Early life[edit]

Moskowitz attended a Jewish parochial school where she sang in fluent Hebrew.^[2] Throughout her childhood into her college years, Moskowitz played piano and learned proper vocal techniques through a variety of schoolings and work. 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.^[3]


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.^[4] 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 asked her to join his new band, the United States of America, which she did. The band designed its debut album to be more melodic in nature, but conflicts with the label would cause issues over who controlled the recording sessions.^[5]