Mel Street
| Mel Street | |
|---|---|
|
Street in 1975 | |
| Background information | |
| Birth name | King Malachi Street |
| Born | October 21, 1935 |
| Origin | Grundy, Virginia |
| Died | October 21, 1978 (aged 43) |
| Genres | Country |
| Occupation(s) | Singer-songwriter |
| Instruments | Guitar |
| Years active | 1972–1978 |
| Labels | Metromedia, GRT, Polydor, Mercury |
King Malachi Street (October 21, 1935 – October 21, 1978), commonly known as Mel Street, was an American country music singer.
Biography
Street was born in Rowe, Virginia to a coal mining family.[1] Publications cite his year of birth as 1933, although his family maintains that he was born in 1935.[2] He began performing on western Virginia and West Virginia radio shows at the age of sixteen. Street subsequently worked as a radio tower electrician in Ohio and as a nightclub performer in the Niagara Falls area. He moved back to West Virginia in 1963 to open up an auto body shop.[3]
From 1968 to 1972, Street hosted his own show on a Bluefield, West Virginia television station.[4] He recorded his first single, "Borrowed Angel," in 1970 for a small regional record label. A larger label, Royal American Records, picked it up in 1972, and it became a top-10 Billboard hit. He recorded the biggest hit of his career, "Lovin' on Back Streets", in 1972.
Mel’s last television appearance was on national television in 1977. He performed his 1976 hit “I Met A Friend Of Yours Today” on one of Nashville’s favorite TV shows “That Good Ole Nashville Music”.
Street continued to flourish throughout the mid-1970s, recording several hits such as "You Make Me Feel More Like a Man," "Forbidden Angel," "I Met a Friend of Yours Today," "If I Had a Cheatin' Heart," and "Smokey Mountain Memories". He signed with Mercury Records in 1978. But, suffering from clinical depression and alcoholism, he committed suicide by a self-inflicted gunshot wound on October 21, 1978, his 43rd birthday. He had a record debut on the country charts on October 21 as well, called "Just Hangin' On",[5] and later charted four posthumous songs. Street's idol George Jones sang at his funeral.
Discography
Albums
| Year | Album | US Country | Label |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1972 | Borrowed Angel | 14 | Metromedia Country |
| 1973 | The Town Where You Live / Walk Softly On the Bridges |
37 | |
| 1974 | Two Way Street | 37 | GRT |
| 1975 | Smokey Mountain Memories | 16 | |
| 1976 | Mel Street's Greatest Hits | 26 | |
| Country Colors | — | ||
| 1977 | Mel Street | 45 | Polydor |
| 1978 | Country Soul | 47 | |
| Mel Street | — | Mercury | |
| 1980 | Many Moods of Mel | 61 | Sunbird |
Singles
| Year | Single | Chart Positions | Album | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| US Country | CAN Country | |||
| 1972 | "Borrowed Angel" | 7 | 9 | Borrowed Angel |
| "Lovin' On Back Streets" | 5 | 8 | ||
| 1973 | "Walk Softly On the Bridges" | 11 | 6 | The Town Where You Live / Walk Softly On the Bridges |
| "The Town Where You Live" | 38 | 58 | ||
| "Lovin' On Borrowed Time" | 11 | 7 | Two Way Street | |
| 1974 | "You Make Me Feel More Like a Man" | 15 | — | |
| "Forbidden Angel" | 16 | 47 | Smokey Mountain Memories | |
| 1975 | "Smokey Mountain Memories" | 13 | 43 | |
| "Even If I Have to Steal" | 17 | 17 | ||
| "(This Ain't Just Another) Lust Affair" | 23 | — | ||
| 1976 | "The Devil in Your Kisses (And the Angel in Your Eyes)" | 32 | — | Mel Street's Greatest Hits |
| "I Met a Friend of Your's Today" | 10 | — | Country Colors | |
| "Looking Out My Window Through the Pain" | 24 | — | ||
| 1977 | "Rodeo Bum" | 56 | — | |
| "Barbara Don't Let Me Be the Last to Know" | 19 | — | Mel Street (1977) | |
| "Close Enough for Lonesome" | 15 | — | ||
| 1978 | "If I Had a Cheating Heart" | 9 | — | Country Soul |
| "Shady Rest" | 24 | — | ||
| "Just Hangin' On" | 68 | — | Mel Street (1978) | |
| 1979 | "The One Thing My Lady Never Puts Into Words" | 17 | — | Many Moods of Mel |
| 1980 | "Tonight Let's Sleep On It Baby" | 30 | — | |
| "Who'll Turn Out the Lights" | 36 | — | ||
| 1981 | "Slip Away" (w/ Sandy Powell) | 48 | — | |
Footnotes
References
- Huey, Steve. (2003). Edited by Vladimir Bogdanov, Chris Woodstra, & Stephen Erlewine. "Mel Street (King Malachi Street)." All Music Guide to Country, 2nd ed. San Francisco: Backbeat Books, 2003. ISBN 0-87930-760-9
- Schuler, Dennis Sr. and Larry J. Delp. "Mel Street - A Country Legend", Charleston, WV: Mountain State Press, 2002. ISBN 0-941092-47-X