Chapter 19. Melody/Ruthie
Melody was one of just two acts Robby Chapman kept from the bankrupt company he bought. He did so on the recommendation of his cousin Edie and her husband Allen. Like many others Robby saw Melody as not worth the trouble.
Allen saw her as a gifted musician and fine songwriter. Edie saw her as a potential idol to young ladies and girls. Edie and Allen were musicians of note themselves so when Robby bought the company he followed their advice and kept Melody but his purpose in buying the company was to make his other a star.
Unknown to all but a few Melody had regular bouts of stage fright. She had covered that up by throwing tantrums about some imagined slight and refusing to go on.
It was the major reason she had not been offered a recording contract until two guys found themselves desperate for acts for their pipe dream. When her company was bought she thought her career was over and was shocked to learn that she was one of just two performers her new company kept.
That brought on another attack of self-doubt and she made herself a difficult person to deal with.
Edie had seen through that. In the middle of a tantrum at a recording studio Edie had hugged Melody and kissed her cheek.
She had whispered, "Together we will manage. Together we will overcome it. You are stronger than you think you are. You are more talented than you think you are. Ruthie, I am here for you whenever you need me to be."
Ruthie remembered bursting into tears and falling in love with Edie at the same instant. Surprisingly after the sexual part had been satisfied she realized she loved Edie even more. She knew there would be no Melody without her, probably no Ruthie either.
The first hit video for Felicity Music was of Melody on You Tube. The first hit song was Melody's first single on iTunes. The first hit CD was Melody's first album.
Her real name was Ruth and she was born and raised in Canada. She had spent her life moving between Toronto and Montreal. Her parents were symphony orchestra musicians. Ruthie was much more than an accomplished pianist and vocalist. Her song writing appealed to girls from eight to twenty five years old. Fluent in two languages and with a sharp mind she seemed to be destined for stardom. Her temperament was holding her back.
Edie was the first to call her Ruthie and in fact had never called her Melody except in the third person. Melody was slowly becoming a third person for Ruthie too. Others took the cue and called her Ruthie. All were soon treated to the girl she was at home, a pleasant, bubbly, pretty girl with a wicked sense of humor.
She was tall, blonde, had a great body and as she put it herself, "Yummy tits." She was just twenty-two years old. She was a lesbian.
Ruthie had been in town for four weeks putting her second CD together. After the first two nights at the Seafoam she had checked out and moved into Edie and Allen's house. She had her own bedroom there. There was a piano there.
Knowing Melody's ongoing bouts with stage fright Robby, Allen and Edie decided that her first concert for Felicity Music would be over the Internet in a small venue. They decided that friendly faces and a familiar place would allow her to shine. The small venue belonged to her friend and occasional lover Jana.
Four of the songs Melody would be performing were written by Edie, two of which were new. She and Edie had collaborated on two others and all would be on her second CD.
During the concert Edie would be accompanying Melody's piano on violin. Allen would be on cello; Alice and Marie would provide backup vocals for her. Alice's daughter Nikki would be on drums. It was as comfortable a set up as she could have and still hope for an impact.
Edie assured Ruthie that her last disastrous attempt at a live concert was not going to happen again, she was too good, too talented, and too strong to let herself down. She reminded her that everyone in the audience would be people that already loved her.
Melody approached the concert date more confident than any other performance she ever had. She trusted Edie and if Edie said she would be great then she would be great. Still she had the jitters. Edie reminded her that every performer in history had the jitters before going on.
It would be opening night for Jana's Place and the first live feed for Felicity Music. Ruthie was not the only one suffering from the jitters.
The concert would be broadcast live in HD over Felicity Music's web site. The five cameras were fixed so not to distract Melody.
Still, a slight hesitation on her part before going on stage prompted Edie to swat Melody's butt and say, "You don't go out you don't get any."
Melody entered the stage laughing and followed Edie's advice to find a girl in the audience she wanted to seduce and sing the first song to her. That girl soon lost all color and fainted. Jana and Inga were right behind her and caught her, then carried her to a booth that had Mo, Marie, Janice, Wendy and the girls mother Petra.
Melody was pleasantly shocked to learn that everyone knew the words from every song on her first CD. She extended one of them so the audience could sing the chorus again. Twenty minutes into the concert she was having a blast and it showed. The concert itself became an affirmation of love between Melody and her fans. She had them laughing, crying and singing throughout.
A third of the way into the concert she introduced a song by simply asking the audience to "Please forgive your mothers if they squeal," then shocked Alice and Marie when she played the intro of a Fronds song. They did not know Melody was a fan of theirs.
As Alice and Marie began there were scattered squeals around the room that brought an "I told you so" smile to Melody's lips.
The squeals from booth number one brought the younger Petra back to the present. After making sure she understood it was a secret Shawna helped her back to near her original position to the stage. She was easily Melody's most ardent fan in the audience.
The younger ladies loved The Frond's song and as had happened four years before in Las Vegas the audience sang the last chorus with them.
Later in the show Melody joined the ladies on one more Fronds song. Alice and Marie won their first big following among the younger set that night.
The next song was from Edie and after saying so to the audience Melody stood and asked the audience if anyone else had a bossy big sister. Loud cheers gave her the answer. Edie got up and swatted her butt and resumed her seat with an angelic smile.
Melody picked up the mike and walked over to Allen and said, "This is my brother in law Allen. He is as handsome as genius gets.
This is Nikki, former drummer for The Dolls and Alice's daughter.
They are Alice and Marie. Great artists in their own right as you have already seen. They are also my Milf's, she said as she goosed Alice's butt.
Marie pretended to restrain Alice from going after Melody. The laugh that bit produced lasted a while. Edie was standing next to Melody when the laughter died down.
"This is Edie, Grammy award winner in classical music. My best friend. My sister." The closest Melody got to losing her composure was when she hugged Edie. Both had tears rolling down their cheeks when they began the next song.
It was a song about sisters and Alice and Marie sang responding chorus to Melody. Half way through the song the audience realized the song was a musical conversation of a girl with her dead sister. It was an emotional roller coaster for the audience that had many of them numb when it ended quietly.
Mo and Wendy were not the only sisters with tears flowing down their cheek. Nor were they the only ones to delay their applause for a furious hug first. If anyone had looked at Edie they would have seen the saddest smile they had ever seen. Per her wishes, it would be the only time the song would be performed. It would never be on a CD and yet it remained a top requested song for years. The only place to find it would be on that nights DVD.
To get them back to party mode Melody followed with her hit single that everyone sang from start to finish.