Women Who Rock

I managed to see & hear Janis Joplin live in the Summer of ’67, and she was definitely a force of nature! Unfortunately the rest of Big Brother were as lame a professional band as I have ever seen & heard. I never saw her after she dumped the hippies and got herself a decent band (Full Tilt Boogie).

For those of you who like white female (is it okay to discuss them separately from the men? ;-) Blues singers, try to see & hear Lou Ann Barton live. She was the lead singer in The Triple Threat Revue, the band’s guitarist Stevie Ray Vaughan not yet having sung on stage. Lou Ann often accompanies Jimmie Vaughan when he hits the road, he giving over to her the front of the stage. A "full-throated" gal, whom I love.

Lou Ann’s debut album on Asylum Records (entitled Old Enough) was produced by Jerry Wexler and Glenn Frey, and recorded at The Muscle Shoals Sound Studios in Sheffield Alabama, using the Studio’s incredible house band, a/k/a The Swampers). The album is absolutely fan-f*ck*ng-tastic!

Carlene Carter. Her Musical Shapes album was produced by Nick Lowe (whom she married and divorced. She then moved on to Howie Epstein, bassist in Tom Petty's Heartbreakers), her backing band on the album Rockpile (in which Nick was the bassist. Guess Carlene prefers bass players ;-). Killer Rock 'n' Roll!

^ And Sheila E, whom I also have not known. Debbie Peterson of The Bangles is a pretty darn good drummer, as was Karen Carpenter. The latter studied with Hal Blaine.

Just a thought:

Should men and women athletes compete with each other, or their abilities appraised separately? I know a gal who is an excellent pool player, but that’s not quite a sport. How about weightlifting? Lots of sports benefit from physical strength, so men obviously have the advantage.

Men’s and women’s singing voices are very different in nature, and imo must appraised by gender. The male range is of course lower than that of the female, so it’s easier for a woman to reach very high notes. Women’s hands are different from men’s, and in the playing of piano the longer span of a man’s hands affords a definite advantage. Conversely, when it comes to electronic assembly, women are highly valued. Smaller, more nimble hands and fingers than most men.

I’ve known a few female drummers, and their lesser physical strength (compared to males) is a definite disadvantage. But they often play with great sensitivity and taste. Very unmasculine ;-) .

Oops, my 4:00 post neglected to include Jazz with Blues and Country. And then there’s Opera!

@sgreg1: I took that as a joke. I hope I wasn’t mistaken!

Because woman aren’t usually thought of as performing Rock ’n’ Roll, but of Pop music, or if really good Blues or Country. What’s the harm in celebrating woman who Rock? Kind of a fun topic imo. Don’t take everything so seriously ;-) .

I regularly separate artists by ethnicity (I prefer to use that term rather than race. We’re all in the human race). If blacks and whites are considered together, we whites don’t stand a chance. Blacks have an unfair advantage ;-) . Whatta ya think---will this post be removed?

 

Fantastic @mofimadness, I'm gonna search for it right now. Thanks!

 

Sheesh, there are sure some with shallow roots and/or short memories.

 

Sister Rosetta Tharpe (a fantastic guitar player)

Rose Maddox (Rockabilly, Hillbilly)

Ruth Brown (a hero of Bonnie Raitt)

Etta James (ditto)

LaVerne Baker

Irma Thomas

Mavis Staples

Wanda Jackson (a red hot Rockabilly singer)

Brenda Lee

Arlene Smith (of The Chantels. Listen to their amazing "Maybe")

Ronnie Spector

Tina Turner

Jackie DeShannon

Darlene Love

Dusty Springfield

Janis Joplin

Merry Clayton (she sings "Rape! Murder!" in "Gimme Shelter". Hair-raising!)

Linda Ronstadt

Bonnie Raitt

Lou Ann Barton

 

That’ll do for starters