Margaret Becker (born July 17, 1959) is an American

Christian rock Christian rock is a form of rock music that features lyrics focusing on matters of Christian faith, often with an emphasis on Jesus in Christianity, Jesus. This music is typically performed by Christians, Christian individuals. The extent to whi ...

singer, guitarist, and songwriter. She has had twenty-one No. 1

Christian radio Christian radio refers to Christian media radio formats that focus on Christian religious broadcasting or various forms of Christian music. Many such formats and programs include contemporary Christian music, gospel music, sermons, radio dramas, ...

hits, won four

Dove Award A Dove Award is an accolade by the Gospel Music Association (GMA) of the United States to recognize outstanding achievement in the Christian music industry. The awards ceremonies presented annually and have been held in Nashville, Tennessee exce ...

s, and been nominated for four

Grammy Award The Grammy Awards, stylized as GRAMMY, and often referred to as The Grammys, are awards presented by The Recording Academy of the United States to recognize outstanding achievements in music. They are regarded by many as the most prestigious ...

Biography

Becker was born in

Bay Shore, New York Bay Shore is a Hamlet (New York), hamlet and census-designated place (CDP) in the Administrative divisions of New York#Town, Town of Islip, New York, United States. It is situated on the South Shore (Long Island), South Shore of Long Island, adjo ...

, United States, raised in

East Islip, New York East Islip is a hamlet and CDP in the Town of Islip, Suffolk County, New York, United States. The population was 13,931 at the time of the 2020 census. History Originally referred to as "East of Islip", the name was acquired in 1890 from the es ...

, and began playing in coffeehouses while teaching music and taking opera lessons. Having graduated from

James Madison University James Madison University (JMU, Madison, or James Madison) is a public university, public research university in Harrisonburg, Virginia, United States. Founded in 1908, the institution was renamed in 1938 in honor of the fourth president of the ...

with a degree in communication, she moved to

Nashville, Tennessee Nashville, often known as Music City, is the capital and List of municipalities in Tennessee, most populous city in the U.S. state of Tennessee. It is the county seat, seat of Davidson County, Tennessee, Davidson County in Middle Tennessee, locat ...

in 1985, and signed to

Sparrow Records Sparrow Records is a Christian music record label and a division of Universal Music Group. History Sparrow Records was founded in 1976 by Billy Ray Hearn, then artists and repertoire (A&R) director at Myrrh Records. Barry McGuire was the fi ...

as a songwriter; soon after she toured with

Rick Cua Rick Cua (born December 3, 1948) is an American Christian rock singer, songwriter, bassist, author and ordained minister. He is a former member of the Southern rock band, Outlaws, whom he joined in 1980, but left in 1983 to pursue a full-time c ...

as a backup singer and sang on

Steve Camp Steven J. Camp (born April 13, 1955) is an American contemporary Christian music artist and pastor. In the tradition of Martin Luther's Ninety-five Theses, Camp sent out his own 107 theses on Reformation Day (October 31), 1998, calling for a r ...

's 1986 album '' One on One''. The next year she landed a

contract A contract is an agreement that specifies certain legally enforceable rights and obligations pertaining to two or more parties. A contract typically involves consent to transfer of goods, services, money, or promise to transfer any of thos ...

as a solo artist, and released her debut album, ''Never for Nothing''. The single "Fight for God" was her first hit, and her second LP, ''The Reckoning'', followed with two more hits, "Light in the Darkness" and "Find Me". Becker began working with producer

Charlie Peacock Charles William Ashworth (born August 10, 1956), known professionally as Charlie Peacock, is an American singer, songwriter, pianist, record producer, and author. His albums include ''Love Press Ex-Curio'', ''Arc of the Circle'' and ''No Man's L ...

starting with 1989's ''Immigrant's Daughter'', and a string of successful albums followed, including a

Spanish language Spanish () or Castilian () is a Romance languages, Romance language of the Indo-European languages, Indo-European language family that evolved from the Vulgar Latin spoken on the Iberian Peninsula of Europe. Today, it is a world language, gl ...

