key” became a big hit for Melanie. It topped the Billboard Hot 100 for three weeks. The tune became the most famous song of Melanie’s career. Of course, she released some other notable songs as well.

Some of her most famous original tunes are “What Have They Done to My Song, Ma” and “Lay Down (Candles in the Rain).” Melanie’s performance at Woodstock inspired her to write the latter. She also performed a throaty cover of The Rolling Stones’ “Ruby Tuesday.” The Official Charts Company reports that cover reached No. 6 in the United Kingdom. Her version of “Ruby Tuesday” sounds a lot more desperate than the original, and significantly changes Mick Jagger and Keith Richards’ melody.

“Brand New Key” managed to strike a chord with the American public even if it was too risque for some radio stations.

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