Melissa Etheridge - Like The Way I Do

Melissa Etheridge is the second native Kansas artist to appear on ERV, as long time readers may remember Clocks from August 2011.  Unlike Clocks, Etheridge built quite the following, capped by her 1993 CD, Yes I Am, which has sold more than six million units.

For the blog, we went with "Like The Way I Do," from her 1988 self titled debut album.  The record actually generated a fair amount of buzz, and ended up peaking at #22 on the charts, while "Like The Way I Do" did not initially chart (the song hit #42 upon its re-release in 1995).  Interestingly, we don't remember seeing the video on MTV back in the day (readers should feel free to leave a comment if they recall seeing it).

While the video is a pretty standard performance piece, Etheridge's music was somewhat off the beaten track for 1988.  At the time, highly polished pop and hair metal dominated the charts, and Etheridge's folky roots rock reminded  critics of Springsteen or Mellencamp.  It didn't hurt that her raspy voice seemed tailor-made for the songs either.  While Etheridge's hairstyle seems dated (in the video), we think that the songs from her debut album have held up remarkably well.

As most folks will know, Etheridge remains active in the music industry to the present day.