''Miss America'' is the debut album by Canadian singer-songwriter

Mary Margaret O'Hara Mary Margaret O'Hara is a Canadian singer-songwriter, actress and composer. She is best known for the album ''Miss America'', released in 1988. She released two albums and an EP under her own name, and remains active as a live performer, as a con ...

, released in 1988 by

Virgin Records Virgin Records is a British record label owned by Universal Music Group. They were originally founded as a British independent record label in 1972 by entrepreneurs Richard Branson, Simon Draper, Nik Powell, and musician Tom Newman (musician), ...

. It is O'Hara's only full-length studio album released to date. All of her other releases have been

EPs An extended play (EP) is a Sound recording and reproduction, musical recording that contains more tracks than a Single (music), single but fewer than an album. Contemporary EPs generally contain up to eight tracks and have a playing time of 1 ...

soundtrack album A soundtrack album is any album that incorporates music directly recorded from the soundtrack of a particular feature film or television show. The first such album to be commercially released was Walt Disney's ''Snow White and the Seven Dwarfs ( ...

s or collaborations with other artists.

Recording

Following the disbandment of her band Go Deo Chorus the previous year, Mary Margaret O'Hara signed a recording contract with British label

in 1984 on the strength of demo material of hers that had been sent to the label by a friend. Virgin allowed O'Hara complete creative control over her debut album, but insisted that she record the album with an established producer, despite her desire to produce or co-produce the album herself.

Andy Partridge Andrew John Partridge (born 11 November 1953) is an English guitarist, singer-songwriter and record producer best known for co-founding the band XTC. He and Colin Moulding each acted as a songwriter and frontman for XTC, with Partridge writing a ...

, of fellow Virgin act

XTC XTC were an English rock band formed in Swindon in 1972. Fronted by songwriters Andy Partridge (vocals, guitars) and Colin Moulding (vocals, bass), the band gained popularity during the rise of punk and new wave in the 1970s, later playing ...

, and

John Leckie John William Leckie (born 23 October 1949) is an English record producer and recording engineer. His production credits include Magazine's ''Real Life'' (1978); XTC's '' White Music'' (1978); Dukes of Stratosphear's '' 25 O'Clock'' and the F ...

were hired to produce, and recording sessions at

Rockfield Studios Rockfield Studios is a residential recording studio located in the Wye Valley just outside the village of Rockfield, Monmouthshire, Wales. It was founded in 1963 by brothers Kingsley and Charles Ward. Recording studios Rockfield is a two-stu ...

Monmouth Monmouth ( or ; ) is a market town and community (Wales), community in Monmouthshire, Wales, situated on where the River Monnow joins the River Wye, from the Wales–England border. The population in the 2011 census was 10,508, rising from 8 ...

, Wales took place in November 1984. However, Partridge and Leckie, having found themselves at odds with O'Hara and her backing band over the course of recording, were ultimately fired from the project; in their place,

Joe Boyd Joe Boyd (born August 5, 1942) is an American record producer and writer. He formerly owned Hannibal Records. Boyd has worked with Pink Floyd, Fairport Convention, Sandy Denny who was in Fairport Convention, Richard Thompson, Nick Drake, The ...

was hired by Virgin to oversee the sessions. 14 songs were recorded by the end of the year. O'Hara and her band then returned to Canada, where additional

overdubbing Overdubbing (also known as layering) is a technique used in audio recording in which audio Music track, tracks that have been pre-recorded are then played back and monitored, while simultaneously recording new, doubled, or augmented tracks onto o ...

and

remix A remix, also sometimes called reorchestration or rework, is a piece of media which has been altered or contorted from its original state by adding, removing, or changing pieces of the item. A song, piece of artwork, book, poem, or photograph ca ...

ing was undertaken in

Toronto Toronto ( , locally pronounced or ) is the List of the largest municipalities in Canada by population, most populous city in Canada. It is the capital city of the Provinces and territories of Canada, Canadian province of Ontario. With a p ...

, at Phase One Studios. Meanwhile, Virgin, as O'Hara later recalled, had begun to express apprehensions about the record altogether. Dissatisfied with the finished material, the label refused to release the album. Work on the album was resumed and completed in 1988, after

Michael Brook Michael Brook (born 1951) is a Canadian guitarist, inventor, music producer, and film music composer. He plays in many genres, including rock, electronica, world music, minimalism and film scores. His collaborations with musicians around the worl ...

contacted Virgin expressing interest in assisting O'Hara with its production. At the Toronto studio Comfort Sound, O'Hara and Brook reworked songs from the original Rockfield sessions for final release, with six being remixed and four ("Year in Song", "Dear Darling", "My Friends Have", and "Help Me Lift You Up") being re-recorded. Another track ("Body's in Trouble") was remixed by Kevin Killen at

Windmill Lane Studios Windmill Lane Recording Studios (earlier Windmill Lane Studios) is a recording studio in Dublin, Republic of Ireland, Ireland. It was originally opened in 1978 by Brian Masterson and James Morris on Windmill Lane, and it subsequently relocated in ...

