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Melissa Lou Etheridge (born May 29, 1961 in Leavenworth, Kansas) is an American rock musician.

Biography

Career

Etheridge has released nine albums since signing her first major recording contract in 1987. Three of them have gone multi-platinum: Melissa Etheridge (1988), Yes I Am (1993) and Your Little Secret (1995). Two others went platinum, and two more gold.

She has won the Grammy award for Best Female Rock Vocal Performance twice in her career, for the song "Ain't It Heavy" in 1992 and "Come to My Window," in 1994.

She is a Bruce Springsteen fan, and she has covered his songs "Thunder Road" and "Born to Run" during live shows.

In October 2004, she was diagnosed with breast cancer. At the 2005 Grammy Awards, she made a return to the stage and, although bald from chemotherapy, performed in tribute to Janis Joplin with Piece of My Heart. Etheridge was praised for her performance, which was considered one of the highlights of the show.

Etheridge has admitted to using medicinal marijuana while she was receiving chemotherapy. NBC Dateline interview, aired 10/16/05. Transcript available at http://msnbc.msn.com/id/9673481/page/2/. She said that the drug improved her mood and increased her appetite. Chemotherapy patients often have difficulty eating because of severe nausea.

On September 10, 2005, Etheridge participated in ReAct Now: Music & Relief, a telethon in support for the victims of Hurricane Katrina. ReAct Now: Music & Relief, part of an ongoing effort by MTV, VH1, CMT, will seek to raise funds for the American Red Cross, the Salvation Army, America's Second Harvest. Etheridge introduced a new song specially written for the occasion called Four Days. The a cappella song included themes and images that were on the news during the aftermath of the hurricane.

On November 15, 2005, she appeared on the Tonight Show to perform her song "I Run For Life," which references her own fight with breast cancer and her determination to overcome it, as well as encourages other breast cancer survivors and their families. After her performance, Jay Leno told her, "Thanks for being a fighter, kiddo."

Personal life

Etheridge is also famous as a gay rights activist, having publicly come out as a lesbian during President Bill Clinton's first inauguration in January 1993. She had a long-term partnership with Julie Cypher, with whom she had two children, Bailey Jean, born February 1997, and Beckett, born November 1998, via a sperm donor, David Crosby. Cypher is known as the ex-wife of actor Lou Diamond Phillips, best known for his portrayal of Ritchie Valens in the movie La Bamba. Cypher made headlines for her love affair with Etheridge, yet in 2000, Cypher began to reconsider her sexuality, and on September 19, 2000, they announced they were separating. In 2001, Etheridge documented this and other experiences in her memoir The Truth Is... My Life in Love and Music. In it, she recounts that she was molested by her sister, Jennifer, over five years as a child, and mentions an alleged affair Cypher had with k.d. lang. After splitting from Cypher, she went on to exchange vows in a 2003 commitment ceremony with actress Tammy Lynn Michaels. In April 2006, the couple announced that Michaels was pregnant with twins via an anonymous sperm donor. Michaels gave birth to a son Miller Steven and daughter Johnnie Rose on October 17, 2006.

In October 2005, in honor of Breast Cancer Awareness Month, Etheridge appeared on Dateline NBC with Michaels to discuss her struggle with cancer. By the time of the interview, Etheridge's hair had grown back after being lost to chemotherapy. She said that her partner had been very supportive during her illness.

Discography

Albums

• Melissa Etheridge (1988)
• Brave and Crazy (1989)
• Never Enough (1992)
• Yes I Am (1993)
• Your Little Secret (1995)
• Breakdown (1999)
• Skin (2001)
• Lucky (2004)
• Greatest Hits: The Road Less Traveled (2005)

Virtual Albums

• iTunes Originals – Melissa Etheridge

RIAA Certifications and Album Sales

• Melissa Etheridge, 2x Platinum, 2,000,000
• Brave and Crazy, Platinum, 1,000,000
• Never Enough, Platinum, 1,000,000
• Yes I Am, 6x Platinum, 6,000,000
• Your Little Secret, 2x Platinum, 2,000,000
• Breakdown, Gold, 500,000
• Skin, less than 500,000
• Lucky, less than 500,000
• Greatest Hits, Gold, 500,000
• Non US sales: about 13,000,000
• Total US: about 14,000,000
• Total Worldwide: about 27,000,000

Melissa Etheridge is roughly the 125th top selling artist of all time

Singles

NOTES:

• "I Run For Life" also hit #80 on the Pop 100.
• "Like The Way I Do" was the B-side of "If I Wanted To" in 1995, but since some radio stations were playing "Like The Way I Do" as a current hit in addition to or instead of "If I Wanted To," Billboard listed the single as a double A-side. #42 was the highest position the single was rated on the Hot 100 with "Like The Way I Do" listed first.

REFERENCES

See also

• Best selling music artists — World's top-selling music artists chart.

External links

Websites

• Official Web site - Melissa Etheridge Information Network
• Melissa Etheridge Lyrics
• Melissa Etheridge Fan Site

References

• CMT.com: Melissa Etheridge: Biography

Media interviews

• 60 Minutes II Interview (June 30, 2000) with Charlie Rose
• CNN interview (May 24, 2003)
• CBS Early Show interview (October 26, 2005) (includes video)

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