Redartz: Growing up in the 70's, most of my peers in school were big fans of bands such as Kiss, Aerosmith, Boston, Styx, and singers like Alice Cooper, Bowie, and John Lennon. I also liked most of these performers, but there was just something missing...females. Unlike some of my friends, I really loved female singers and groups. From pop to soul to rock, 60's to 80's, these ladies filled my speakers with great sounds.
Heart: Ann and Nancy Wilson; their act was aptly named. Their music had heart, and loads of it. Heart, power, and emotion; and they produced some very catchy tunes as well. One of my favorites:
Heart, "Crazy on You"
Carly Simon: A great example of the 'singer songwriter' genre so prevalent in the 70's. Carole King was more influential, Joni Mitchell was edgier (and I loved both of those singers, of course); but Carly was tops in my eyes (and ears). Capable of poignant, sensitive lyrics, energetic rockers, dance tunes, and quirky bizarre-ness, Carly did it all. And with a wonderful, earthy, evocative voice. I collected her lp's as obsessively as I did Spider-man comics.
Carly Simon, "Haven't Got Time for the Pain"
Tina Turner: Nobody, but nobody, can 'belt it out' better than Tina. From the swinging 60's onwards she swung with serious soul. This cut, with Ike, is jaw-dropping. George Harrison had high praise for this performance, and with good reason...
Tina (and Ike) Turner, "River Deep, Mountain High"
The Go-Go's: Gina Schock, Kathy Valentine, Charlotte Caffey, Jane Weidlin and Belinda Carlise. These ladies made some of the 'funnest' music of the 80's. Their debut album, "Beauty and the Beat", got worn out in our apartment building. And I got such a kick from them, I saw them live three separate times. Here's a great one:
The Go-Go's, "Skidmarks on my Heart"
That's just scratching the surface. There are dozens more fab females I could name, but let's hear from you. Which ones rocked your turntable?
28 comments:
We have a reasonable contingent of Chicago-region folks on here, IIRC? Youse guys n' gals remember HOW HEAVY both "Crazy On You" and then "Magic Man" were in WLS's rotation at the time? And it wasn't one of those cases where you started to groan when the intro started (*cough* "Let 'Em In" *cough*). . .
And am I remembering that the Wilson sisters HATED Dreamboat Annie's cover design? But as new artists were pressured by the studio to go the low-concept sex-appeal route?
"The Best of Carly Simon" is one of those rare greatest-hit compilation albums that really has its own "feel" as a record, as opposed to being a simple dutiful accounting of the artist's work. It's one of my favorites. A staple in my going-to-sleep-with-my-headphones-on turntable stack. (A whole different topic for a future post, perhaps?)
But Red, Red--- THE BANGLES!
As I read down your post, I just assumed they'd be popping up. . . and then you were finished--- holy cats! (Ah-- or perhaps you were just being generous, and leaving some obvious female-rockers for the rest of us to cite, yes? Eh?)
If memory serves, when they first sprang up on the national radar, reviewers and press clearly wanted to NOT like them (just another Beatles-inspired gimmick band, like the Monkees, etc), and ended up falling in love with them instead. Like, in the same review. That first album of theirs, ALL OVER THE PLACE, is one of the few records I remember loving upon listening to it the first time-- (I tend to "grow" into albums. . . even fantastic ones). Golly. . .
HB
I only know three songs by Heart - "These Dreams" (1986), "Alone" (1987) and "All I Wanna Do Is Make Love To You" (1990)...and what great songs they are!
I'd also mention Kate Bush - her hit "Wuthering Heights" in 1978 was the first ever UK #1 song written by a woman.
Suzi Quatro - an American singer who was much bigger in Great Britain than her native America. She had two UK #1 hits - "Can The Can" in 1973 and "Devil Gate Drive" in 1974. Carly Simon has never revealed who "You're So Vain" is about and likewise Suzi Quatro won't say what "Can The Can" actually means!
Pussycat - a Dutch girl-group who reached #1 in the UK singles chart in 1976 with "Mississippi". A Dutch group singing about an American river reaching No.1 in the British singles chart.
Clout - a girl-group from South-Africa who reached No.2 in 1978 with "Substitute" which I mention only because I love the song.
Hazel O' Connor - her hit "Eighth Day" from 1980 is another favourite of mine. Mankind creates artificial intelligence which brings about a nuclear apocalypse!
HB mentioned the Bangles - I love "Manic Monday" and my late mother loved "Eternal Flame" :)
I liked Blondie, Linda Ronstadt, Heart, the Go-Go's. From the '90s, Bif Naked: "Moment of Weakness", "Spaceman", "I Love Myself Today". She has an autobiography out, "I, Bificus" (2016) that's great.
