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Melissa Ferrick is a singer-songwriter. Born in 1970, raised in Ipswich, Massachusetts and educated at the Berklee College of Music and the New England Conservatory of Music, she began her career singing and playing in coffeehouses in the Boston area. 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; her emergence onto the national scene was around 1993, when she released her first studio album Massive Blur under a contract with Atlantic Records.

Ferrick's relationship with Atlantic was rocky, and she was dropped after two albums; a few years later, in 1996, she -- in her words -- "bottomed out", drinking and "taking a bunch of pills." She soon returned to music, however, joining up with the indie label What Are Records?, which gave her a much greater degree of creative freedom. In 2000, Ferrick founded her own record label, Right On Records, in a move reminiscent of fellow "folk rocker" Ani DiFranco's choice to release under Righteous Babe Records; a few of Ferrick's more recent songs refer to the sometimes constraining nature of being signed with a major label. Since her departure from Atlantic, the rise in her popularity has been driven by her fan-base, by reviews in the independent and alternative press, and by word-of-mouth.

Ferrick is queer, has been out to fans since 1995, and the lyrics to many of her songs celebrate lesbian themes. In part because of this her work has been well-received in the queer community. Her album Everything I Need was named 1999 Album of the Year by the Gay and Lesbian American Music Association, and she has received glowing reviews in the queer publication The Advocate. In interviews and articles she speaks openly not only about her sexuality, but also about her love life, and her personal life, in general.

Ferrick's lyrics are characterized by both by confessional and occasionally political content; she mostly accompanies herself on the guitar, which she often plays with an open virtuosity: rapid fingerpicking and complicated riffs. She has also experimented with a range of accompaniments, including, in particular, brass instruments.

External links

Official Website

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