LADIES NIGHT!
Though rock ‘n’ roll music is now over 60 years old, it remains predominantly a boy’s club. Why is that? Is the swagger necessary for good rock music inherently masculine? Are electric guitars too phallic? It can’t be that simple. If it were, we wouldn’t have Chrissie Hynde, Kim Gordon, Suzi Quattro, Wanda Jackson, Lucinda Williams, Lzzy Hale or P.J. Harvey. Rather than try to answer the unanswerable, let’s just look at some cool stuff from some great female artists. It’s Ladies Night!
The undisputed queen of rock’s late-‘60s golden age is Janis Joplin. Janis had it all – the swagger, the blues credibility, the songs and the incredible instrument that was her voice. There’s a reason why all female rockers are inevitably compared to Janis. She was the standard by which all must be judged. Here’s an outfit she rocked onstage in ’69 with her group, the Kozmic Blues Band:
Obviously there hasn’t been a shortage of female artists in pop music, but taken as a percentage, women are a surprisingly small fraction of the music world. Motown records went a long way towards squaring up those numbers in the ‘60s, though. Here’s a dress worn by Motown queen Diana Ross on the cover of the Supremes album, Funny Girl:
Though the Supremes are generally regarded as the pinnacle of the art form, the Motown girl-group sound found its greatest exponent in Martha and the Vandellas. Their Detroit tough-girl takes on classic Holland-Dozier-Holland compositions like “Nowhere to Run”, “Heatwave” and “Jimmy Mack” are high water marks for Motown, but their 1964 mega-hit, “Dancing in the Street” has become a timeless classic. Front woman Martha Reeves wore this red fringed dress while touring with the group in the sixties:
How about Tina Turner? Everyone knows she rules. This fringed number is from her days with the Ike and Tina Revue:
When the Wilson sisters, Ann and Nancy, formed Heart in the early ‘70s, they set the standard for female-led rock bands. Nancy owned and operated this Dean Baby Z guitar during their “big hair” period in the ‘80s:
When it comes to real, raw rock ‘n’ roll, no one can touch Joan Jett. Her solo career made her a legend, but her early days in the Runaways are what made her a badass. Check out this photo of the Runaways in their prime. If you don’t think this kicks ass, we really have nothing in common:
Joan owned this Gibson Melody Maker guitar during her time in the group. These axes have become her signature model:
Though criminally under-celebrated, women have always been a huge part of the insular world of session players. Cindy Blackman is an in-demand drummer for both stage and studio. She used this kit with Lenny Kravitz during his Universal Love tour:
Prince hired female musicians through most of his career. Here’s guitarist Kat Dyson’s unusual Andreas guitar. She used it on numerous Prince sessions:
Another longtime member of Prince’s band was bassist Rhonda Smith. Here’s the Riverhead bass she used on many sessions and gigs:
No discussion of women in music would be complete without Madonna. We have tons of Madonna’s clothing in our collection, but this toy-encrusted bustier/corset thing stands out. She wore it during her Who’s That Girl tour:
Gwen Stefani is the real deal. She may crank out some pop pabulum from time to time, but she paid her dues on the road in a punk band. That’s a rare and beautiful thing these days. Give her some respect. She wore these huge pants and tiny tank-top during No Doubt’s 1996 tour:
Amy Winehouse certainly established her bona-fides in her painfully short life. Her attempt at being a cross between Etta James and Keith Richards was a dangerous road to travel, but it sure did make for some good music. She wore this extremely tiny dress at the 2008 Nelson Mandela birthday concert:
How about professional spectacle Courtney Love? Say what you like about her personal life, Live Through This was a damn good album. Here’s a letter she wrote to Spin magazine in the ‘90s. Her neurotic nature is on full display as she bashes Madonna and Alanis Morissette while comparing herself to P.J. Harvey and Liz Phair. It’s wacky, but there’s an undeniable intelligence at work behind the curtain:
Finally, we come to the most misunderstood woman in the history of pop culture. Yoko Ono is one of the most fascinating people to emerge from the ‘60s rock scene and we LOVE her. If you think she broke up the Beatles, you are seriously uninformed (or just plain stupid). Here’s a pair of groovy bell bottoms from her ‘60s wardrobe:
Women of rock, we salute you.