Dublin Dublin is the capital and largest city of Republic of Ireland, Ireland. Situated on Dublin Bay at the mouth of the River Liffey, it is in the Provinces of Ireland, province of Leinster, and is bordered on the south by the Dublin Mountains, pa ...

from a 1983 recording from an earlier Phase One Studios session. O'Hara said in 2008 of her experience making ''Miss America'': "I loved the

Celtic cross upright 0.75 , A Celtic cross symbol The Celtic cross is a form of ringed cross, a Christian cross featuring a nimbus or ring, that emerged in the British Isles and Western Europe in the Early Middle Ages. It became widespread through its u ...

es and the sheep rolling around the hills by the studio in Wales. But for Virgin to go from, 'You can do whatever you want', to 'What have you done?'—that was tough."

Composition

O'Hara selected the title ''Miss America'' for the album because she found its contents "so much unlike what those two words together said". In '' Now'', Kim Hughes noted the album's minimalist production and varied musical styles, comparing its "acoustic guitar sound and liberal use of

lap steel The lap steel guitar, also known as a Hawaiian guitar or lap slide guitar, is a type of steel guitar without pedals that is typically played with the instrument in a horizontal position across the performer's lap. Unlike the usual manner of play ...

" to the

country A country is a distinct part of the world, such as a state, nation, or other political entity. When referring to a specific polity, the term "country" may refer to a sovereign state, state with limited recognition, constituent country, ...

genre, while also finding that the "slinky bass lines and cool piano" of certain tracks "evoke a smokey

jazz Jazz is a music genre that originated in the African-American communities of New Orleans, Louisiana, in the late 19th and early 20th centuries. Its roots are in blues, ragtime, European harmony, African rhythmic rituals, spirituals, h ...

feel". According to Hughes, the songs on ''Miss America'' are characterized by O'Hara's "inimitably high-pitched, breathy and erratic ... high and low, brittle and soothing" vocals, as well as "her ethereal, often ambiguous lyrics".

Release

''Miss America'' was released by Virgin in 1988. It made little commercial impact, failing to chart. Nonetheless, positive press coverage of the album encouraged the label to issue "Body's in Trouble" as a single in February 1989, with an accompanying

music video A music video is a video that integrates a song or an album with imagery that is produced for promotion (marketing), promotional or musical artistic purposes. Modern music videos are primarily made and used as a music marketing device intended to ...

for the song also being produced. A second single, "Anew Day", was released later in 1989. O'Hara spent the year following the release of ''Miss America'' touring. The album was reissued by

Koch Records MNRK Music Group (pronounced "monarch"), formerly known as Koch Records and Entertainment One (eOne) Music/Records, is an American independent record label and music management company based in New York City. It was formed in 1987 as a music div ...

on August 13, 1996.

Critical reception and legacy

''Miss America'' was acclaimed by music critics at the time of its release, particularly in the United Kingdom and O'Hara's native Canada. ''

The Globe and Mail ''The Globe and Mail'' is a Newspapers in Canada, Canadian newspaper printed in five cities in Western Canada, western and central Canada. With a weekly readership of more than 6 million in 2024, it is Canada's most widely read newspaper on week ...

''s Chris Dafoe stated that "O'Hara's vocals are all over the place, by turns incantatory, melancholy, slinky and delicate, while the music flirts with country, jazz and pop without ever committing seriously to any one style." In the ''

Toronto Star The ''Toronto Star'' is a Canadian English-language broadsheet daily newspaper. It is owned by Toronto Star Newspapers Limited, a subsidiary of Torstar Corporation and part of Torstar's Daily News Brands (Torstar), Daily News Brands division. ...

'',

Greg Quill Gregory Raymond Quill (18 April 19475 May 2013) was an Australian-born musician, singer-songwriter and journalist. He lived in Hamilton, Ontario, Canada, and was an entertainment columnist at the ''Toronto Star'' newspaper from the mid-1980s unt ...

called the album "a compelling work, evocative, provocative and in places astonishingly pure and beautiful." Chris Roberts of ''

Melody Maker ''Melody Maker'' was a British weekly music magazine, one of the world's earliest music weeklies; according to its publisher, IPC Media, the earliest. In January 2001, it was merged into "long-standing rival" (and IPC Media sister publicatio ...

