Mel Street

Mel was one of the great lost talents of country music, and certainly one of the saddest stories. He was raised in Grundy, Virginia, and spent his early adult years as an electrician and auto mechanic. Although gifted with an undeniable voice and songwriting talent, it wasn't till his mid thirties when his self penned "Borrowed Angel" became a nationwide hit. In the next five years Street would have a handful more of top twenty hits, all of them bleak, defeated cheatin' songs, the kind that make truly great country music so timeless. Unfortunately for Street, they were close to home. He had battled depression and drinking his whole life, and even as more lucrative record contracts came his way, his close brush with stardom was taking a weighty toll. He shot himself on his birthday, October 21st, 1978. Ironically, one of his posthumous singles was titled "Just Hangin' On". There isn't much footage of Street from television, given his sadly brief career. This is from 1976, "I Met a Friend of Yours Today". As with figures like Ian Curtis, Chris Bell, poet Frank Stanford, and other tragic young artists, the inner pain with Street is so palpable and eerie, even in a rather banal setting such as mid seventies Nashville television.