Singer-songwriter who plays keyboards and dulcimer folk-pop.

11 MP3 Songs in this album (38:06) !
Related styles: FOLK: Folk Pop, POP: Folky Pop

People who are interested in Joni Mitchell Sarah McLachlan Carole King should consider this download.


Details:
Melissa Javors


Since Melissa Javors won the Kerrville Folk Festivalâs New Folk competition in 1981, she has been winning the hearts and minds of music fans and the respect and admiration of her peers. Javors was raised in a New Jersey family with diverse musical tastes. Her father played jazz drums, a grandmother was a classical pianist, and her grandfather was a fan of Broadway musicals. Her cousin, Pat Street, introduced her to folk music in her early teens. Pat was writing songs with Erik Darling in Greenwich Village. âShe gave me her old ukulele and I loved being able to accompany myself singing. With her encouragement, I was âthe first one on my blockâ to become a folksinger.â says Javors.
She received a Bachelor of Music Education degree from Ohio Wesleyan University where she became involved in the political movements of the day, emulated songwriters like Joni Mitchell and Carole King, embroidered her jeans, and engaged in other counter cultural pursuits. Javors married and had two daughters while living in Boulder, Colorado. She spent the next two decades in San Antonio, Texas before moving to Nashville, Tennessee in 1998.
Both the Kerrville Folk Festival and the Austin music scene lent Javors inspiration and support in developing her songwriting skills. Gary P. Nunn produced her first LP âJust Beginningâ for his Guacamole Records in 1983. A British label, âMaking Wavesâ in 1993, released her CD, âThe Real Woman In Meâ. Javors toured extensively in Texas, has been a frequent main stage performer at Kerrville, and has impressed audiences in Alaska, England, and Scotland. Playing keyboard and mountain dulcimer, she has shared stages with Lyle Lovett, Nanci Griffith, Shake Russell, Dana Cooper, Crow Johnson, Emily Kaitz, Chuck Pyle, and other Kerrville artists. Javors placed first in the Austin Music Umbrellaâs annual competition in 1990, and was voted âSongwriter of the Yearâ in San Antonio in 1993. At the 2001 30th Anniversary Kerrville Folk Festival, Javors performed with the festival orchestra conducted by David Amram.
Several of Javorsâ songs have been covered by other artists: âCowboy Fantasyâ and âGraceâ by Bill and Bonnie Hearne; âGraceâ and âThe Gardenâ by James Durst; and âThe Real Woman In Meâ by Bobbi Lace on Nashvilleâs 615 records, which rose to the Number 2 spot on the Cashbox Independent Singles chart in 1987. Most recently, Peter, Paul and Mary have chosen to include âWild Horsesâ as a featured song for their current tour.
Javors has been battling Type I diabetes since 1979, and received the âgift of lifeâ from her brother Paul who donated one of his kidneys for a successful transplant operation in 1999. With renewed health and energy, Javors is busy writing and co-writing songs. She is a frequent performer at writerâs nights in popular hangouts around town. Her latest CD âCrazy Wisdomâ, produced by two time Grammy nominated producer Fred Bogert was released on Chrome Records.
A longtime music teacher, Javors now works with first grade English Language Learners at Paragon Mills Elementary School in Nashville, TN. She has served on advisory boards for the Country Music Hall of Fame developing curricula on songwriting and improvisation in the schools. Most recently she brought Paul Reislerâs âKid Pan Alleyâ to Nashvilleâs Metro school district where a fabulous CD of songs written by elementary music students with hit song writers was produced with the Nashville Chamber Orchestra and released at the Ryman Auditorium in October, 2004.