Perhaps singer Melody Gardot has already emerged, but I feel that it is safe to say that while her popularity has risen quickly, Melody is still in the early stages of what will be a long, wonderful career.
What is most interesting, and truly inspiring, is the story of how twenty-four year old Melody Gardot came to be a singer and songwriter.
Melody was 19 at the time of the accident. She was in fashion school, and played piano at a handful of nightclubs in the Philadelphia area. She was riding her bicycle when a car took a turn and hit Melody, fracturing her pelvis and skull, among other injuries.
It was music that she held to for inspiration during the several months she spent in the hospital, and through rehabilitation. She stayed positive writing music and singing, and even recording from her hospital bed.
Life since leaving the hospital has not necessarily been easy. Melody is extremely sensitive to light and sound, and is prone to headaches. She is forced to wear dark glasses, and requires the assistance of a cane to walk.
Even with the great pain she deals with on a daily basis, and the fact that loud noise can only enhance that pain, Gardot continues to take her music career to the next level. Following a wonderful debut release Worrisome Heart, her new album My One and Only Thrill has peaked at number two on the jazz charts. With the exception of Over the Rainbow, the album is made up entirely original compositions, and offers a mellow, laid-back feel to compliment her warm, smokey tone.
I’m never one to suggest that anyone buy an album or listen to a musician out of sympathy, or the story behind the musician…so I wont. The music itself is worth the purchase. But to know not only what a person went through, but what she goes through on a daily basis while still managing to produce such wonderful music only heightens my appreciation for what one musician can do.
Watch Melody Gardot sing Worrisome Heart:
Other blog entries from the Emerging Artist Series