Melanie Thornton

Melanie Janene Thornton (May 13, 1967 – November 24, 2001) was an American singer-songwriter. Born in Charleston, South Carolina, she first gained recognition as a session singer after relocating to Germany to pursue a music career. Her work attracted the attention of production team Ulli Brenner and Gerd Amir Saraf, who enlisted her vocals on the songs "Sweet Dreams" and "Tonight Is the Night". After being signed to MCI Records by German record producer Frank Farian, she formed a music duo called La Bouche with Lane McCray. The duo released their debut album Sweet Dreams in June 1995, which spawned the top-charting US Billboard Hot 100 singles "Sweet Dreams" and "Be My Lover". She departed from La Bouche after the release of their less-successful second album A Moment of Love (1997) to pursue a solo career, respectively.

After signing with Germany-based label X-Cell Records in 2000, she released her debut solo album Ready to Fly in May 2001. The album peaked in the top-five in Germany and Switzerland and earned gold-certifications in both countries. Shortly after, she embarked on the Christmas Coca-Cola Tour to promote her album.

On November 24, 2001, at the age of 34, Melanie Thornton was killed in a plane crash along with twenty-three other people on board, when the aircraft she was traveling in crashed in range of hills where it caught fire near Bassersdorf, around 4 kilometres (2.5 mi) short of the runway. The pilot had attempted a controlled flight into terrain after navigation mistakes led the plane off-course. After her death, Melanie Thornton's music continued to achieve commercial success, aided by several posthumous releases, including the compilation albums Best of La Bouche feat. Melanie Thornton and Memories - Her Most Beautiful Ballads. Her final single "Wonderful Dream (Holidays Are Coming)" peaked in the top-five of several European countries and was certified double-platinum in Germany. She has sold over 13 million records worldwide.

Early life

Melanie Janene Thornton was born in Charleston, South Carolina, on May 13, 1967. Her mother, Ida Mae Delores Thornton (née Grimball), was a seamstress and school teacher, while her father, Julius Caesar Thornton, was a businessman and owner of J.C. Thornton Excavating. Julius is of Cherokee and Portuguese ancestry. During this time, she began performing with a wedding band called Danger Zone. While she was primarily a background singer in the band, she occasionally sang lead during a few of the band's performances. She began working with Uncle Bob and performing in local nightclubs. She briefly acquired a job singing at Old Joy's Pub, a piano bar in Marbella, Spain. The name stemmed from their music producers watching Melanie sing in studio sessions and noticing that her mouth was really big when she was singing. La Bouche headlined their own concert tour which also featured their former group Groovin' Affairs as part of their shows. By September 1996, the album Sweet Dreams had sold millions of copies worldwide. In December 1996, they issued a remix album titled All Mixed Up, which also included "Tonight Is the Night"; which had been released under Le Click with Thornton's vocals.

In November 1997, La Bouche released their second album A Moment of Love, which featured a lighter sound than the standard Eurodance sound in attempt to appeal more to the American market.

2000–2001: Ready to Fly

Managed by her elder sister Lois Chisolm, Thornton signed a solo record deal with X-Cell Records and Epic Records in mid-2000. In October 2000, Melanie released "Love How You Love Me", the lead single from her debut solo studio album, Ready to Fly. The song peaked in the top twenty in Germany. On May 7, 2001, she released her first album Ready to Fly on X-Cell Records. Released exclusively in Europe and featuring a sound different than La Bouche, the album peaked at number 5 in Germany. The singles "Heartbeat" and "Makin' Oooh Oooh (Talking About Love)" were moderate successes on the charts.

On November 26, 2001, the album was reissued with a new song "Wonderful Dream (Holidays Are Coming)" and several remixed songs. "Wonderful Dream (Holidays Are Coming)" became her highest-charting solo single, peaking in the top five of several European countries. The song was also featured in a Coca-Cola Christmas promotional campaign. In November 2001, she embarked on the Christmas Coca-Cola Tour.

Death

On November 24, 2001, Melanie Thornton and several musicians boarded Crossair Flight 3597 aircraft at the Berlin Tegel Airport in Berlin, Germany, to travel to Zurich Airport in Switzerland after she completed a concert performance in Leipzig as part of the Christmas Coca-Cola Tour. The plane crashed into a wooded range of hills where it caught fire near the small town of Bassersdorf, around 4 kilometres (2.5 mi) short of the runway. Thornton and twenty-three others on board—including Nathaly van het Ende and Maria Serrano Serrano of the eurodance group Passion Fruit—were killed. At the time of her death, she was survived by her mother Ida Mae, sister Lois, niece, and nephews.

