ABSTRACT
Best known as the founder of Lilith Fair, a tour providing a forum for female artists, Sarah McLachlan emerged from the 1990s as one of the highly regarded-and commercially successful-singer/songwriters on the music scene. Both her recordings and Lilith Fair have encouraged countless women to consider popular music as a viable career option. Born in Halifax, Nova Scotia, McLachlan took piano, guitar, and voice lessons as a youth. Attracting the interest of the Nettwerk label while performing with the new wave act, October Game, she recorded Touch (Nettwerk 30024; 1988; released in the U.S. by Arista #18594; 1989; #132), which went gold in Canada. The follow-up, Solace (Arista #18631; 1991; #167), showed McLachlan to be treading water. However, the next LP, Fumbling Towards Ecstasy (Arista #18725; 1993; #50), with its insightful song lyrics-most notably, adding a sociopolitical dimension to her prior concentration on personal relationships-complementing her expressive singing, represented an artistic breakthrough. The momentum generated by its triple platinum sales extended to the next album of newly recorded material, Surfacing (Arista #18970; 1997; #2), which ultimately sold more than 7 million copies on the strength of three hit singles: “Adia” (Arista #13497; 1998; #3), “Angel” (Arista #13497/13621; 1997; #4), and “Building a Mystery” (Arista #13395; 1997; #13). The LP also won Grammy awards for Best Female Pop Vocal and Best Pop Instrumental Performance.