I was listening to '90s hits recently, and liking these songs by women: Elastica "Connection", Deee-Lite "Groove is in the Heart", the Breeders "Cannonball", Salt-N-Pepa "Shoop".
It's a hard topic to discuss mainly due to asking: What is rock? Is Carly Simon rock? How does she compare other rock pianists of her era? Warren Zevon, Elton John, Billy Joel, all certainly rock stars, or is she more Rupert Holmes, Jay Ferguson and Randy Newman. All equally talented but if we say Carly Simon is "rock" would that open the door wide enough for the Carpenters to now make the discussion?
"... what's it all supposed to mean?"
"Supposed to mean!?! SUPPOSED TO MEAN!?!"
And certainly, we can't discuss women in rock during the 70s without echoing Garrett's listing of Linda Ronstadt. Undoubtedly one of the finest talents ever. EVER!!!
And we can't mention the 70s without mentioning Blondie. But if you're going to say "70s, girl groups, rock" then there is one band and one band only that fits that bill: The Runaways. Rockers, girls, group. End of discussion, for the 70s.
If Heart, The Go-Gos, and The Bangles bring us into the 80s, we can now include second generation rockers The Vixen, another all girl rock group (BIG HAIR!!! BIG HAIR!!!) and Germany's Warlock fronted by Dorothee Pesch.
(With a pinch of rock and a dose of roll
I can warm you up if you get too cold
I can bring you up when you're going down
I can smash your head all over this town
You gave me the answer
Now I got the answer, oh yeah
'Cause we're the queens of noise
Come and get it boys
Queens of noise
Not just one of your toys
Queens of noise
I remember you at our second show
You were holding on and you wouldn't let go
And I bet you'll always be that way
Whenever you see us start to play
You gave me the answer
Now I got the answer, oh yeah
'Cause we're the queens of noise
Come and get it boys
Queens of noise
Not just one of your toys
Queens of noise
Queens of noise
Come and get it boys
Queens of noise
Not just one of your toys
Queens of noise
Queens of noise
Come and get it boys
Queens of noise
Not just one of your toys
Queens of noise
Come and get it boys
Queens of noise
Not just one of your toys
Queens of noise).
PS: HB, I checked the "Email follow-up comments to my email address. If you can send me a comment, I need a HUGE email favor, if you could...
I’ll throw out a couple continental names for the Euro fans: Gianna Naninni, France Gall, Basia, Patricia Kass. Yowza! They all topped their respective charts at various times.
HB - WLS World’s Largest Store!
From Top-40 to a lot of ultra-right talk radio though Steve Dahl has (?did) have a home there recently!
Anyone recall Disco Demolition at White Sox Park? YouTube has good videos of the place on fire, the explosion of 1000s of disco records, etc. LOL. It was all Steve Dahl’s brain child!
Let's not forget Suzi Quatro. She aged the way for so many...
HB- you caught me I could've listed many more, but don't want to 'hog the mike'! Great call on the Bangles; wonderful group. And another I neglected to mention: Bananarama; makes of the ultimate summer song: "Cruel Summer"...
Prowl- your point is well taken. Perhaps I should have e gone with "Women of Pop Music".
Charlie- Yes! Basia! Magnificent!
I liked all of the above. And I don’t think anybody mentioned Joan Jett but surely she was a key 80s contributor.
I also liked Bow Wow Wow and the Cranberries - also fronted by female vocalists.
One of my favorite bands ever is Mary’s Danish who with Gretchen Seager and Julie Ritter were truly unique.
I'll echo other people's mentions of Suzi Quatro, the first female, "Rocker," I can remember making an impact in the UK singles chart. Plus, there's something about the sight of a woman playing a bass that's always alluring.
For me, the Number One female singer will always be Siouxsie Sioux, probably the first, "non-nice," female singer to make the UK charts. She effectively invented Goth and, over a period of a decade and a half, she and the Banshees churned out a whole string of classic tracks.
Like Colin says, Kate Bush deserves a mention, breaking through just a few months before Siouxsie Sioux and at the same age. She was a lot more user-friendly than Sioux but also had a supernatural bent and, like her, was determined to assert herself creatively in a way that previous female singers hadn't been.
Over the last few days, I've been listening to a fair bit of Alison Moyet who pretty much bypassed me in the 1980s but it has recently struck me just how good a singer she is. She's still sounding great now.
