Melissa McClelland (born 18 May 1979) is an American-born Canadian singer-songwriter who lived in

Hamilton, Ontario Hamilton is a port city in the Canadian Provinces and territories of Canada, province of Ontario. Hamilton has a 2021 Canadian census, population of 569,353 (2021), and its Census Metropolitan Area, census metropolitan area, which encompasses ...

, in her youth and now bases her career from

Toronto Toronto ( , locally pronounced or ) is the List of the largest municipalities in Canada by population, most populous city in Canada. It is the capital city of the Provinces and territories of Canada, Canadian province of Ontario. With a p ...

, Ontario. McClelland's music is influenced by

blues Blues is a music genre and musical form that originated among African Americans in the Deep South of the United States around the 1860s. Blues has incorporated spiritual (music), spirituals, work songs, field hollers, Ring shout, shouts, cha ...

and

Americana Americana may refer to: *Americana music, a genre or style of American music * Americana (culture), artifacts of the culture of the United States Film, radio and television * ''Americana'' (1981 film), an American drama film * ''Americana'' (20 ...

. A writer on

CMJ CMJ Holdings Corp. is a music events, online media company and a distributor of up and coming music CDs, originally founded in 1978, which ran a website, hosted an annual festival in New York City, and published two magazines, ''CMJ New Music ...

's staff blog wrote that McClelland has "a persona reminiscent of a female

Tom Waits Thomas Alan Waits (born December 7, 1949) is an American musician, composer, songwriter, and actor. His lyrics often focus on society's underworld and are delivered in his trademark deep, gravelly voice. He began in the American folk music, fo ...

Biography

Melissa McClelland was born in

Chicago Chicago is the List of municipalities in Illinois, most populous city in the U.S. state of Illinois and in the Midwestern United States. With a population of 2,746,388, as of the 2020 United States census, 2020 census, it is the List of Unite ...

, Illinois. She spent her youth in

Burlington, Ontario Burlington, officially the City of Burlington, is a city and List of municipalities in Ontario#Lower-tier municipalities, lower-tier municipality in Regional Municipality of Halton, Halton Region at the west end of Lake Ontario in Ontario, Can ...

before developing her career in

, Ontario. McClelland married

Luke Doucet Luke Doucet (born June 9, 1973) is a Canadian singer-songwriter and guitarist. He has written and performed as a solo artist and as a member of the indie rock band Veal and the folk rock band Whitehorse. In 2006 and 2011, Doucet was nominated fo ...

on 24 June 2006; the two have played together on numerous stages, including at the 2006

Calgary Folk Music Festival The Calgary Folk Music Festival (also known as "Calgary Folk Fest", or CFMF) is a Canadian music festival held on the fourth weekend of July each year at Prince's Island Park (Calgary), Prince's Island Park, Calgary, Alberta. The four-day event fe ...

. He has produced three of her records, ''Stranded in Suburbia'', ''Thumbelina's One Night Stand'' and ''Victoria Day.'' In 2006 McClelland opened for

Matthew Good Matthew Frederick Robert Good (born June 29, 1971) is a Canadian musician. He was the lead singer and songwriter for the Matthew Good Band, one of the most successful alternative rock bands in Canada during the 1990s and early 2000s. Since the ...

's solo acoustic tour across Canada. During the tour the two singers closed Matthew Good's set with a duet performance of the

Nine Inch Nails Nine Inch Nails, commonly abbreviated as NIN (stylized as NIИ), is an American industrial rock band formed in Cleveland, Ohio in 1988. Its members are the singer-songwriter, multi-instrumentalist and producer Trent Reznor and his frequent col ...

song "

Hurt Hurt may refer to: * Suffering * Pain * Injury Film and television * ''Hurt'' (2003 film), a Canadian drama film * ''Hurt'' (2009 film), an American horror film * ''Hurt'' (2015 film), a Canadian documentary film * ''Hurt'' (2018 film), an ...

". She also works with

Sarah McLachlan Sarah Ann McLachlan (born January 28, 1968) is a Canadian singer-songwriter. As of 2015, she had sold over 40 million albums worldwide. McLachlan's best-selling album to date is ''Surfacing (album), Surfacing'' (1997), for which she won two G ...

, providing backing vocals at her live shows. McLachlan makes a guest appearance on the song "Go Down Matthew" from McClelland's album ''Thumbelina's One Night Stand''. Melissa McClelland at NXNE 2007

"Skyway Bridge" (off of ''Thumbelina's One Night Stand'') features

Greg Keelor James Gregory Keelor, (born Francis McIntyre; August 29, 1954) is a Canadian singer-songwriter and musician. He is best known as a member of the band Blue Rodeo, where he shares song writing and vocal duties with Jim Cuddy. Keelor has also rele ...

from

Blue Rodeo Blue Rodeo is a Canadian rock band formed in 1984 in Toronto, Ontario. They have released 16 full-length studio albums, four live recordings, one greatest hits album, and two video/DVDs, along with multiple solo albums, side projects, and colla ...

