Melissa (song)

"Melissa"
Song by The Allman Brothers Band from the album Eat a Peach
Released	February 12, 1972
Recorded	December 1971 at Criteria Studios, Miami, Florida
Genre	Southern rock, blues-rock
Length	3:56
Writer	Gregg Allman and Steve Alaimo
Producer	Tom Dowd

"Melissa" is a song written in 1967 by Gregg Allman and Steve Alaimo^[1][2]. It was first recorded by The 31st of February – an early band comprising the Allman brothers, Gregg and Duane – in September 1968 at TK Studios, Hialeah, United States for the their second album produced by Alaimo, which was never completed^[2]. The result of those sessions were subsequently released in May 1972 on an album entitled Duane & Gregg Allman. In the meantime it had been re-recorded by Gregg and Duane's new band, The Allman Brothers Band and released on the Eat a Peach album in February 1972. The song was again recorded at TK Studios, this time produced by Tom Dowd and engineered by Richard Finch, TK's budding teenage recording studio prodigy and future co-founder of KC and the Sunshine Band.

Inspiration

The song was not written for a woman named Melissa. The song was written before Gregg came up with the name. He said he was standing in line at a grocery store when he overheard a woman yelling to her young daughter who had scampered off, "Oh, Melissa! Melissa, come back, Melissa". He liked the name and decided it was a perfect fit for the song.^[2]

Uses and References

"Melissa" has enjoyed renewed popularity in the 2000s due to its feature in a commercial for Cingular/AT&T Wireless cell phone company and the use of it in a scene in Brokeback Mountain. It was prominently featured in the 2005 film House of D, performed by both the Allman Brothers and Erykah Badu.

Notes

1. ^ Melissa at Allmusic
2. ^ ^{a b c} Melissa by The Allman Brothers Band Songfacts