WASHINGTON — Nominated for 15 Grammys with two wins — not to mention an Oscar — Melissa Etheridge is one of the most accomplished musicians of the past 25 years.
Now, you can see her live at Bethesda’s Strathmore at 8 p.m. Wednesday as part of her “This is M.E. Solo” tour. She’ll play songs from her latest album, “This is M.E.,” as well as her famous tracks.
“The solo show is more intimate in that it’s just me on stage,” Etheridge tells WTOP. “It is not weaker in any way; it’s actually just as rocking. I create a lot of drum loops on stage, then I play the guitars to them and I have just a wide variety of instruments I’m playing, bringing these songs to you.”
Unlike some artists, Etheridge doesn’t mind playing the hits.
“I’m a big believer in giving the people what they want,” Etheridge tells WTOP. “If I am fortunate enough to have written and recorded a hit song, I will play it every day of my life! I am so grateful for that. Whenever I start a song and people know it and they get excited about it, that’s the greatest feeling a musician can really experience. I revel in that. I love it.”
That means you can expect to hear her string of hits:
‘Ain’t It Heavy’ (1993)
After three Grammy nominations for the singles “Bring Me Some Water,” “Brave and Crazy” and “The Angels” from her first two Platinum albums, Etheridge finally won her first Grammy for Female Rock Vocal Performance with “Ain’t it Heavy,” hailing from her third Platinum album “Never Enough.” The song also got significant airplay, peaking at No. 10 on the U.S. Mainstream Rock chart.
“I never felt ‘Ain’t That Heavy’ was a big hit, but it was my first Grammy. I think it was the accumulation of three albums and people finally starting to pay attention,” Etheridge says. “‘Ain’t it Heavy’ is just an American rock song. Whenever I do that song, it’s just a simple, hey, that rock ‘n roll feeling, I’m ready to bust out, I’m looking for satisfaction, and isn’t the night just a heavy place to be.”
“I’m the Only One” (1993)
Her fourth album, “Yes I Am,” was her most successful, going six-times Platinum and unleashing several hits, including the Grammy-nominated “I’m the Only One,” which topped the Adult Contemporary chart, hit No. 8 on the Billboard Hot 100 and No. 9 on the Adult Top 40.
“I wanted to get back to the sound of ‘Bring Me Some Water’ (which) came from rock ‘n roll blues roots, you know, John Lee Hooker. So I started ‘I’m the Only One’ from that sort of root. It’s just an old blues lick,” she says. “The subject matter was achingly, unfortunately close to home, and you write from those experiences of, not abandonment, but ‘you done me wrong.'”
“Come to My Window” (1994)
The same album also brought arguably her most famous tune, “Come to My Window,” which won Etheridge her second Grammy for Female Rock Vocal Performance. The song hit No. 4 on the Adult Contemporary chart, No. 25 on the Billboard Hot 100 and No. 27 on the Adult Top 40.
“‘Come to My Window’ was written in like ’93 when I was on the road in Europe,” Etheridge says. “The relationship I was in was one of those of just calling on the phone, you’re so far away from the person and you’re not getting along, there’s no communication, and you just call them because you want that so badly. You want that connection but you’ve got nothing to say, so you just dial. … It’s an achingly intense song that I truthfully almost didn’t put on the album. I’m so glad I did.”
“I Want to Come Over” (1996)
Her fifth album, “My Little Secret,” went two-times Platinum and landed another radio hit with “I Want to Come Over,” reaching No. 17 on the Adult Contemporary chart, No. 22 on the U.S. Mainstream Rock chart and No. 22 on the Billboard Hot 100.
“That’s one of my favorite songs,” she says laughing. “That song was written about a relationship where it was just a naughty time. I was falling in love with someone else’s love. It was just that crazy, ridiculous situation that you get yourself in, and it’s just that moment, I don’t care, ‘to hell with the consequences,’ I want to do this. … I want to come over and see you again.”
“Angels Would Fall” (2000)
Her sixth album, “Breakdown,” went Gold and spawned the Grammy-nominated hit “Angels Would Fall,” which reached No. 51 on the Billboard Hot 100 and No. 9 on the Adult Top 40.
“That’s after some big hits and that’s kind of a sad song to me,” she says with a sigh. “It’s kind of a sad song to me. It’s a love song about an unrequited love. It’s a song written for someone who doesn’t know that it’s written for them. Never have. It’s not necessary. … It was more the aching wanting and the dissatisfaction of the relationship I was in, than really the person it was about.”
“I Need to Wake Up” (2007)
Her most recent Grammy nomination came in 2007 for an activist song that won her an Academy Award, “I Need to Wake Up,” from the climate change documentary “An Inconvenient Truth.”
“That comes from a whole ‘nother place. That was just a song about waking up — at the turn of the century — our society. Maybe it’s just getting older, just the understanding of I need to wake up and understand how I am connected not only with my fellow man but with the rest of the earth.”
Since then, Etheridge has become a sort of pop culture pundit, weighing in on TV specials like the American Film Institute’s “100 Years” series and performing Bruce Springsteen’s “Streets of Philadelphia” at Tom Hanks’ AFI Life Achievement Award ceremony.
“Being able to do a Bruce Springsteen song for Tom Hanks is like a double whammy,” she says. “I love when I can do things that are outside of just the music. I’m a child of the ’60s, ’70s and an adult in the ’80s and on, and I have my opinions and certainly try to be well-rounded in the entertainment industry, so whenever the movie industry calls on me, I love to show up and do whatever I can.”
http://www.dailymotion.com/video/x2vqqg_melissa-etheridge-streets-of-philad_music
Outside of Hollywood, she has also been tapped for several high-profile performances in Washington D.C. In 2009, she performed “Born to Road” at Springsteen’s Kennedy Center Honors.
Last year, the White House invited her to play a soul concert with Aretha Franklin and Patti LaBelle.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=fU33WH_uLZA
Now, she returns to D.C. once more to play live at Strathmore. Tickets range from $38-$88.
“It’s going to be an incredible evening of music,” Etheridge says. “I promise that you will leave feeling better than you came.”
Click here for more information. Listen to the full interview below:
