Becker was born in
Bay Shore, New York, United States, raised in
East Islip, New York, and began playing in coffeehouses while teaching music and taking opera lessons. Having graduated from
James Madison University with a degree in communication, she moved to
Nashville, Tennessee in 1985, and signed to
Sparrow Records as a songwriter; soon after she toured with
Rick Cua as a backup singer and sang on
Steve Camp's 1986 album
One on One. The next year she landed a
contract as a solo artist, and released her debut album,
Never for Nothing. Although she was raised in Catholicism, Margaret currently attends a non-denominational church in Nashville, Tennessee. After 1995's
Grace, Becker decided to take a
sabbatical from the music industry; during this time she wrote a book entitled
With New Eyes and wrote editorials for
Campus Life magazine. She left
Sparrow Records in 2002 but has continued to record since then, both her own albums and for compilation albums. She appears on the albums
Sisters (
Warner Bros. Records, 1994),
Listen to Our Hearts (Sparrow, 1998),
Heaven and Earth (Sparrow, 1999), and the
New Irish Hymns series (
Kingsway Music), and is one of the members of the 1994 collaboration
Along the Road along with
Susan Ashton and
Christine Denté. She co-wrote
Bob Carlisle's "Bridge Between Two Hearts". Her second book,
Growing Up Together, appeared in 2000; her third,
With New Eyes, came out in 2004, and a fourth,
Coming Up for Air, was published in 2006. In late 2007, Becker's latest album,
Air, was released. Becker gives teaching seminars across the United States. She also produces records for other singers, and in 2006 she wrote a series of columns for
CCM Magazine. Becker has also been active in supporting
charities such as
Habitat for Humanity,
Compassion International, and
World Vision. Becker lives in
Nashville, Tennessee. ==Discography==