'' highlighted how the album's songs explore themes of love while also avoiding "conventional

love song A love song is a song about love, falling in love, heartbreak after a breakup, and the feelings that these experiences bring. Love songs can be found in a variety of different music genres. They can come in various formats, from sad and emotion ...

" structures, commenting, "Rarely has the language of

popular song Popular music is music with wide appeal that is typically distributed to large audiences through the music industry. These forms and styles can be enjoyed and performed by people with little or no musical training.Popular Music. (2015). ''Fun ...

been so delicately and deftly subverted. Mary Margaret O'Hara has re-invented sincerity." At the end of 1988, the magazine named ''Miss America'' the year's 21st best album. ''

NME ''New Musical Express'' (''NME'') is a British music, film, gaming and culture website, bimonthly magazine, and brand. Founded as a newspaper in 1952, with the publication being referred to as a "Rock music, rock inkie", the ''NME'' would be ...

'' reviewer Stuart Bailie compared O'Hara favorably to

Van Morrison Sir George Ivan "Van" Morrison (born 31 August 1945) is a Northern Irish singer-songwriter and musician whose recording career started in the 1960s. Morrison's albums have performed well in the UK and Ireland, with more than 40 reaching the UK ...

and

Patti Smith Patricia Lee Smith (born December 30, 1946) is an American singer, songwriter, poet, painter, author, and photographer. Her 1975 debut album '' Horses'' made her an influential member of the New York City-based punk rock movement. Smith has fu ...

in that O'Hara "has a flighty talent that allows her to transcend whatever genre she's messing with, and the presence to dispense with the usual verse/chorus stuff when the notion takes her." In a retrospective review for

AllMusic AllMusic (previously known as All-Music Guide and AMG) is an American online database, online music database. It catalogs more than three million album entries and 30 million tracks, as well as information on Musical artist, musicians and Mus ...

, Jason Ankeny stated that "''Miss America'' still sounds light years ahead of its time: Mary Margaret O'Hara is a force of nature, a remarkable singer and composer whose crystal-clear

soprano A soprano () is a type of classical singing voice and has the highest vocal range of all voice types. The soprano's vocal range (using scientific pitch notation) is from approximately middle C (C4) = 261 Hertz, Hz to A5 in Choir, choral ...

acrobatics and hypnotic songs defy accepted conventions." Writing for ''

Pitchfork A pitchfork or hay fork is an agricultural tool used to pitch loose material, such as hay, straw, manure, or leaves. It has a long handle and usually two to five thin tines designed to efficiently move such materials. The term is also applie ...

'' in 2018, Laura Snapes opined that it ranks alongside "

David Lynch David Keith Lynch (January 20, 1946 – January 16, 2025) was an American filmmaker, visual artist, musician, and actor. Widely considered one of the greatest filmmakers of all time, Lynch was often called a "visionary" and received acclaim f ...

's '' Blue Velvet'',

Tom Waits Thomas Alan Waits (born December 7, 1949) is an American musician, composer, songwriter, and actor. His lyrics often focus on society's underworld and are delivered in his trademark deep, gravelly voice. He began in the American folk music, fo ...

' ''

Swordfishtrombones ''Swordfishtrombones'' is the eighth studio album by American singer-songwriter Tom Waits, released in 1983 on Island Records. It was the first album that Waits self-produced. Stylistically different from his previous albums, ''Swordfishtrombones ...

'', and

Leonard Cohen Leonard Norman Cohen (September 21, 1934November 7, 2016) was a Canadian songwriter, singer, poet, and novelist. Themes commonly explored throughout his work include faith and mortality, isolation and depression, betrayal and redemption, soc ...

's '' I'm Your Man''" as one of the 1980s' "jarring noir masterpieces". ''Miss America'' was included at number 32 in ''NME''s 1993 list of the greatest albums of the 1980s, and at number 88 in ''

Mojo Mojo may refer to: * Mojo (African-American culture), a magical charm bag used in Hoodoo Arts, entertainment and media Film and television * ''Mojo'' (2017 film), a 2017 Indian Kannada drama film written and directed by Sreesha Belakvaadi * '' ...

''s 1995 list of the greatest albums of all time. ''

The Guardian ''The Guardian'' is a British daily newspaper. It was founded in Manchester in 1821 as ''The Manchester Guardian'' and changed its name in 1959, followed by a move to London. Along with its sister paper, ''The Guardian Weekly'', ''The Guardi ...

