Melanie Thornton

Melanie Thornton
Melanie Thornton at her final performance in Leipzig on November 24, 2001, hours before her death in the crash of Crossair Flight 3597
Background information
Birth name	Melanie Janene Thornton
Born	(1967-05-13)May 13, 1967 Charleston, South Carolina, U.S.
Origin	Mount Pleasant, South Carolina, U.S.
Died	November 24, 2001(2001-11-24) (aged 34) Bassersdorf, near Zürich, Switzerland
Genres	Pop, dance, Eurodance, gospel
Occupation(s)	Singer
Instruments	Vocals
Years active	1992–2001
Labels	X-Cell Music, Sony Music, Epic

Melanie Janene Thornton (May 13, 1967 – November 24, 2001) was an American pop singer who found fame in Europe during the 1990s. She is mostly known around the world as the face and voice behind the Eurodance band La Bouche. Her most notable singles "Be My Lover" and "Sweet Dreams" were released under the name of La Bouche between 1994 and 1995. She also had a moderately successful solo career in Germany before her death. Her solo hits include "Love How You Love Me", "Heartbeat" and "Wonderful Dream (Holidays are Coming)".

Thornton was born in Charleston, South Carolina and began studying voice from the age of six, as well as learning to play the piano and the clarinet. She grew up listening to Aretha Franklin and Roberta Flack. Thornton would mimic the female vocalists she saw on television or heard on radio. Later on, she financed her college studies with appearances in talent shows and smaller band concerts. She frequented a club called The Peacock Lounge, getting up and doing jam sessions when the live band invited people up to sing.

She had long dreamed of a career in music and in February 1992, Thornton went to Germany. Her sister lived there with her U.S. Army husband and Thornton had dual citizenship in Germany and the United States. Her uncle, Bob Chisolm, a singer and piano player, encouraged her to give the German nightclub circuit a try. She had been singing in a Macon, Ga., band, Danger Zone, pulling down $50 on a good night. However, Bob Chisolm told her that on a bad night in Germany she would make $150. Thornton provided guest vocals for a lot of dance projects on their single releases, such as Orange Blue's "If You Wanna Be (My Only)", Comic's "I Surrender to Your Love", 100%'s "Power of the Light", Trance-Vision's "Take Me 2 Heaven 2 Nite" or Men Behind's "Feel the life" and "How Can I."

Thornton tried it and soon found work in studios recording demos. It was her recording of the song "Sweet Dreams" that caught the attention of producer Frank Farian, the mastermind of the infamous 1980s duo Milli Vanilli. Farian took her under his wing, teaming her with rapper Lane McCray in the duo La Bouche, which is French for "The Mouth". La Bouche went on to become one of the biggest Eurodance groups of the 90s, with a string of hits, worldwide. They released two studio albums "Sweet Dreams" and "S.O.S.", with "A Moment of Love" being the European version of "S.O.S.", the remix album "All Mixed Up" followed by a string of hits like "Sweet Dreams (Ola Ola E)", "Be My Lover", "Fallin' in Love", "I Love to Love", "Bolingo (Love is in the Air)", "You Won't Forget Me" or "S.O.S." In February 2000, she would leave La Bouche to be replaced by Natascha Wright as the new front-woman. Next to La Bouche, Thornton continued providing guest vocals on singles such as Orange Blue's "Sunshine of My Life" and "Runaway", 100%'s "The Way It Is" and on Le Click's U.S. chart debut "Tonight is the Night" in 1995.