March 21, 2024

Melanie and Maddy: Photos of a Friendship

Melanie and Maddy: Photos of a Friendship

In our podcast episode about singer/songwriter Melanie, photographer Maddy Miller describes some iconic photos that she took of Melanie and shares some of the gifts she received from Melanie during their lifelong friendship.  Here's where you can see what she shared...

This photo of Maddy and Melanie in a field was a favorite that they passed back and forth. It reminded them of the start of their friendship.

 

Melanie suggested to Maddy that they had to stay up all night and take photos at sunrise on the beach for the cover of her 1972 album "Gather Me"  -- which included the #1 hit song "Brand New Key."  This photo was the result.

Maddy's photo of Melanie with a cow, which they took on a road trip, was the perfect expression of the back to nature movement that meant so much to many of us. 

Maddy had a knack for capturing Melanie's beauty.

This is the vest that Melanie sent from her travels to Maddy.  Though it doesn't fit anymore, Maddy can't give it away.  Makes sense to me.

Melanie and her husband Peter Schekeryk (who was also her producer) gave this gold record of "Brand New Key" to Maddy after she helped with promotion for the Gather Me album.

    

Melanie, who decorated rocks as gifts, made this 50th anniversary Woodstock rock for Maddy -- complete with the dove of peace on one side.

 

This birthday card showed one of their ongoing jokes -- Maddy and Melanie as Lucy and Ethel.

Maddy and Melanie tried out a little collaborative guitar playing many years ago.

They were still posing together in more recent years -- a lifetime friendship with many happy memories.

Maddy Miller is working on a book of her Melanie photos. For updates, check Maddy's website.

MORE ABOUT MELANIE

 

 

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Michael Small

Host

Michael Small, the host of I Couldn't Throw It Out, can be seen telling stories on Youtube in the NYC storytelling showcase Tale. His plays have been presented in the New York International Theater Festival and The HOWL Festival. He and BT McNicholl co-wrote the book for the musical The IT Girl, which debuted Off Broadway in 2001 and is now performed regionally. His new musical The History of Light, which updates Gilbert and Sullivan songs with pop and hip-hop, was performed in a public reading at L.A.'s La Mirada Theater.

After 15 years as a reporter for PEOPLE Magazine, Michael became a manager of websites for Wired, Entertainment Weekly, and Rolling Stone, among others. Most recently, he was a product manager at MSNBC.com and NBC News Digital.

Michael's 1992 book Break It Down: The Inside Story of Rap included interviews with more than 60 hip-hop artists. And, yes, he also ghostwrote the biography of the superhunk Fabio. If you need a copy, let him know.

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