Sunday's Best: Week 9, 2022

Another week down and we are inching even closer to spring. It was in the 70s here in southern Ohio and it was glorious. Outdoor runs, leisurely walks and opening the windows for fresh air were all part of my busy weekend. Apparently, we might get snow in a few days. I sure hope not - winter is over in my book. I'm boycotting more of the white stuff!

March is Women's History Month and what better way to celebrate than to acknowledge some of the best female rockers of all time? Honoring Women Who Rock is our Sunday's Best for this week.

Some of my favorite female rock singers are below - did I forget any of your favorites?

1. Ann Wilson - Heart

2. Hayley Williams - Paramore

3. Debbie Harry - Blondie

4. Stevie Nicks - Fleetwood Mac

5. Joan Jett

5. Lzzy Hale - Halestorm

6. Lita Ford

7. Janet Gardner - Vixen

8. Carly Smithson - We Are The Fallen

Comments

[Gogmagog]

No love for Pat Benatar, huh? I'd rank her as the second best female rock singer, behind only Ann Wilson.

Lorraine Lewis from Femme Fatale is one of my favorites. Doesn't have the pipes of Wilson or Benatar (who does?), but her voice was perfect for glam. It's criminal that all that '80s misogyny kept them, or any other female fronted glam band, from getting big. "Waiting For The Big One" And "Back In Your Arms" should have been hits. The hook in the chorus of the former is one of the best of the decade, IMHO:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=gYjyWHJs0xc

And, oh yeah, she can still bring it:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=8KXxJFy-ZUo

Amy Brammer of the Poison Dollys gets an honorable mention, because the one record they recorded was pretty good.

[crued]

@Gogmagog yea Allyson where is Pat??

but I agree with her pick for Lizzy hale. here's a vid showcasing Lizzy and a nod to Stevie

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=heru1kAGYSA&list=RDGMEMJQXQAmqrnmK1SEjY_rKBGA&index=8

[crued]

Another nod to glam from Lizzy...Jesus how fun would ut have been in that bar that night?

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=kcOxnlBc5-8&list=RDGMEMJQXQAmqrnmK1SEjY_rKBGA&index=32

[Mike]

Lee Aaron from Canada. In the early 80s she was known as “Metal queen”, evolved to more of a pop-Metal/ glam sound by the end of that decade with the album “Bodyrock”

She was singing jazz through the 90s-00s and now makes rock albums again, I believe she just released one pretty recently: she still looks and sounds amazing.

[Him]

I'd add Suzi Quatro to the mix. Not in the ranks of the greats. But she brought it. And she still does.

Gogmagog., I agree about Lorraine Lewis' and her pipes. But "Waiting for the Big One" was a cringe-fest, lyrically. There is wink-wink. Then there's wink-wink-wink, nudge, nudge.

Problem is, so many female singers were marginalized and pigeon-holed. Some of them suffered those slings and arrows and didn't really recover. Some of them said, "Screw it! I am rock!" and carried on. I can't imagine the pressure that women in rock suffered and, sadly still suffer. Metal and rock, no less music, is a better place for female voices adding their ideas, sharing their sound, and enriching the music we love.

[Gogmagog]

Nudge-nudge, wink-wink, say no MORE!

But the cringe-iest part of that song ("Waiting For The Big One") was Lewis grinding on her bass playing brother in the official video!!! It wasn't a one-time cringe, either. She also did it in the video for "Falling In & Out Of Love."

I found this a terrifying read about the horrors of being a woman in glam rock in the 1980s:

https://www.laweekly.com/heres-what-it-was-like-to-be-a-female-rocker-in-the-sexist-80s-hair-metal-scene/

[Him]

Yeah, I guess that tops it, Gogmagog! Yuck. And thanks for sharing that article. Never heard of the Poison Dollys before. Plan to check them out, at least out of respect for what they went through.

BBG! Funny, educational, and a place where Chevy Chase still has things to say. Oops. My bad. Fletch has things to say. And, sometimes, I understand them.

[Gogmagog]

Start with this one:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=quhB_uQ7TU0

An unreleased track, apparently because it rocks too much ... ¯\_(ツ)_/¯

[Him]

Damn, Gogmagog. That coulda' been a hit. I was laughing though, as those bass lines at the start sound like Steve Harris snuck in and added his two cents! I mean, next to Vixen and FF, this most certainly rocks. Thanks for sharing.