LP. She won two

Dove Awards A Dove Award is an accolade by the Gospel Music Association (GMA) of the United States to recognize outstanding achievement in the Christian music industry. The awards ceremonies presented annually and have been held in Nashville, Tennessee excep ...

in 1992, for Rock Album (''Simple House'') and Rock Song ("Simple House"). However, in the late 1980s and early 1990s, Becker occasionally encountered controversy in the world of

Contemporary Christian music Contemporary Christian music (CCM), also known as Christian pop, and occasionally inspirational music, is a genre of modern popular music, and an aspect of Christian media, which is lyrically focused on matters related to the Christianity, Chri ...

because she is a

Roman Catholic The Catholic Church (), also known as the Roman Catholic Church, is the largest Christian church, with 1.27 to 1.41 billion baptized Catholics worldwide as of 2025. It is among the world's oldest and largest international institut ...

; some Christian stores refused to carry her album, and her concert appearances were sometimes picketed.

Mark Allan Powell Mark Allan Powell is an American New Testament scholar and professional music critic. New Testament scholarship Powell was Professor of New Testament at Trinity Lutheran Seminary in Columbus, Ohio until his retirement in 2018. He is editor of ...

, ''The Encyclopedia of Contemporary Christian Music'' (Hendrickson, 2002), p. 74. Although she was raised in Catholicism, Margaret currently attends a non-denominational church in Nashville, Tennessee. After 1995's ''Grace'', Becker decided to take a

sabbatical A sabbatical (from the Hebrew: (i.e., Sabbath); in Latin ; Greek: ) is a rest or break from work; "an extended period of time intentionally spent on something that’s not your routine job." The concept of the sabbatical is based on the Bi ...

from the music industry; during this time she wrote a book entitled ''With New Eyes'' and wrote editorials for '' Campus Life'' magazine. She left

in 2002 but has continued to record since then, both her own albums and for compilation albums. She appears on the albums ''Sisters'' (

Warner Bros. Records Warner Records Inc. (known as Warner Bros. Records Inc. until 2019) is an American record label. A subsidiary of Warner Music Group, it is headquartered in Los Angeles, California. It was founded on March 19, 1958, as the recorded music division ...

, 1994), ''Listen to Our Hearts'' (Sparrow, 1998), ''Heaven and Earth'' (Sparrow, 1999), and the ''

New Irish Hymns ''New Irish Hymns'' (released as ''In Christ Alone: New Hymns for Prayer and Worship'', or for short ''In Christ Alone'' in the US) is the first in a series of themed albums created and produced by Keith Getty. This album features vocalists Mái ...

'' series (

Kingsway Music David C Cook is an American nonprofit Christian publisher based in Colorado Springs, Colorado. It was founded as a provider of Sunday school curriculum and is a major publisher of these materials. It also publishes fiction and nonfiction books ...

), and is one of the members of the 1994 collaboration ''

Along the Road ''Along the Road'' is an album by Susan Ashton, Margaret Becker, and Out of the Grey's Christine Denté, released in 1994. Reception '' Cashbox''s Gary Keplinger said that on the album, the "distinct styles" of the trio were "perfectly ble ...

'' along with

Susan Ashton Susan Ashton (born Susan Rae Hill; July 17, 1967) is an American contemporary Christian music and country music artist who topped the Christian charts throughout the 1990s. In 1991 she began using her mother's maiden name, Ashton, when she reco ...

and

Christine Denté Out of the Grey is a husband-and-wife Contemporary Christian music project consisting of Scott and Christine Denté. Christine provides lead vocals, while Scott plays guitars and sings background, along with the occasional lead vocals. They have ...

. She co-wrote

Bob Carlisle Robert Mason Carlisle (born September 29, 1956) is an American Contemporary Christian singer and songwriter. He performed with several bands, most notably Allies and Billy Thermal, before launching a solo career where he received a Grammy Award a ...

's "Bridge Between Two Hearts". Her second book, ''Growing Up Together'', appeared in 2000; her third, ''With New Eyes'', came out in 2004, and a fourth, ''Coming Up for Air'', was published in 2006. In late 2007, Becker's latest album, ''Air'', was released. Becker gives teaching seminars across the United States. She also produces records for other singers, and in 2006 she wrote a series of columns for ''

CCM Magazine ''CCM Magazine'' is an online magazine focusing on contemporary Christian music and media, published by Logan and Amanda Sekulow. History ''CCM'' was first published in July 1978, as a printed magazine. It has been owned by Salem since 1999. O ...

