Biography
Sara Hickman entered the world on March 1, 1963, in Jacksonville, North Carolina, and spent her childhood in Houston, Texas. At fourteen she took her first professional steps, appearing with only guitar and voice at a Houston Oilers gathering. Throughout her remaining teenage years she sang at bank openings, weddings, and psychiatric units. After completing studies at Houston’s High School for Performing Arts she earned a bachelor of arts degree in painting from the University of North Texas. Her debut album, Equal Scary People, appeared in 1988 on the independent Four Dots label; strong public response prompted Elektra to sign her in 1989 and re-release the record. Two years later she delivered Shortstop to Elektra, which contained the adult-contemporary success “I Couldn’t Help Myself.” Following tours alongside Dan Fogelberg and Nanci Griffith she completed Necessary Angels in 1994, yet Elektra declined to issue it. Supporters pooled funds so Hickman could purchase the masters, enabling the album’s eventual release on Discovery. By 1997 she had moved to Shanachie Records, issuing the odds-and-ends collection Misfits, the Adrian Belew-produced Two Kinds of Laughter in 1998, and Spiritual Appliances in 2000. Through her own Sleeveless imprint she also offered limited-edition discs and cassettes such as This Christmas Wish, Faithful Heart, the official bootleg Ready to Pop (captured while she was seven months pregnant), and the children’s projects Newborn (1999), the award-winning Toddler (2001), and Big Kid (2003). Charity concerts formed another central thread of her career, raising awareness for abused and neglected children, breast-cancer research, AIDS, women’s issues, illiteracy, and homelessness. In 2006 she returned with Motherlode on Mesa/Blue Moon.
Albums
Singles