'' listed it in 2007 as one of "1000 Albums to Hear Before You Die". In his 2007 book ''

The Top 100 Canadian Albums ''The Top 100 Canadian Albums'' is a book by journalist Bob Mersereau, published in 2007 by Goose Lane Editions. Mersereau surveyed 600 music journalists, retailers, musicians and disc jockeys of all ages, from all parts of Canada, who each subm ...

'', journalist

Bob Mersereau Bob Ellis Mersereau is a Canadian arts journalist.Rockingham, Graham �"Randy Bachman: lord of the song"''The Spec'' He is a music columnist and longtime arts reporter for CBC Television in New Brunswick.2016 recipient of the jury-voted Slaight Family Polaris Heritage Prize—awarded annually by the

Polaris Music Prize The Polaris Music Prize is a music award annually given to the best full-length Canadian album based on artistic merit, regardless of genre, sales, or record label. The award was established in 2006 with a $20,000 cash prize. The prize was inc ...

organization to honor Canadian albums released before that prize's debut—in the 1986–1995 category. Fellow musicians have praised ''Miss America''.

Morrissey Steven Patrick Morrissey ( ; born 22 May 1959), known :wikt:mononym, mononymously as Morrissey, is an English singer and songwriter. He came to prominence as the frontman and lyricist of rock band the Smiths, who were active from 1982 to 198 ...

, on whose 1990 songs " November Spawned a Monster" and "He Knows I'd Love to See Him" O'Hara provided additional vocals, said of the album: "I thought it so beautiful I suddenly realised I hadn't in a decade heard someone singing because of deep-set personal neurosis, absolute need and desperation." When ''

Rolling Stone ''Rolling Stone'' is an American monthly magazine that focuses on music, politics, and popular culture. It was founded in San Francisco, California, in 1967 by Jann Wenner and the music critic Ralph J. Gleason. The magazine was first known fo ...

'' surveyed artists on their favorite albums of 1989, ''Miss America'' was cited by

Cowboy Junkies Cowboy Junkies are an alternative country and folk rock band formed in Toronto, Ontario, Canada in 1985 by Alan Anton (bassist), Michael Timmins (songwriter, guitarist), Peter Timmins (drummer) and Margo Timmins (vocalist). The three Timminses ...

' Margo Timmins, who ranked it number one on her list, and

R.E.M. R.E.M. was an American alternative rock band formed in Athens, Georgia, in 1980 by drummer Bill Berry, guitarist Peter Buck, bassist Mike Mills, and lead vocalist Michael Stipe, who were students at the University of Georgia. One of the fir ...

Michael Stipe John Michael Stipe (; born January 4, 1960) is an American singer, songwriter and artist, best known as the lead singer and lyricist of the alternative rock band R.E.M. Stipe was born in Metro Atlanta in January 1960. Due to his father's militar ...

. The members of

Throwing Muses Throwing Muses are an American alternative rock band formed in 1981 in Newport, Rhode Island, United States, that toured and recorded extensively until 1997, when its members began concentrating more on other projects. The group was original ...

were fans of the record, according to the band's

Tanya Donelly Tanya Donelly (born July 14, 1966) is an American singer-songwriter and guitarist based in New England. She came to prominence as a co-founder of the band Throwing Muses with her step-sister Kristin Hersh. Donelly went on to co-form the altern ...

, who named it one of her all-time favorite albums. "You Will Be Loved Again" was covered both by Cowboy Junkies, on their 1990 album '' The Caution Horses'', and by Donelly with the Parkington Sisters, on their 2020 self-titled album. Other artists who have covered songs from ''Miss America'' include

This Mortal Coil This Mortal Coil were a British music collective led by Ivo Watts-Russell, founder of the British record label 4AD. Although Watts-Russell and John Fryer were the only two official members, the band's recorded output featured a large rotat ...

("Help Me Lift You Up"),

the Walkabouts The Walkabouts were an American rock band formed in Seattle, Washington in 1984. The core members were vocalist Carla Torgerson and vocalist and songwriter Chris Eckman. Although the rest of the lineup changed occasionally, for most of the tim ...

("Dear Darling"), the Art of Time Ensemble and

Sarah Slean Sarah Hope Slean (born June 21, 1977) is a Canadian singer-songwriter, composer and musician. She has released eleven albums to date (including EPs and live albums). She is also a poet, visual artist, and occasional actress. Career Major recordi ...

