This month is Women’s History Month, and today, specifically, is International Women’s Day. In honor of that fact, I’m putting a Rock is a Verb spin on it by kicking off a Women Who Rock series, starting with a few of the fairer sexed powerhouses from the 1960s and 70s who unarguably started the Women Who Rock movement.
Click to watch Patti Smith perform “Gloria” on SNL
Patti Smith – Patti Smith was a poet who fused her prose and music to become the reigning “Godmother of Punk.” An amazing talent with the written word, “Horses” has found its way onto many a greatest albums list, and her memoir “Just Kids” is not only a great read, but is a New York Times Bestseller list maker, as well.
Click to watch Jefferson Airplane perform “White Rabbit” live at Woodstock
Grace Slick – Slick was and is one of the most prominent rock females, fronting Jefferson Airplane and several of its various incarnations. When the band rocketed to stardom after converting from folk to psychedelia, Slick lived the rock n’ roll stereotype loaded with sex, drugs and controversy. Among other things, she was one of the first people to drop the f-bomb on live television, on the Dick Cavett Show in 1969.
Click to see Fleetwood Mac perform “Gold Dust Woman” live
Stevie Nicks – Standing just over five feet tall, Stevie Nicks defines small but mighty. She found success with Fleetwood Mac in 1970s and as a solo artist in the 80s, 90s and even now, lending her signature deep rasp to countless hits and collaborations.
Click to watch Heart perform “Barracuda”
Ann & Nancy Wilson – Ever hear the old adage “your not famous until the gay rumors start?” Well, even the Wilson sisters weren’t immune to that one. The preposterous notion that not only were they gay but they were sisters and gay lovers couldn’t stop these two from rising above the ridiculous rumor and rocking to stardom well into the 80s.
Click to watch the music video for “Call Me” featuring Richard Gere in American Gigolo
Debbie Harry – Punk, New Wave, Disco…Debbie Harry was all of these things wrapped in sexy, sultry, streetwise package. Her signature two-toned hair contributed to the confusion that she, not her band, was Blondie, sparking a “Blondie is a Band” button campaign. No matter, the band’s early presence and heavy rotation on MTV solidified Debbie Harry as a rock icon.
Click to watch a live performance of “Queens of Noise”
The Runaway – These Queens of Noise may have been one of the first all-female rock bands to come out of the United States, but they hardly found any love here. Popular overseas, most notably in Japan, the Runaways released four albums and went out on one headlining tour. Their influence perhaps transcended their popularity and can be heard all over the likes of the Go-Go’s, L7, the Donnas and Hole. The Runaways are like a good bad movie, but notable rock frontierswomen, nonetheless. Speaking of good bad movies, the Runaways biopic featuring Michael Shannon, Dakota Fanning and KStew, much as I hate to admit it, is worth checking out.
Click to hear “All is Loneliness” by Big Brother and the Holding Company
Janis Joplin – Joplin passed away of a heroin overdose in 1970, making her a woman who rocked in the 1960s, but there can’t really be a list like this without giving Joplin a shout-out. Although she repeatedly sang about loneliness, sonically, Joplin had it all – vulnerability, strength and a voice that rose up and was heard.
And going back one more decade, I need to make mention of the Queen of Rock(abilly), Wanda Jackson. One of the first crossover artists, Jackson noticed the changing tide in her genre early on in her career and fused country music with rockabilly to find commercial success in the 1950s and 60s. Jackson is still rocking to this day, most recently with the King of Collaborations, Jack White.
Rock is a Verb 