. Additionally, McClelland is the only guest artist on Blue Rodeo's 2008 live album, '' Blue Road''. Melissa_McClelland_at_Wolf_Trap_2019

In 2007 McClelland opened a tour with

Jesse Cook Jesse Arnaud Cook (born November 28, 1964) is a Canadian guitarist. He is a Juno Award winner, ''Acoustic Guitar'' Player's Choice Award silver winner in the Flamenco Category, and a three-time winner of the Canadian Smooth Jazz award for Guita ...

and sang on his recording of "

It Ain't Me Babe "It Ain't Me Babe" is a song by Bob Dylan that originally appeared on his fourth album '' Another Side of Bob Dylan'', which was released in 1964 by Columbia Records. According to music critic Oliver Trager, this song, along with others on the al ...

" (a

Bob Dylan Bob Dylan (legally Robert Dylan; born Robert Allen Zimmerman, May 24, 1941) is an American singer-songwriter. Described as one of the greatest songwriters of all time, Dylan has been a major figure in popular culture over his nearly 70-year ...

cover) which was released on his 2007 album '' Frontiers''. "It Ain't Me Babe" was released as a single from that album, which spent three weeks in the top position on ''Billboard''s world music charts. Also in 2007, McClelland's "Passenger 24" won in the 6th Annual Independent Music Awards for Best Americana Song. McClelland's song "Rooftop" was featured on the 2005 soundtrack CD of the television series '' Degrassi: The Next Generation''. The song was played on the ending montage of the 2004 episode "Time Stands Still Pt. 2", in which a main character,

Jimmy Brooks '' Degrassi: The Next Generation'' is a Canadian teen drama television series created by Linda Schuyler and Yan Moore. ''Degrassi: The Next Generation'' is the fourth entry of the ''Degrassi'' television franchise created by Schuyler and Kit Ho ...

(

Aubrey Graham Aubrey Drake Graham (born October 24, 1986) is a Canadian rapper, singer, and actor. Regarded as one of the greatest rappers of all time, he is credited with popularizing R&B sensibilities in hip-hop music. Drake first gained recognition ...

) was shot by a bullied student,

Rick Murray '' Degrassi: The Next Generation'' is a Canadian teen drama television series created by Linda Schuyler and Yan Moore. ''Degrassi: The Next Generation'' is the fourth entry of the ''Degrassi'' television franchise created by Schuyler and Kit Ho ...

(

Ephraim Ellis Ephraim Todd Ellis (born February 23, 1985) is a Canadian actor. He is best known for playing Rick Murray on '' Degrassi: The Next Generation'' and Danny Ellis on '' Falcon Beach.'' Early life Ephraim Ellis was born in Toronto, Ontario on Feb ...

). She also performed the theme song for the children's reality show '' This Is Daniel Cook''. In 2008, she contributed to the soundtrack of the film '' One Week''.

Discography

As a solo artist * 2001: ''

Melissa McClelland Melissa McClelland (born 18 May 1979) is an American-born Canadian singer-songwriter who lived in Hamilton, Ontario, in her youth and now bases her career from Toronto, Ontario. McClelland's music is influenced by blues and Americana (music), A ...

'' (Daddy Warbucks Records/independent) * 20 April 2004: ''

Stranded in Suburbia ''Stranded in Suburbia'' is Melissa McClelland's second album. The album was released in 2004 in Canada by the Orange Record Label. Track listing #"Good as Gold" (4:55) #"White Lies (Stranded in Suburbia)" (2:49) #"Pretty Blue" (4:47) #"Jaded" ...

'' (

Orange Orange most often refers to: *Orange (fruit), the fruit of the tree species '' Citrus'' × ''sinensis'' ** Orange blossom, its fragrant flower ** Orange juice *Orange (colour), the color of an orange fruit, occurs between red and yellow in the vi ...

Universal Universal is the adjective for universe. Universal may also refer to: Companies * NBCUniversal, a media and entertainment company that is a subsidiary of Comcast ** Universal Animation Studios, an American Animation studio, and a subsidiary of N ...

) * 23 May 2006: ''

Thumbelina's One Night Stand ''Thumbelina's One Night Stand'' is Melissa McClelland's third album. The album was released in 2006 in Canada by the Orange Record Label. Performers *Melissa McClelland: vocals, backup vocals, guitars *Luke Doucet: guitars, vibes, wurlitizers, ...

'' (Orange/Universal) * 14 April 2009: ''

Victoria Day Victoria Day () is a federal Canadian public holiday observed on the last Monday preceding May 25 to honour Queen Victoria, who is known as the "Mother of Confederation". The holiday has existed in Canada since at least 1845, originally on Vic ...

'' (Six Shooter Records) As a member of

Whitehorse Whitehorse () is the capital of Yukon, and the largest city in Northern Canada. It was incorporated in 1950 and is located at kilometre 1426 (Historic Mile 918) on the Alaska Highway in southern Yukon. Whitehorse's downtown and Riverdale areas ...