I really don't like California-era Fleetwood Mac but I do have to confess that Stevie Nicks has a great voice with far more power than someone as swirly-whirly as her should have.
I'm not that into Patti Smith but she's clearly had a massive influence on a lot of female singers who've come along since.
Kiki Dee's only really remembered nowadays for one song - that duet - but has one of the best voices of any British female singer ever.
Kim Wilde. Her first two albums are great, I love her vocal nasalness, and her first few singles are dystopian synth-pop classics.
Charlie, you're right. Basia is great.
First ones that came to mind for me were Joan Jett and Pat Benatar ... both knew how to rock back in the day (Joan still does!). I agree on Debbie Harry, Heart, and the Bangles. (And I'm with Garret 100% on Bif Naked ... great voice, great lyrics, great attitude.)
I'd also add Chrissie Hynde/Pretenders, Poly Styrene (from X-Ray Spex), Alannis Morisette (who seems to have disappeared), Pink (whose voice makes any song sound great), Brody Dalle (from the Distillers/Spinerette), Tegan and Sara (great Canadian singers), and Courtney Love (I really like her gravelly voice, and the way she puts across the feelings behind her songs).
Taylor Momsen (of Pretty Reckless) is good too.
11 comments and no one's mentioned Janis Joplin yet?! Man...
Otherwise, agree with others about Debbie Harry, Chrissie Hynde, Kate Bush and Suzi Quatro.
Some others I like include Sade and X's lead singer Exene Cervenka.
Patti Smith, meanwhile, is simply a legend.
As for Heart and the Wilson sisters, I love their material from the '70s, but I could not and still cannot stand any of their later output when they had that resurgence in the 1980s.
Two others I really like, who are often overlooked or forgotten: Joan Armatrading and, especially, the incomparably awesome funk icon Betty Davis.
Should also mention Johnette Napolitano from Concrete Blonde. I also really enjoyed her side project as Pretty & Twisted with Marc Moreland. Some great songs with both. “Tomorrow Wendy” should be played more frequently.
Glad to see the Pretenders mentioned. Chrissie Hynde was definitely ahead of her time and the first two Pretenders albums are classics.
No one has said, so I am hesitant, because perhaps I am misreading the premise? Dare I mention Madonna? I have to assume her sales total all the other names mentioned combined? She is definitely female, a group of 1, and I am sure all of us have at least one or two of her songs dear to us? For me: Vogue and Isla Bonita.
Steve you are a true musical connoisseur!
Prowl-- Man, I can't for the life of me figure out where I should be able to find your email contact from that function (I just clicked the same one, in fact). Does it do it automatically? Does this message, in fact, set up the connection? Let me know. If I'm still missing the cyber-bus, I'll probably just letcha guys in on my email addy here, or. . .
Red, are you a common contact between a bunch of us? If so, do feel free to get Prowl & I connected, if you were so inclined, yeah?
Can't BELIEVE we overlooked Janis Joplin.
Can't quite bring myself to call The Carpenters rock. That'd be like calling Helen Reddy or Anne Murray rock. Nope.
Pat Benatar still gets my vote as most talented (and versatile) vocalist.
HB
HB - you be on the weed man? Basia makes Benetar sound like Shirley Temple. LOL .
Charlie, Basia's fine, but then again, Ofra Haza makes *her* sound like Shirley Temple.
Oh, yeah - can't believe I forget overlooked her until now, given that I love(d) Missing Persons: Dale Bozzio.
Charlie, I think the problem with Madonna is that she's not necessarily that popular as a human being. She's made some great records - especially the William Orbit stuff - but people have a hard time warming to her and that, I suspect, makes them reluctant to praise her.
From Terry in Virginia:
Grace Slick of Jefferson Airplane/Starship always topped the list for me. From 1967's White Rabbit and Somebody to Love up until Hyperdrive, Devil's Den, and Fastbuck Freddie, I loved almost all of her work through about 1975. Her "Dreams" solo album from 1979 was also a career highlight. She wrote most of her own lyrics and quite a bit of her own music. It was smart, edgy, and totally original.
Janis Joplin also played actual rock music when she wasn't doing the blues. "Down on Me" and "Piece of My Heart" rock harder than just about anything.
Patti Smith: The four albums she did in the 1970s, starting with Horses, were all great -- sort of punk meets intelligence and poetry.
Chrissie Hynde: Just brilliant. "Precious" and "Tattooed Love Boys" from the first album were dynamite.
As for Heart, I really loved their first two albums. Not so much the later stuff, but they continued on as a powerful live act and are worthy of respect.
