Stephen Adams (1841-1913) was the pseudonym of Michael Maybrick, an English composer and songwriter. He is best known as the composer of “The Holy City,” which was published in 1892. The song was extremely popular in England and the United States, and was performed by many popular singers of the time.

Adams was born in Liverpool, England, and began his career as a composer and songwriter in the mid 1800s. He studied with amongst others W.T. Best, before moving first to Leipzig to study with Reinecke and others (keyboard and harmony), and later to Milan to study with Gaetano Nava (bariton).

In addition to “The Holy City,” he also wrote a number of other popular songs, including “The Blue Alsatian Mountains”, “The Light of the World” and “The Star of Bethlehem”.