We started Olivia in 1973. For those of you who can remember back to 1973...take a minute and think back where and who you were then.
For the rest of you...Nixon was President, Watergate, music was played on big vinyl discs called records...no personal computers…just electric typewriters, no cell phones, no wireless anything. Vietnam, feminism, gay liberation all creating new levels of consciousness.. Workboots, Converse All Stars, bell bottoms, torn jeans, t-shirts, karate, tattoos, softball, lmonogamy shmagagamy…bad wine, good friends, women creating new homes with friends, motorcycles, toyota stationwagons, smoking, and the music, always the music…(more on that in another voice)…
I was 20. Had just graduated from the University of Michigan. I moved with 2 friends and one girlfriend to DC, met a group of amazing women (all major lesbian activists and softball players), became friends and decided we wanted to change the world together...it was just that simple in 1973. We were all radical lesbian feminists and we believed that if women just knew that they had a choice to be with other women, they would all become lesbians and the world would change. SIMPLE really. We had all been in political cadres before...some were part of the Furies (a radical lesbian publication), some were from radical lesbians in Ann Arbor (me and my pals). So we decided to keep meeting and playing together (there were ten of us) until the right idea hit us.
We wanted to create a business that would sustain this work, but we didn't know what it could be. So we waited, patiently, for the idea to arrive. And it did one day in the guise of a wonderful singer/songwriter named Cris Williamson.
But let me backtrack a moment...Meg Christian was one of the women in our group and Meg was a singer/guitarist who performed at clubs throughout the DC area and her audiences were primarily lesbians....no really, pretty much 100% lesbian. Meg would sing love songs and change the pronouns...or sing country songs like Stand By Your Man that would show how absurdly women were portrayed in the music we listened to.
We lovingly called Meg the "librarian" of women's music, because she'd spend a great deal of time searching through the bargain bins of record stores for new female artists. One day she found an album by Cris Williamson, took it home and fell in love with Cris's music and started performing Cris's songs for her audiences. Cris became a favorite of the lesbian community before she ever performed in DC.
One day Meg learned that Cris would be performing at GW University and invited her audiences to Cris' show. Cris was on a college tour...an unknown artist performing in colleges throughout the country was not a very fun gig. But when she stepped out on the stage at GW, 400 women were in there cheering and clapping. Cris had no idea what was happening. As she sang her first song, another round of applause erupted and Cris was so caught off guard, she forgot the words to "Joanna." Out of the audience came Meg's voice, singing the words back to her. And that's how they met...the two most significant artists in the creation of Olivia Records.
Meg went backstage with arms full of tapes of women's music for Cris and invited Cris to be interviewed by Meg on a women's radio show the next day. Cris agreed and while talking on the air about the difficulties of being a woman in the recording industry...Cris blurted out: "Why don't you just start a women's record company!" And that's all it took.
That day Meg's partner Ginny called the group together, she was going to present the perfect idea. She wanted to tell all of us at once, so we gathered and sat on the hardwood floor in Meg and Ginny's house and waited for the announcement. Ginny and Meg were brimming over with excitement as Ginny leaned in and announced "A National Women's Recoding Company." The rest of us sat there stunned. Then someone spoke up...”uh, are you crazy? We know nothing about making records, we have no money and...." But Meg and Ginny started to talk about creating music for women, creating concerts and records and a cultural movement…I could feel the energy in the room shift from disbelief to a room of true believers. I knew in that instant my life was about to change in a major way. It was just that compelling, that clear. We could change the world through music. 35 years later music and comedy remain such an important part of what Olivia offers, making each vacation experience an entertainment fest. Now we are joined by the best women artists from Meg Christain to k.d. lang, from Margaret Cho to Kate Clinton, from Catie Curtis to Karen Williams to Melissa Etheridge, to Heart…
As a record company Olivia produced about 40 albums and sold over a million records. We helped to train local women concert producers and distributors, and thousands of concerts thrived throughout the country bringing the artists and the music to large cities and small towns. The albums often were a lifeline for women who were in the closet in their own town and unable to come out. The stories I have heard over the years are in fact a rich narrative of this transitional moment in women’s history, when women discovered lesbianism and became strong and independent. Olivia was there at the right moment to be the cultural expression of a new generation, indeed, helping to change the world for women.
January 23, 1973 was the first day the group met and decided to work together. It's the date we celebrate Olivia's anniversary. This coming year we celebrate Olivia's 35th year.
And now I have to ask you…What was your first Olivia event? Who was the first Olivia artist you ever saw? Were you on the first Olivia cruise? Do you have pictures? Will you share?
And if your first event was an Olivia vacation, tell us what that was like, how you made the decision to come with us, any favorite moments you can share?
To celebrate our 35th we are gathering stories from all of the women of Olivia who have been with us over the years. We invite you to share your stories and photos of your first experience with Olivia, or any stories you'd like to tell. Think of it as an oral history documentary commemorating your history with Olivia—and know the impact you have had on Olivia and the community we all are.
We have created a group in Olivia Connect called “35 Years of Olivia” where you can share your Olivia history. I’m looking forward to having this great way to share.
xo
Judy
p.s. How many of you knew we started as a record company?