The Changer and the Changed

The Changer and the Changed liner notes, 1975, Olivia Records. Sophia Smith Collection, Women’s Music Archives records and collected music.

Olivia’s second record, Cris Williamson’s The Changer and the Changed, was released in 1975.

Born in South Dakota and living in California, Cris Williamson was a folk singer and songwriter whose music reflected her focus on spirituality–especially women’s spirituality.  

She had different values and priorities than many of the Olivia women who came from the world of lesbian separatism, a difference that was the cause of early disagreements. Williamson sang and spoke much less explicitly about lesbianism and feminism, and was more focused on the spiritual and healing power of music.

In a letter to Ginny Berson and Meg Christian, she wrote, “the politics involved in the process have, in my mind, come to overshadow that which is at the real center, indeed the very heart of this process which is music, and the beautiful magical part of it …. The final thing I wish to touch upon is that just as you doubt my total commitment to women, so I must say do I doubt your total commitment to all women. I do believe that some of the limits you choose to impose are not my limits.” ¹

Cris Williamson and Meg Christian, c. 1975. Sophia Smith Collection, Joan E. Biren papers.

The Changer and the Changed included emotional and inspiring ballads like “Waterfall” and “Sweet Woman,” with groundbreaking lines like, “…I’ll hold you and you’ll be mine, sweet woman.” “Song of the Soul,” a rousing sing-along song, was recorded with dozens of women and girls invited to sing the chorus, conducted by Williamson, making it all the more spiritually uplifting and healing.

Cris Williamson performing, c. 1975. Sophia Smith Collection, Joan E. Biren papers.

The Changer and the Changed sold up to eighty thousand copies in its first year. It would soon become Olivia’s most famous record, and the best-selling women’s music album of all time.