Margaret Becker, a songwriter, electric guitarist, and vocalist, has amassed fourteen top-rated singles on Christian radio along with three Dove Awards and four Grammy nominations across a distinguished career in Christian rock, though her creative output shows no sign of slowing.
She was born to German and Irish parents and grew up on Long Island in New York. Early on she worked the coffeehouse circuit, taking any available stage while also studying journalism, teaching music, training in opera, and holding various temporary positions, one of which involved collecting overdue accounts at a department store to cover basic living costs.
In 1985, only weeks after relocating to Nashville to concentrate fully on music, she joined the Sparrow Records roster as a songwriter rather than a recording artist. Within a year, however, the label granted her the artist contract she had long sought.
Becker’s husky voice and commanding stage presence first drew widespread attention in 1986 when she partnered with Steve Camp on the album One on One and supplied background vocals during tours with the Rick Cua Band.
Her own debut, Never for Nothing, appeared in 1987 and introduced the hit single “Fight for God.” The follow-up project, The Reckoning, yielded two further successes, “Light in the Darkness” and “Find Me,” while additional charting tracks include “The Hunger Stays,” “You Remain Unchanged,” “Clay and Water,” and “All I Ever Wanted.”
Later releases such as Immigrant’s Daughter, Simple House, the best-of collection Steps of Faith, Grace, and the Spanish-language album Fiel A Ti sustained her momentum. After Grace in 1995 she took a three-year voluntary break, during which she co-wrote a children’s series, contributed a column to Campus Life magazine, and authored the book With New Eyes. She resumed recording with Falling Forward in 1998 and What Kind of Love the following year.
Over the course of her career Becker has performed throughout Germany, South Africa, Ireland, Australia, Finland, the United Kingdom, Holland, and across the United States. She has also received nominations or awards in multiple categories, among them New Artist of the Year, Contemporary Album of the Year, Female Vocalist of the Year, Inspirational Song of the Year, Best Pop Gospel Album, Song of the Year, and Best Rock/Contemporary Gospel Album.
