Emily Saliers
Her intricate guitar work and soaring harmonies with Amy Ray created a folk-rock sound that gave voice to a generation's social and personal struggles.
Born 1963 (age 63)·American musician·Birthday: July 22·Baby Boomers
Biography
Emily Saliers grew up in Georgia, her musical life shaped by the folk and church music of her childhood. While studying English at Emory University, her partnership with Amy Ray, formed in high school, solidified into the Indigo Girls. Their self-titled major-label debut in 1989, featuring the hit 'Closer to Fine,' catapulted them from the Atlanta club scene to national fame, winning a Grammy and defining the sound of earnest, politically aware folk-rock for the 1990s. Saliers, the soprano to Ray's alto, brought a meticulous, melodic sensibility to her songwriting and became known for her complex, fingerpicked guitar patterns. Beyond music, she has been a vocal and financial supporter of LGBTQ+ rights, environmental causes, and social justice, co-owning a restaurant in Atlanta. Her career, spanning decades, demonstrates how deeply personal songcraft can resonate with universal themes of love, doubt, and hope.
Baby Boomers
1946–1964
The largest generation in history at the time. Shaped by postwar prosperity, the Vietnam War, the sexual revolution, and Watergate. They questioned every institution their parents built — then ran them.
Emily was born in 1963, placing them squarely in the Baby Boomers. The events that shaped this generation — postwar prosperity, civil rights, Vietnam, and the counterculture — shaped the world they entered and the choices available to them.
#1 When Emily Was Born
The biggest hits of 1963
#1 Movie
Cleopatra
Best Picture
Tom Jones
#1 TV Show
Beverly Hillbillies
Emily's Life & Times
The world at every milestone
1963Born
JFK assassinated in Dallas; Martin Luther King's 'I Have a Dream' speech
Gas: $0.31/galHome: $13,100Min wage: $1.25/hrPresident: Lyndon B. Johnson"Sugar Shack" — Jimmy Gilmer & The FireballsBest Picture: Tom Jones
1968Started school
Martin Luther King Jr. and Robert Kennedy assassinated
Gas: $0.34/galHome: $14,950Min wage: $1.60/hrPresident: Lyndon B. Johnson"Hey Jude" — The BeatlesBest Picture: Oliver!
1976Became a teenager
Apple Computer founded; US bicentennial
Gas: $0.59/galHome: $29,300Min wage: $2.30/hrPresident: Gerald Ford"Silly Love Songs" — WingsBest Picture: Rocky
1979Could drive
Iran hostage crisis begins; Three Mile Island accident
Gas: $0.86/galHome: $37,900Min wage: $2.90/hrPresident: Jimmy Carter"My Sharona" — The KnackBest Picture: Kramer vs. Kramer
1981Could vote
MTV launches; first Space Shuttle flight; AIDS identified
Gas: $1.31/galHome: $52,300Min wage: $3.35/hrPresident: Ronald Reagan"Bette Davis Eyes" — Kim CarnesBest Picture: Chariots of Fire
1984Turned 21
Apple Macintosh introduced
Gas: $1.13/galHome: $59,800Min wage: $3.35/hrPresident: Ronald Reagan"When Doves Cry" — PrinceBest Picture: Amadeus
1993Turned 30
European Union officially established
Gas: $1.11/galHome: $86,600Min wage: $4.25/hrPresident: Bill Clinton"I Will Always Love You" — Whitney HoustonBest Picture: Schindler's List
2003Turned 40
US invades Iraq; Human Genome Project completed
Gas: $1.59/galHome: $146,000Min wage: $5.15/hrPresident: George W. Bush"In Da Club" — 50 CentBest Picture: The Lord of the Rings: The Return of the King
2013Turned 50
Edward Snowden reveals NSA surveillance programs
Gas: $3.53/galHome: $152,800Min wage: $7.25/hrPresident: Barack Obama"Thrift Shop" — Macklemore & Ryan LewisBest Picture: 12 Years a Slave
2023Turned 60
ChatGPT goes mainstream; Israel-Hamas war begins
Gas: $3.52/galHome: $361,600Min wage: $7.25/hrPresident: Joe Biden"Flowers" — Miley CyrusBest Picture: Oppenheimer
2026Age 63 today
Gas: $3.91/galPresident: Donald Trump
Key Achievements
- Won a Grammy Award for Best Contemporary Folk Album in 1990 for the Indigo Girls' self-titled major-label debut.
- Co-wrote and performed 'Closer to Fine,' a defining anthem of 1990s folk-rock that became one of the duo's signature songs.
- Authored a book of essays, 'A Song to Sing, a Life to Live,' with Don Saliers, reflecting on music and spirituality.
- Has released multiple successful solo albums, including 'Murmuration Nation' in 2017, showcasing her artistry outside the duo.
Did You Know?
She is left-handed but plays guitar right-handed.
She is a dedicated fan of the Atlanta Braves baseball team.
She co-owns the vegetarian-friendly restaurant Watershed in Atlanta (originally in Decatur).
Her father, Don Saliers, is a noted theologian and professor of worship and music at Emory University.
“The power of music is that it can name things for you that you didn't know had a name.”