''. Becker has also been active in supporting

charities A charitable organization or charity is an organization whose primary objectives are philanthropy and social well-being (e.g. educational, religious or other activities serving the public interest or common good). The legal definition of a cha ...

such as

Habitat for Humanity Habitat for Humanity International (HFHI), generally referred to as Habitat for Humanity or Habitat, is a U.S. non-governmental, and tax-exempt 501(C)(3) Christian nonprofit organization which seeks to build affordable housing. The international ...

Compassion International Compassion International is an American child sponsorship and Christian humanitarian aid organization headquartered in Colorado Springs, Colorado, that aims to positively influence the long-term development of children globally who live in pover ...

, and

World Vision The world is the totality of entities, the whole of reality, or everything that exists. The nature of the world has been conceptualized differently in different fields. Some conceptions see the world as unique, while others talk of a "plu ...

. Becker lives in

Discography

*''Never for Nothing'' ( Sparrow, 1987) *''The Reckoning'' (Sparrow, 1988) *''Immigrant's Daughter'' (Sparrow, 1989) *''Simple House'' (Sparrow, 1991) *''Soul'' (Sparrow, 1993) *''Fiel a Ti'' (in Spanish) (Sparrow, 1995) *''Grace'' (Sparrow, 1995) *'' Falling Forward'' (Sparrow, 1998) *''What Kind of Love'' (Sparrow, 1999) *''My Refuge'' (Margaret Becker Productions, 2002) *''Just Come In'' (Cross Driven, 2003) (re-release of ''My Refuge'') *''Faithfully Yours'' ( Provident, 2004) *''Air'' (Go Global, 2007) Collaborative works *''

'' (with

and

) (Sparrow, 1994) *''

'' (with

Máire Brennan Moya Brennan (born Máire Philomena Ní Bhraonáin on 4 August 1952), also known as Máire Brennan, is an Irish folk singer, songwriter, harpist, and philanthropist. She is the sister of the musical artist known as Enya. She began performing pr ...

and

Joanne Hogg Joanne Hogg is a Northern Irish musician, best known for her work as the lead singer and songwriter with the Celtic Christian progressive rock band Iona. Early life and education Hogg was born in Ballymena to a family of medical missionaries ...

) (released as ''In Christ Alone: New Hymns for Prayer and Worship'' in the US) (

, 2001) *'' New Irish Hymns 2: Father, Son & Holy Spirit'' (with Joanne Hogg and Kristyn Lennox (Getty)) (Kingsway Music, 2003) *'' New Irish Hymns 3: Incarnation'' (with Joanne Hogg and

Kristyn Getty Kristyn Elizabeth Rebekah Getty ( Lennox, born 22 May 1980 in Belfast) is a Northern Irish Christian music, Christian singer and songwriter. With her husband, Keith Getty, she has co-written a number of popular modern hymns. Career Keith & Kri ...

) (Kingsway Music, 2004) *'' New Irish Hymns 4: Hymns For the Life of the Church'' (with Joanne Hogg and Kristyn Getty) (Kingsway Music, 2005) * ''Hymns of Christmas'' (with

Jennifer Knapp Jennifer Lynn Knapp (born April 12, 1974) is an American-Australian folk rock and contemporary Christian music singer-songwriter, author, and LGBTQ advocate. She is best known for her first single "Undo Me" from her Gold-certified debut studio ...

) (CD Baby, 2012) Compilations *''Steps of Faith: 1987–1991'' (Sparrow, 1992) *''Early Years'' ( Chordant, 1996) *''Very Best of Margaret Becker'' (Sparrow, 2006)

References

External links

* *

Margaret Becker Margaret Becker (born July 17, 1959) is an American Christian rock singer, guitarist, and songwriter. She has had twenty-one No. 1 Christian radio hits, won four Dove Awards, and been nominated for four Grammy Awards. Biography Becker was born ...

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 ...

Interview with Margaret Becker
{{DEFAULTSORT:Becker, Margaret 1959 births Living people American performers of Christian music Singers from New York (state) People from Bay Shore, New York Singers from Nashville, Tennessee James Madison University alumni People from East Islip, New York 21st-century American women singers 21st-century American singers