The Progression of Women in Rock
Cover image depicts Sister Rosetta Tharpe - “The Godmother of Rock N’ Roll”
Image courtesy of udiscovermusic // udiscovermusic.com
When thinking of iconic figures in rock music, predominantly male musicians come to mind. Mick Jagger and Robert Plant personify the classic rock era of the 1960s and 1970s. Bands like Mötley Crüe and Guns N’ Roses dominated rock in the 1980s, giving an entirely new (and often infamous) meaning to the “rock ‘n’ roll lifestyle” bands followed. Grunge of the 1990s iconized male musicians like Kurt Cobain or Chris Cornell, reinforcing the male-rocker image with a somber twist.
While these men are surely legends in their own right, there is undoubtedly a persistent problem with their veneration; in the act of putting male rock musicians on a pedestal, women in rock are given barely a portion - if any - of the same recognition.
Female musicians are the backbone of the music industry, and rock music is no exception. Rock culture is—and arguably, has always been—male-dominated, from singers to instrumentalists to songwriters. This is not to say that women in rock music have not existed, but instead to recognize that their talents are rarely amplified in the same way that male rockers’ have been throughout history. Looking at how music culture has shifted over the decades, it is obvious that women have had a substantial role in the progression of rock and deserve a lot more respect from all rock fans.
Rock music has roots in blues, jazz and gospel, and was created by the innovative mind of Sister Rosetta Tharpe, now renowned as the “Godmother of Rock ‘n’ Roll.” Starting her career in the mid-1930s, Tharpe was an openly queer musician whose experimentation with vocals, songwriting and guitar-playing paved the way for rock ‘n’ roll artists. Her record “Strange Things Happening Every Day,” released in 1945, became one of her most well-known songs, and is often credited with being among the first true rock ‘n’ roll recordings. Tharpe’s presence as a Black queer woman in an industry that was already male-dominated marked a radical shift in music culture; she broke conventions of gender, sexuality and race in a still largely-segregated and conservative society, all while making excellent music.
What is unfortunate about Tharpe’s story, however, is that up until recent years, she was largely left out of rock history. As her career quieted, Tharpe’s work became overshadowed by white male musicians that shaped their own sounds off of her innovations. Male artists such as Elvis Presley, Keith Richards and Jeff Beck all took inspiration from Tharpe’s use of distortion in her electric guitar playing. Revered rock vocalists like Little Richard and Johnny Cash were heralded as pivotal early rock musicians, all while rising to fame in the wake of Tharpe’s career. Alas, her story is similar to many other women’s in the music industry, having a significant influence on the rock genre while being forgotten by a male-centric industry.
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Women have also solidified their role as powerful songwriters in rock music. As the late 1960s to the early 1970s saw a rise in variations of rock including psychedelia, folk and blues, female musicians and songwriters were given a much larger platform. Joni Mitchell, Stevie Nicks, Janis Joplin and others were influential female singers and frontwomen, renowned for their songwriting abilities. Women in this new era of rock were unafraid to write candidly about their lives, beliefs and feelings, directly challenging the men that dominated their industry. This era of rock segued into the punk and new wave subcultures, with women such as Patti Smith and Debbie Harry of Blondie following a similar path of individuality and self-assertion.
While women have earned their place in rock music’s evolution, it seems that men have taken over the idea of what it means to be a “rocker.” As listed earlier, men personified the rock genre in many ways, and soon held disproportionate power in rock culture that surmounted the talents of female musicians. This led to rampant sexism in all facets of the industry, with rock music being just as complicit as other genres. The popular image of “rock ‘n’ roll,” as seen in modern culture, is a white guy with a guitar, completely invalidating the road that women paved in the industry for these men to succeed in.
Image courtesy of Pitchfork
Despite the odds, women have never backed down from earning their place as successful musicians, and this mindset is not going anywhere anytime soon. It can be argued that female rockers today are the most powerful they have been in decades. This year’s Grammy Awards, for example, saw an all-female Best Rock Performance category for the first time ever: Fiona Apple, Phoebe Bridgers, sister group Haim, Brittany Howard, Grace Potter and Big Thief (featuring frontwoman Adrianne Lenker). Metal, a notoriously male-dominated subgenre of rock, has seen a rise in female musicians and female-fronted acts, with Poppy, Lzzy Hale of Halestorm and Taylor Momsen of The Pretty Reckless all leading the rock charts.
The recognition of women in rock is long overdue and extremely necessary. Being a female rock fan for much of my life, I have always sought out female singers and musicians. In my eyes, there is nothing cooler than seeing a powerful woman shred on a guitar or sing her heart out on stage—and I’m sure that other female fans feel the same way. Seeing women slowly but surely take over rock music gives me such an elated feeling; it shows signs of progress and inclusion that will hopefully become the norm in rock culture. Enough with the macho-male image of what rock ‘n’ roll “should be.” Now, it’s time for female musicians’ voices to be heard and given the recognition that they have always deserved.