("To Cry About"), Devon Sproule and Perfume Genius (both of whom recorded versions of "Body's in Trouble"), and Bria Salmena ("When You Know Why You're Happy"). O'Hara followed ''Miss America'' in 1991 with the four-track, holiday-themed '' Christmas EP'', which would be her only release of new material under her own name in the 1990s, apart from several tracks that she contributed to assorted compilations. In subsequent years, she primarily performed on recordings by other artists, while also pursuing non-musical endeavors such as acting, teaching, and graphic design. In 2000, O'Hara appeared in the film '' Apartment Hunting'', for which she recorded an accompanying soundtrack album; issued in 2002, the soundtrack marked her first full-length album since ''Miss America'' 14 years earlier. O'Hara said in an interview after its release that as she felt the response to ''Miss America'' "was enough", she had not felt compelled to record a formal follow-up. In 2008, discussing her reluctance to begin work on another album, she remarked, "in some ways I think that if you have an idea, why do you have to make it?"

Track listing

All songs written and arranged by Mary Margaret O'Hara. # "To Cry About" – 3:23 # "Year in Song" – 3:34 # "Body's in Trouble" – 4:58 # "Dear Darling" – 3:51 # "Anew Day" – 3:11 # "When You Know Why You're Happy" – 4:34 # "My Friends Have" – 3:10 # "Help Me Lift You Up" – 4:35 # "Keeping You in Mind" – 4:39 # "Not Be Alright" – 5:13 # "You Will Be Loved Again" – 3:36

Personnel

Credits are adapted from the album's liner notes. Musicians * Mary Margaret O'Hara – vocals,

arrangement In music, an arrangement is a musical adaptation of an existing composition. Differences from the original composition may include reharmonization, melodic paraphrasing, orchestration, or formal development. Arranging differs from orchestr ...

– guitar (tracks 5, 6), Infinite guitar (track 1) * Hugh Marsh – violin (tracks 3, 5, 9), DX7 log rhythm (track 10) * Rusty McCarthy – guitar (tracks 1–3, 6, 7, 9, 10), acoustic guitar (track 4), electric guitar (track 8) * Bruce Moffet – drums (track 3) *

David Piltch David Piltch (born January 29, 1960) is a Canadian bassist and session musician. Biography Piltch grew up in an artistic family. His father Bernie Piltch was a noted studio and stage saxophonist, clarinetist and flutist in Toronto from the la ...

– Elias 5-string bass (tracks 1, 5, 6, 10), bass (track 9), string bass (track 11) * Hendrik Riik – bass (tracks 2–4, 7), electric bass (track 8) * Don Rooke – lap steel guitar (tracks 4, 6, 8), rhythm guitar (track 5), acoustic guitar (track 8) *

John Sheard John Sheard is a Canadian pianist, producer and arranger, who throughout his thirty year career has recorded and performed with many North American artists, and is most recognized for his work on Stuart McLean's '' Vinyl Cafe''. Career Shea ...

– piano (tracks 5, 9) * Michael Sloski – drums (tracks 2, 4–7, 9, 10) * Bill Whelan – piano (track 3) Production * Mary Margaret O'Hara – production, mixing * Michael Brook – production, mixing * Rhonda Bruce – assistant

engineering Engineering is the practice of using natural science, mathematics, and the engineering design process to Problem solving#Engineering, solve problems within technology, increase efficiency and productivity, and improve Systems engineering, s ...

* Evan Caulford – assistant engineering * Paul Cobbold –

recording A record, recording or records may refer to: An item or collection of data Computing * Record (computer science), a data structure ** Record, or row (database), a set of fields in a database related to one entity ** Boot sector or boot record, re ...

* Jody Colero – executive production * Paul Gross – recording (track 3) * Bill Kennedy – additional engineering * Kevin Killen – mixing (track 3) * Kevin Markland – assistant engineering * Joe Primeau – recording *

Garth Richardson Garth "GGGarth" Richardson, (born ), is a Canadian record producer and sound engineer. He is the son of music producer Jack Richardson. He has worked with such musical acts as Red Hot Chili Peppers, Motley Crüe, Nickelback, Rage Against ...

– additional engineering * Richard Schiller – assistant engineering * Randy Staub – additional engineering * Stephen Traub – recording * Mick Walsh – additional engineering Design * Mary Margaret O'Hara – artwork * Heather Cameron –

art direction Art director is a title for a variety of similar job functions in theater, advertising, marketing, publishing, fashion, live-action and animated film and television, the Internet, and video games. It is the charge of a sole art director to super ...

, photography * Don Rooke – art direction, photography

References

External links

* {{Authority control 1988 debut albums Mary Margaret O'Hara albums Virgin Records albums Albums recorded at Rockfield Studios