Dorothy Moskowitz
| Dorothy Moskowitz | |
|---|---|
| Also known as | Dorothy Moskowitz-Falarski |
| Born | 1940 (age 76–77) |
| Genres | |
| Occupation(s) | Musician, songwriter, teacher |
| Instruments | Vocals |
| Years active | 1963–present |
| Labels | |
| Associated acts |
The United States of America Country Joe's All-Star Band |
Dorothy S. Moskowitz (born 1940) is an American singer and songwriter, who was most notably a lead vocalist in the experimental rock band, The United States of America. Moskowitz and the band, though not too commercially successful, produced some of the earliest examples of electronic rock. Following the band's demise, Moskowitz continued her music career, and was a member of Country Joe's All-Star Band.
Throughout her childhood into her college years, Moskowitz taught herself to play piano, and learned proper vocal techniques as conventional teaching methods proved to be unsuccessful. In high school, she worked as an accompanist in a children's dance studio. During her studies at Barnard College, Moskowitz also began writing her first compositions, including the college's official Alma Mater song. Moskowitz commented on the experience saying, "Had I gone to a place like Oberlin, where there were serious musicians, I might never have had the audacity to do what I did. As it turned out, Barnard College taught me audacity, if nothing else. Its lack of music reputation wasn't a stumbling block. It was actually an opportunity in disguise." Moskowitz eventually earned a degree in government, and briefly had a stint at Columbia University where she was informally trained by Otto Luening.
In the spring of 1963, she met Joseph Byrd in New York and started a relationship with him. The two's first album they worked on was a Christmas album called The Life Treasury of Christmas Music, which was released in 1963. Together, they also developed a record series narrating the history of the United States in which Moskowitz produced, provided research, and liner notes. Later in 1963, the two moved to California to enroll in UCLA. It was here that Moskowitz learned about vocal styles of different cultures, and taught a class called "Feminism and I". She also contributed to an Indian music album by Gayathri Rajapur and Harihar Rao in 1965. By 1966, Moskowitz and Byrd had separated, and she returned to New York for a year. Byrd then offered her to join his new band, The United States of America. The band designed their debut album to be more melodic in nature, but conflicts with the label would cause issues over who controlled the recording sessions.
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