Etheridge, Melissa

Melissa Etheridge
Etheridge from her 2004 album Lucky.
Origin	Leavenworth, Kansas
Years active	1988–present
Genres	Rock
Labels	Island Records

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.

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. She is due in fall 2006.

Singles

Year Title Chart positions Album Hot 100 Mod. Rock Main. Rock Adult Contemp. Adult Top 40 Top 40 Main. UK 1988 "Bring Me Some Water" - - #10 - - - - Melissa Etheridge 1988 "Like the Way I Do" #42 in 1995* - #28 - - - - Melissa Etheridge 1989 "Chrome-Plated Heart" - - #22 - - - - Melissa Etheridge 1989 "Similar Features" #94 - #6 - - - - Melissa Etheridge 1989 "Let Me Go" - - #13 - - - - Brave and Crazy 1989 "No Souvenirs" #95 #18 #9 - - - - Brave and Crazy 1989 "The Angels" - - #34 - - - - Brave and Crazy 1992 "Ain't it Heavy" - - #10 - - - - Never Enough 1992 "Dance Without Sleeping" - - - #24 - - - Never Enough 1993 "I'm the Only One" #8 - #10 #1 #28 #4 - Yes I Am 1994 "Come to My Window" #25 - #22 #4 #27 #13 - Yes I Am 1994 "All-American Girl" - - #24 - - - - Yes I Am 1995 "If I Wanted To" #18 - - #17 - #10 - Yes I Am 1995 "Your Little Secret" #47 (Airplay) #32 #4 - #40 #29 - Your Little Secret 1996 "I Want to Come Over" #22 - #22 #17 #9 #15 - Your Little Secret 1996 "Nowhere to Go" #40 - - #24 #9 #25 - Your Little Secret 1999 "Angels Would Fall" #51 - - - #9 #32 - Breakdown 2000 "Enough of Me" - - - - #19 - - Breakdown 2001 "I Want to Be in Love" - - - - #20 - - Skin 2004 "Breathe" - - - #22 #9 - - Lucky 2004 "This Moment" - - - - #34 - - Lucky 2005 "Cry Baby / Piece of My Heart" (with Joss Stone) #32 - - - - - - digital download from iTunes 2005 "Refugee" - - - - - - - Greatest Hits 2005 "I Run for Life*" - - - #10 - - - Greatest Hits 2006 "I Need to Wake Up" - - - - - - - digital download from iTunes

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