As the subsequent investigation by the Swiss Aircraft Accident Investigation Bureau (AAIB) determined, the accident was a controlled flight into terrain (CFIT) caused by a series of pilot errors and navigation mistakes that led the plane off-course. This course deviation caused the plane to crash north of its assigned landing strip, runway 28.

While visiting his family for Thanksgiving in the United States, former La Bouche music partner Lane McCray received news of her death from a phone call with Crystal Waters.

Funeral

A memorial service for Thornton was held at the Kaiser Wilhelm Memorial Church in Berlin on November 30, where German singer Sarah Connor sang "Love How You Love Me". Following the memorial service, Thornton's family arranged for her to be transported to South Carolina for burial. Her funeral was held at Fielding Funeral Home's chapel in Charleston, South Carolina, on December 8, 2001. Former La Bouche music partner Lane McCray did not attend the memorial service or funeral as he felt his presence could be seen as a disruption, in addition to the undisclosed legal litigation against Thornton's sister Lois Chisholm. In May 2002, Frank Farian released a compilation album titled Best of La Bouche feat. Melanie Thornton. On November 25, 2002, La Bouche release the single "In Your Life" with Thornton's vocals to commemorate the first anniversary of her death. A music video featuring La Bouche member Lane McCray watching clips of Thornton was also released. On December 1, 2003, a remix compilation titled Memories – Her Most Beautiful Ballads was released containing songs in acoustic ballad versions on X-Cell Records. On April 2, 2007, a second La Bouche compilation titled Greatest Hits was released. In October 2014, DJ Bobo released a studio video of him and Thornton recording the song "Love of My Life".

Artistry

Voice

Melanie Thornton had the vocal range of a soprano, and with the release of La Bouche's debut single "Sweet Dreams", several media outlets and music critics compared her sound to eurodance group Snap!. However, Pan-European magazine Music & Media remarked that the added value of this "throbbing piece of Euro dance is Melanie Thornton's massive vocals, which definitely set the track apart from most of her competition." When reviewing the song "Be My Lover", Richmond Times-Dispatchs reviewer stated, "I am insanely jealous of the lead female vocal, Melanie Thornton. She has a wonderful, flexible voice." Juha Soininen, author of Move Your Body (2 The 90's), commented "Her voice could lift even the most mediocre songs to new heights." Thornton's songwriting was specifically influenced by Lionel Richie, Smokey Robinson, and Stevie Wonder. The song "Be My Lover" was written as a call and response to fellow La Bouche member Lane McCray. dance pop, Author Juha Soininen noted that Thornton's solo album Ready to Fly was a departure from her sound with La Bouche into the R&B genre. In 2004, her sister Lois Chisolm founded a nonprofit organization called the Melanie Thornton Youth Arts Foundation, Inc. The organization provides classes, workshops, events, performances, out of school programs, summer programs, and exhibits in facilities in Atlanta, Georgia. In December 2012, Chisolm released a book called Sweet Dreams Fulfilled, The Melanie Thornton Story, which chronicles the life of Thornton. As of 2025, "Wonderful Dream (Holidays Are Coming)" has spent more than 150 weeks on the German Top 100 charts, becoming the fifth-longest entry on the chart in total.

! width="35"| GER

! width="35"| SWI

! scope="row" | Ready to Fly

Released: May 7, 2001
Label: X-Cell Records
Formats: CD, cassette

| 20 || 5 || 4

BVMI: Gold
IFPI: Gold

| colspan="15" style="font-size:8pt"| "—" denotes studio albums that did not chart.

Compilation albums

2002: Best of La Bouche feat. Melanie Thornton
2003: Memories - Her Most Beautiful Ballads

Singles

{| class="wikitable" style="text-align:center;"

! rowspan="2"| Year

! rowspan="2"| Single

! colspan="3"| Peak chart positions

! rowspan="2"| Certifications (sales thresholds)

! rowspan="2"| Album

|- style="font-size:smaller;"

! width="35"| AUT

| 2002

| style="text-align:left" | "In Your Life" (with La Bouche)

| — || — || —

| style="text-align:left" | Best of La Bouche & Melanie Thornton

| colspan="15" style="font-size:8pt"| "—" denotes singles that did not chart.

Singles (as featured artist)

{| class="wikitable" style="text-align:center;"

! rowspan="2"| Year

! rowspan="2"| Single

! colspan="3"| Peak chart positions

! rowspan="2"| Album

|- style="font-size:smaller;"

! width="35"| AUT

| Breakthrough Artist

| La Bouche

! scope="row" |Goldene Europa

| Best Duo/Group

| La Bouche

! scope="row" |MTV Video Music Awards

| rowspan="3"|

| Best Dance Video

| "Be My Lover"

! scope="row" |Echo Awards

| Best National Dance Single

| "Be My Lover"

! scope="row" |ASCAP Awards

| Most Played Song in America

| "Be My Lover"