A veteran singer-songwriter whose discography often reflects her parenthood, Sara Hickman graced a special Mother's Day edition of Mountain Stage with new music and songs from her latest album, Motherlode.
Raised in Texas by artistic parents, Hickman's debut album (Equal Scary People) helped her land a major-label deal in the late '80s. On a track to stardom, she appeared on The Tonight Show and hosted countdowns on VH1. When Elektra Records shelved her album Necessary Angels, Hickman's fans helped her raise $50,000 to buy the album back.
Hickman has long been a socially committed artist, helping charities and orphanages and protesting the death penalty. Not long after her first child was born in 1996, three children's albums followed, each focusing on a different stage of youth. In 2006, Hickman returned to making adult-oriented records with Motherlode, a two-disc set ruminating on womanhood, with guests including Shawn Colvin, Kelly Willis, Ruthie Foster, Adrian Belew, and Jimmy LaFave.
The set ends with a performance from Julie Adams, vocalist for the Mountain Stage house band. She wrote the song "Stella Can Bake" in honor of the mother of her bandmate, pianist Bob Thompson.
This segment originally ran July 17, 2008.
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