Margie Adam (born 1947) is an American musician and

composer A composer is a person who writes music. The term is especially used to indicate composers of Western classical music, or those who are composers by occupation. Many composers are, or were, also skilled performers of music. Etymology and Defi ...

Early life and education

Margie Adam was born in 1947 in Lompoc, California. Her father was a newspaper publisher who composed music on the side, and her mother was a classical pianist. Adam began playing the piano as a child. Adam graduated from the

University of California, Berkeley The University of California, Berkeley (UC Berkeley, Berkeley, Cal, or California) is a public land-grant research university in Berkeley, California. Established in 1868 as the University of California, it is the state's first land-grant u ...

in 1971. In 1973, while attending the Sacramento Women's Music Festival, she performed during the open mic session and began her career as a professional musician. The following year, the first National Women's Music Festival was held in Champaign-Urbana, Illinois. Adam co-headlined the festival, alongside

Meg Christian Meg Christian (born 1946 in Lynchburg, Virginia) is an American folk singer associated with the women's music movement. Early life and career Christian was born in Tennessee in 1946 and raised in Lynchburg, Virginia. She has spoken about bei ...

and

Cris Williamson Cris Williamson (born 1947) is an American feminist singer-songwriter and recording artist. She was a visible lesbian political activist, during an era when few who were unconnected to the lesbian community were aware of Homosexual, Gay and Lesb ...

. That conference is credited as helping to form the

Women's music Women's music is music by women, for women, and about women. The genre emerged as a musical expression of the second-wave feminist movement as well as the labor, civil rights, and peace movements. The movement (in the USA) was started by lesbian ...

movement, with Adam at the forefront.

Music career

Her first album, ''Margie Adam'', was promoted with a 50-city tour which concluded with a performance of her song, "We Shall Go Forth" at the

National Women's Conference The National Women's Conference of 1977 was a four-day event during November 18–21, 1977, as organized by the National Commission on the Observance of International Women's Year. The conference drew around, 2,000 delegates along with 15,000-20, ...

Houston Houston (; ) is the most populous city in Texas, the most populous city in the Southern United States, the fourth-most populous city in the United States, and the sixth-most populous city in North America, with a population of 2,304,580 in ...

. The song quickly became an anthem for the

lesbian feminist Lesbian feminism is a cultural movement and critical perspective that encourages women to focus their efforts, attentions, relationships, and activities towards their fellow women rather than men, and often advocates lesbianism as the logic ...

movement and is now part of the Political History archives in the Smithsonian Museum. In 1978, became an associate of the

Women's Institute for Freedom of the Press Women’s Institute for Freedom of the Press (WIFP) is an American nonprofit publishing organization that was founded in Washington, D.C. in 1972. The organization works to increase media democracy and strengthen independent media. Mo Basic info ...

(WIFP). WIFP is an American nonprofit publishing organization. The organization works to increase communication between women and connect the public with forms of women-based media. Adam During the early 1980s, Adam performed at various concerts and fundraisers for feminist candidates and causes, including representatives for the

Equal Rights Amendment The Equal Rights Amendment (ERA) is a proposed amendment to the United States Constitution designed to guarantee equal legal rights for all American citizens regardless of sex. Proponents assert it would end legal distinctions between men and ...

, for whom she traveled on a 20-city tour. Adam composed "Best Friend (The Unicorn Song)", which was later covered by

Peter, Paul and Mary Peter, Paul and Mary was an American folk group formed in New York City in 1961 during the American folk music revival phenomenon. The trio consisted of tenor Peter Yarrow, baritone Paul Stookey, and contralto Mary Travers. The group's reper ...

. A Cantonese version of the song was also released by Hong Kong singer

George Lam George Lam Tsz-Cheung (born 12 October 1947), also known professionally by his surname Lam, is a Hong Kong-based veteran Cantopop singer, singer-songwriter, music producer and actor, with a career that has so far lasted more than four decades. Lam ...

in 1984. From 1975 to 1984, Adam worked with manager and music producer Barbara Price, promoting women's music and releasing her own albums on Pleiades Records. Adam challenged conventional management practices by having all-women crews during her performances and tours. After being on a "radical sabbatical," since 1984, Adam returned to writing music in 1991 and went on a national tour in 1992 to support her new album, ''Another Place''. In 1996 she embarked on the Three of Hearts tour with fellow pianists Liz Story and

Barbara Higbie Barbara Higbie (born 1958) is an American Grammy nominated, Bammy award winning pianist, composer, violinist, singer-songwriter and multi-instrumentalist. She has played on over 100 CDs including songs with Carlos Santana and Bonnie Raitt. Th ...

. In 1998, she conducted a tour to raise awareness of the service feminist bookstores made to the women's community. Margie Adam continues to compose and perform at various venues across the U.S. and Canada. More recent work includes ''The Best of Margie Adam'' (1990), ''Avalon'' (2001), and ''Portal'' 2005.

References

External links

* {{DEFAULTSORT:Adam, Margie 1947 births American women singer-songwriters American pop musicians American pop pianists Feminist musicians Lesbian artists Lesbian feminists American lesbian musicians LGBT people from California Living people People from Lompoc, California Singer-songwriters from California Women's music 20th-century American women pianists 20th-century American pianists 21st-century American women pianists 21st-century American pianists 20th-century LGBT people 21st-century LGBT people

Early life and education

Music career

See also

References

External links