The first full-length record Olivia produced was Meg Christian’s album, I Know You Know. Released in 1974, the album included both touching and humorous songs about lesbian life, including “Valentine Song” and “Ode to a Gym Teacher.” I Know You Know was one of the earliest albums celebrating lesbian identity. 1
The women behind “I Know You Know,” 1974. Sophia Smith Collection, Joan E. Biren papers.
I Know You Know was a resounding success for Olivia, selling thousands of copies in its first year and proving that there was an audience and an appetite for this music.
The photograph on the album cover above was shot by Joan E. Biren, or JEB, a feminist photographer whose work centrally documented queer life, and who was in the separatist Furies collective. 2
However, the image drew criticism from different groups of women over Christian’s position–many thought she shouldn’t be presented sitting atop a pedestal, or that her seated position wasn’t assertive enough. The critiques around image and presentation speak to how important and novel Meg’s music and the project of Olivia Records was. With so few representations of lesbianism in media, this first Olivia album meant everything.
A promotional flyer from Olivia described the response to the album:
Meg Christian performing, c. 1974. Sophia Smith Collection, Joan E. Biren papers.
- Bonnie J. Morris and D-M Withers, The Feminist Revolution, (London: Elephant Publishing Company Limited, 2018), 108. ↩
- Ginny Z. Berson, Olivia on the Record (Sam Francisco: Aunt Lute Books, 2020), 106. ↩
- “Meg Christian: I Know You Know,” Olivia Records, c. 1977, Sophia Smith Collection, Ginny Berson papers. ↩