And finally, yes, absolutely Tina Turner. From the Ike and Tina days through her long solo career, she really was the reigning queen of rock music. Sure, there was some "soul" and "R&B" in her grooves, but for flat-out hard rock intensity, you can't beat her.
That's about it for female rock singers that I can think of. Plenty of brilliant singer-songwriters, of course, with Joni Mitchell topping that category, but that's not quite the same thing.... although Stevie Nicks was sort of a singer-songwriter who lived a rock and roll lifestyle (and she did some great stuff).
But I'll have to politely disagree about Madonna -- for me it was shallow disco pop that sounded like it was written by a corporate marketing executive. Same is true of all the other "Pop Divas" of the past 30 years, up to and including Paula Abdul, Janet Jackson, Mariah Carey, Whitney Houston, Lady Gag-Ga, etc. etc. etc.
My opinion, anyway. I'm sure there will be opposing viewpoints...
From Terry in Virginia:
Sorry, I just forgot to mention Pat Benatar! Sure, the videos were kinda cheesy, but she had a great voice and a great band (especially her husband guitarist and her drummer). The band's intensity, and her insane vocal range really made up for the somewhat cliched lyrics. She and Stevie Nicks were among the best things happening in music in the otherwise dreadful 1980s....
Great comments, everyone; many many thanks for your participation!
Regarding Madonna, personally I liked much of her music, but not all of it. Terry in Virginia commented about the more current pop divas, and I'd agree about some of the most recent ones (if you rely on auto tune, how can you call yourself a singer?). But Lady Gaga- I find her work intriguing and provocative, and much more intelligent than the majority of top 40 music today. Buuuut, that's just me...
HB and Prowl- my attempt to connect is underway; please let me know if I can be of any further assistance!
P.J. Harvey - garage, punk, blues, glam, indie, and pop all rolled up in a dark, brazen, all-out awesome package. Dry and Rid of Me are lo-fi rockers with guts to spare. To Bring You My Love is alternately harsh and heartbreaking. Is This Desire? saw Ms. Harvey incorporate more electronic sounds without losing her edge. Stories From the City, Stories from the Sea is her most accessible album, a journey from romance to break-up using more anthemic sounds. She has 4 more albums and some side projects. I can't recommend her music highly enough.
- Mike Loughlin
NOT a fan of Madonna's go-to vocal quality-- the one that she leaned into for most of her bigger, earlier hits (the voice in "Get Into The Groove"-- if that's the right title-- for example). A thin, high, badly-place nasal whine that has no breath support or power behind it whatsoever. I feel like the horror of Britney Spears' alleged "vocals" are a direct descendant of that sound. (Not holdin' back on that one, teammates--).
However, like Red, I'll totally go to bat for Lady Gaga. Yup, she went through a whole gaggle of find-herself phases, but I don't think there's any question of the legitimacy of her many artistic gifts. I love her voice and how she uses it; her composition style as a songwriter is fantastic (SO many earworms); note that she's comfortable accompanying herself on keyboards when performing; she is solid with the difficult choreography she undertakes (and has often performed while injured, in fact)-- she's smart, she's off-center, she has causes she's passionate about, and she clearly connects with her fans in way that is beyond simply seeking their approval. She also took on the challenge of training herself to sing in a traditional musical theater style. It's been cool watching her kinda "grow up" over the last few years.
HB (fanboy)
Since no-one's mentioned the late great Kirsty MacColl, I'll do so right here.
I always ejoyed Pat Benetar and her band, they were firering on all pistons from 83 to 86. I also really enjoyed Siouxsie and The Banshees in the 80's to 90's with their goth pop sound.
Terri Nunn of Berlin!!
Madonna's popularity and longevity are a mystery to me. I can't think of a thing she ever did that Terri Nunn, Stevie Nicks, Patty Smyth (of Scandal), and The Bangles didn't do better. And, in most cases, earlier.
Grace Slick and Janis Joplin may be the most influential female rock stars. In an interview, Stevie Nicks cited both of them as an influence. Tori Amos, Sheryl Crow, and Courtney Love all said that they were influenced by Stevie Nicks. And Terri Nunn said that her influences were Grace, Stevie, and Ann Wilson.
Kate Bush gives me the creeps.
I liked Kim Wilde, "Nena" Kerner, and Chrissie Hynde. And, what the heck, Samantha Fox was cute, too.
With Fleetwood Mac, it was cool when Stevie would sing lead vocals while her ex, Lindsey Whatsisname, played the guitar. And half the songs were about what a schmuck he was.
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