Melissa Etheridge

Born in 1961 in Leavenworth, Kansas, singer-songwriter and rock guitarist Melissa Etheridge emerged on the American scene in the late 1980s with a rock sound tinged with folk and blues, driven by a husky voice and introspective songwriting. Based in Los Angeles, Etheridge signed with Island Records and released a self-titled debut in 1988, followed by Brave and Crazy in 1989 and Never Enough in 1992, which secured her place in the adult contemporary rock landscape. The albums Yes I Am in 1993 and Your Little Secret in 1995 reinforced this trajectory, preceding more personal records such as Breakdown (1999), Skin (2001), and Lucky (2004), marked by intimate and social themes. Etheridge subsequently alternated studio projects and international tours with The Awakening (2007), Fearless Love (2010), 4th Street Feeling (2012), This Is M.E. (2014), Memphis Rock and Soul (2016), The Medicine Show (2019), and One Way Out (2021). Publicly engaged on LGBT and health issues, she has also composed for film, including "I Need to Wake Up" for the documentary An Inconvenient Truth, and developed a more theatrical stage dimension with her autobiographical show My Window, presented on Broadway in 2023.