* 30 August 2011: ''

'' (Six Shooter Records) * 28 August 2012: ''

The Fate of the World Depends on This Kiss ''The Fate of the World Depends on This Kiss'' is the second album from Whitehorse, a band consisting of Melissa McClelland and Luke Doucet. The album was released on August 28, 2012 in Canada by Six Shooter Records.Leave No Bridge Unburned '' Leave No Bridge Unburned ''is the third studio album by Canadian rock band Whitehorse. Funded by Kickstarter, the album was released via Six Shooter Records on February 17, 2015. The album was a long-listed nominee for the 2015 Polaris Music ...

'' (Six Shooter Records) * 7 July 2017: ''

Panther in the Dollhouse '' Panther in the Dollhouse ''is the fourth studio album by Canadian rock band Whitehorse. The album was released via Six Shooter Records on July 7, 2017. Writing and production Whitehorse is a Canadian band consisting of husband-and-wife music ...

'' (Six Shooter Records) * 2 November 2018: '' A Whitehorse Winter Classic'' (Six Shooter Records) * 19 March 2021: ''Modern Love'' (Six Shooter Records) * 8 September 2021: '' Strike Me Down'' (Six Shooter Records) * 13 January 2023: '' I'm Not Crying, You're Crying'' (Six Shooter Records)

'' Stranded in Suburbia ''

In 2004 McClelland released ''

'' on

Orange Record Label Orange Record Label was a Canadian independent record label, located in Toronto, Ontario, Canada. Orange recordings were distributed in Canada by Universal Music Canada, which was also a minority stakeholder in the label. Orange is also used t ...

. In the same year, her side-band Ladybird Sideshow released a live album entitled '' Ladybird Sideshow Live at the Orange Lounge''.

'' Thumbelina's One Night Stand ''

McClelland's follow-up album, ''

'' was released in 2006. Reviews drew attention to the eclectic nature of the album. ''Exclaim! Magazine'' described the album as "impossible to pin down stylistically, as it segues from roots-y rock ("Passenger 24") to country ("Taxi Ride") to chamber pop ("Solitary Life") to folk (a cover of Randy Newman's "Dayton Ohio") and blues ("Go Down Matthew")."

'' Victoria Day ''

In late 2008 Melissa McClelland began work on ''Victoria Day'', her fourth album, and first for Six Shooter Records. ''Victoria Day'' was scheduled for release on 14 April 2009. The album was recorded at Canterbury Music by Jeremy Darby, and was produced by Luke Doucet. ''Victoria Day'' has a vintage 1950s sound, combining dixieland with "high lonesome twang". "Seasoned Lovers", from ''Victoria Day'', features vocals from Canadian singer-songwriter

Ron Sexsmith Ronald Eldon Sexsmith (born January 8, 1964) is a Canadian singer-songwriter from St. Catharines, Ontario. He was the songwriter of the year at the 2005 Juno Awards. He began releasing recordings of his own material in 1985 at age 21, and has ...

'' Whitehorse ''

In 2011 McClelland and her husband

released a self-titled album under the moniker

on Six Shooter Records. It included reworked versions of McClelland's hit "Passenger 24" and Doucet's hit "Broken" and was recorded at the Catherine North studio in Hamilton, Ontario,

's house in Vancouver, British Columbia and a studio located at McLelland's and Doucet's house.

Collaborations

*2004: '' Outlaws (Live & Unreleased)'' by

(Providing vocals on "Gun St. Girl") *2004: '' Ladybird Sideshow Live at the Orange Lounge'' by Ladybird Sideshow *2006: ''Do You Hear What I Hear?'' (Providing vocals on "O Holy Night") *2007: '' This is Daniel Cook – Here We Are!'' (Providing vocals on "This Is Daniel Cook Theme Song") *2007: '' Frontiers'' by

(Providing vocals on "It Ain't Me Babe") *2007: '' Borrowed Tunes II: A Tribute to Neil Young'' (Providing vocals on "Cinnamon Girl") *2008: '' Blood's Too Rich'' by

and the White Falcon *2008: '' Blue Road (Live at Massey Hall)'' by

(Providing vocals on "Know Where You Go" and "Tell Me Your Dream") *2008: '' One Week'' Soundtrack (Providing vocals on " Un Canadien errant") *2010: '' First of the Last to Know'' by Peter Katz (Providing vocals on "Let Me Know") *2010: '' Steel City Trawler'' by

and the White Falcon

DVDs

*2007: '' Pedal to Steel'' *2007: ''

: One Night at the Metropolis'' (Special Guest Appearance) *2008: '' Blue Road (Live at Massey Hall Bootleg)'' by

(Providing vocals on "Know Where You Go" and "Tell Me Your Dream")

Covers

*2001: Rob Lamothe covered "Whisper" on '' Steering with My Knee''

Notes

External links

{{DEFAULTSORT:McClelland, Melissa 1979 births Living people American expatriate musicians in Canada Singers from Toronto Canadian women singer-songwriters Canadian women guitarists Canadian pop guitarists Independent Music Awards winners Six Shooter Records artists Musicians from Hamilton, Ontario Singers from Ontario Canadian women pop singers Guitarists from Chicago 21st-century Canadian women singers 21st-century American guitarists 21st-century American women guitarists 21st-century Canadian singer-songwriters