Melanie Rosales

Melanie Rosales has been a key participant in the "Minneapolis" sound since before the local scene produced artists such as "The Artist (aka Prince). Melanie first started singing her brand of rock, country and, most definitely, blues when she was eight years old and has been perfecting her own brand of hard driving soulful contemporary R & B and country sound ever since.

Born in Fort Dodge, Iowa of Mexican and European descent, Melanie is a singer, quitar player (since she was given a baritone ukulele when she was a little tyke), keyboard player and drummer. Melanie's professional career began when she was twelve years old and started playing club dates in smokey country roadhouses with seasoned country professionals. Less than ten years later she was traveling from California to Florida and all points in between doing rock and roll club dates before settling in Minneapolis.

During this period Melanie worked with Taj Mahal, Bonnie Raitt, Chris Williamson, Prince, Jimmy Jam and Terry Lewis as well as Nashville producers Anthony Martin and Paul Worley. In the process Melanie received four Minnesota Music Awards for Best Female Vocalist. In 1984 she had a Billboard Dance Chart leading single "Addicted to the Night", with Lipps, Inc. which then crossed over to the R & B charts. In 1985, her single "What You Really Want" written by Jerry Williams, was one of the Billboard top picks.

It was also during the 1980s and 1990s that Melanie sang with many of the bands that did the real 'hard gig" work of the Minneapolis rock and blues scene, including the Doug Maynard Band, T C Jammers, Lamont Cranston and Lipps, Inc. of "Funkytown" fame. Melanie and her close group of friends, all fine writers, players and singers, formed the core of each of these bands.