Melissa Manchester

Melissa Manchester attended the Manhattan School of Music and Arts, where she learned to play the piano and the harpsichord. Her father is a bassoon player in the New York Metropolitan Opera orchestra. In the early 1970s, Melissa studied songwriting at New York University School of the Arts in New York City, under the direction of Paul Simon, and at 15 she started recording commercial jingles. She was only one of nine applicants accepted at Simon's class out of more than 100 applicants. She also sang with Bette Midler and sang backup for her before going solo. In 1982 she won the Best Female Vocalist of the Year award. She is married to Kevin De Remer.