Melissa Etheridge stays true to her roots
Melissa Etheridge remembers what it was like when it was a huge deal for entertainers to reveal their sexual identity.
When Etheridge disclosed that she was a lesbian at the Triangle Ball, a gay celebration of President Bill Clinton’s first inauguration in January of 1993, it made news.
“I was just compelled to do it,” Etheridge says.
When Etheridge’s 1993 album, “Yes I Am,” dropped, there was speculation that the Kansas native’s inspiration for the title was about her coming out.
“People thought it was my big statement album,” Etheridge says while calling from Los Angeles. “But I wasn’t making a statement with that album title. It was a love song that became the title track. It was interpreted in a certain way. The cool thing is that songs are interpreted in so many different ways. Songs mean different things to different people. That’s the way it was for me growing up when I listened to my favorite recording artists.”
After 1993’s “Come to My Window” hit the charts, helping propel “Yes I Am” to multi-platinum status, some gay fans had hoped that Etheridge would write love songs from that vantage point.
“But I didn’t believe in writing that way,” Etheridge says. “I write for everybody. Music is universal. It doesn’t matter if you’re black, white, Latino, Asian, gay, straight or whatever. What I’ve always done has been inclusive.”
That approach made Etheridge, with her deep, confessional guitar-driven pop-rock songs, a star during the Clinton era.
“Yes I Am” spent 138 weeks on the Billboard Top 200 charts, The album went six times platinum. Etheridge, who will perform May 6 at the Carolina Theatre in Durham, has sold more than 25 million albums.
She has won a pair of Grammys, had a number of hits, such as “I’m the Only One” and “I Want to Come Over,” and has sung with her hero Bruce Springsteen.
“It’s been an incredible career,” Etheridge says. “I’ve accomplished so much. I never dreamed of having this kind of success. All I ever hoped to do was make a living doing what I love to do and that became a reality. The best thing is that I get to keep making music.”
Her latest album, “The Medicine Show,” was released April 12 and is a throwback of a project. Etheridge’s 15th album is comprised of anthemic arena rock. It’s a welcome return for Etheridge, after a solid soul album, 2016’s “Memphis Rock and Soul.”
Etheridge remains a grounded entertainer, even with her considerable success. She believes part of that is due to her Kansas roots and her upbringing.
“I grew up a regular person with great parents,” Etheridge says. “I remember what it was like before everything broke for me. I have such fond memories of being this unknown person playing clubs. It was all about the music then and it’s all about the music now. That’s something that fortunately hasn’t changed.”
Details
Who: Melissa Etheridge
When: 8 p.m. May 2
Where: Carolina Theatre, 309 W. Morgan St., Durham
Tickets: $63 and $98.50
Info: 919-560-3030 or carolinatheatre.org
This story was originally published April 26, 2019 at 3:22 PM.