Melissa Manchester

Melissa Manchester是美国著名女歌手、歌曲创作者和演员，1951年2月​​15日出生于纽约市布朗区，她的父亲是纽约大都会歌剧院的低音管演奏家。Manchester15岁时就展露头角，演唱了不少广告歌曲，在进入表演艺术高中后便成为Chappell Music公司的撰稿人，为了提高自己的创作能力，她还到纽约大学由Paul Simon执教的词曲创作研习班进修。1971年，20岁的Manchester受僱在曼哈顿上城的一傢俱乐部裡演唱，被当时已经小有名气的Bette Midler和Barry Manilow发现，受邀成为他们的专属合音歌手，共同登上著名的卡内基音乐厅，开始向世人展现她音乐上的才华，并在半年之后，获得了她的第一张唱片合约。1973年Manchester与著名词曲作者Carole Bayer Sager合作，推出了她的首张专辑《Home to Myself》；1975年发行了第三张专辑《Melissa》，其中的《Midnight Blue》成为她首支打入Billboard榜单前十的单曲，浑厚有力的嗓音，洒出淡淡忧鬱之情，奠定了她大部分职业生涯的流行基调；1978年她和Kenny Loggins 合写的《Whenever I Call You Friend》成为当年的流行金曲；1979年，Manchester凭藉一曲《Don't Cry Out Loud》再度进入榜单前十，并获得第22届格莱美最佳流行女歌手奖的提名；1980年，Manchester凭藉电影《Ice Castles》和《The Promise》的主题曲，成为有史以来第一位同时拥有两首入围奥斯卡金像奖歌曲的歌手，两年后她又凭藉获得Billboard单曲排行榜最高位置的《You Should Hear How She Talks About You》赢得了第25届格莱美最佳流行女歌手奖。贯​​穿80年代和90年代，Manchester除了创作和灌製唱片外，偶尔也参与影视剧的表演，比如与Bette Midler合演电影《For the Boys》，在电视剧集《Blossom》扮演主角的亲生母亲。2004年春，Manchester发行了十年来的首张专辑《When I Look Down That Road》。
 
MOR singer-songwriter Melissa Manchester, whose father was a bassoonist for the New York Metropolitan Opera, began singing commercial jingles at age 15 and went on to become a staff writer for Chappell Music while attending the High School of Performing Arts. After taking a songwriting class at New York University taught by Paul Simon, Manchester took her talents to the Manhattan club scene, where she was discovered by Bette Midler and Barry Manilow; the two hired her as a backup singer in 1971. She recorded her debut album, Home to Myself, in 1973, co-writing many of the songs with Carole Bayer Sager. 1975s Melissa produced her first Top Ten hit, Midnight Blue, and set the tone for most of her career with its direct, slickly produced MOR pop sound. She and Kenny Loggins co-wrote the latters 1978 duet hit with Stevie Nicks, Whenever I Call You Friend, and the following year, Manchester returned to the Top Ten with Dont Cry Out Loud. 1980 saw Manchester become the first singer to have two movie themes nominated for Academy Awards (Ice Castles and The Promise); two years later she achieved her highest Billboard singles chart placing with the number five hit You Should Hear How She Talks About You, which won a Grammy for Best Female Vocal Performance. Through the 80s and 90s, Manchester has alternated occasional recording with scriptwriting and acting, appearing with Bette Midler in For the Boys and on the television series Blossom as the title characters birth mother. In spring 2004, Manchester returned with her first album in 10 years. When I Look Down That Road, which included collaborations with Beth Nielsen Chapman and Keb Mo, marked her first proper release with Koch.