Melissa Lou Etheridge (born May 29, 1961) is an American rock singer-songwriter, guitarist, and activist. Her self-titled debut album
Melissa Etheridge was released in 1988 and became an underground hit. The album peaked at #22 on the
Billboard 200, and its lead single, "
Bring Me Some Water", garnered Etheridge her first
Grammy Award nomination for
Best Rock Vocal Performance, Female. In 1993, Etheridge won her first Grammy award for her single "Ain't It Heavy" from her third album,
Never Enough. Later that year, she released what would become her mainstream breakthrough album,
Yes I Am. The album featured three
Top 40 hits, including "
I'm the Only One" (No. 8) and "
Come to My Window" (No. 25), the latter which scored Etheridge her second Grammy award.
Yes I Am peaked at No. 15 on the Billboard 200, and spent 138 weeks on the chart, earning a
RIAA certification of 6x
Platinum, her largest to date.