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Like a Violin without strings
Fun Fact: Most of the members here in the forum are men. We are all here because we love the great and fantastic music of Mona and Lisa, two musically highly talented female artists. And yet, most of the bands we talk about and many of the video clips we watch here feature men making music. Is music a mans world? No. I would therefore like to set a small monument to all women in the history of music with this special topic.
Who are your female music stars (yes for sure Mona and Lisa, but I really mean: who else? of course Lisa and Mona…) Which female musicians do you think are milestones in music history, have made a special contribution to music, or just make great music?
Without women, the world of music would be like a violin without strings, a song without sing, a piano without keys and a drum without beat. It would be an empty world.
I look forward to your suggestions!
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138 Replies
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Great topic!
Off the top of my head, Carole King, Diana Ross, Janis Joplin, Joni Mitchell, Aretha Franklin, Dusty Springfield, Dionne Warwick, Petula Clark, Grace Slick, Ronnie Spector, Cass Elliott, and Judith Durham are some of my favorites.
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Off the top of your head? Great selection Dan. You really have everything: Rock, Blues, Soul, Folk. Some of the names didn’t mean anything to me spontaneously, so I looked them up. And it’s funny, although I couldn’t think of Petula Clark, Ronnie Spector, Judith Durham and Cass Elliot, I know their songs. Thanks for your memory help.
For me unforgettable: Aretha Franklin in her role in Blues Brothers:
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Hi Jurgen, there’s a similar topic that was posted on here awhile back ago where women musicians were mentioned, perhaps someone can recall better than I and find it… but for your post, here, I’ll rattle off as many as comes to mind vocally and/or musician wise/both that I’m a fan of :
Patsy Cline, Dusty Springfield, Cass Elliot, Amy Winehouse, Petulant Clark, Martha Reeves, Reba McEntire, Patty Loveless, Janis Joplin, Billie Holiday, Marla Gibbs, June Carter Cash, Mother Maybelle Carter , Bonnie Raitt, Sheryl Crowe, Ronnie Spector, Karen Carpenter, Agnetha & Anni-Frida, Dolly Parton, Linda Ronstandt, Tammy Wynette, Loretta Lynn, Allison Krause, Ella Fitzgerald, Mahalia Jackson, Amy Grant, and many more, but for now, these will suffice as I could go on and on but not all names are coming to me….
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Hi Jacki, I used the search function before opening this topic. The only thing I found is “Songs with a Woman’s Name in Title…”. There are no entries under the search term “woman music”, for example. After your hint I have now looked at the history of the Topic’s. You are right: on 2020/08/26 you posted the following topic: “Female Musicians…Guitarists Indeed…!!!!. Sorry I didn’t know that. I’m actually concerned with the role of female musicians and composers in general (not just female guitarists, as in your topic).
Thank you for the long list of the many female musicians. But which of them impressed you the most? (and which songs of these) All of them at once?
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Hi again Jurgen, in reply to your reply to my reply to you, the top 4 at least female singers that stand out for me because of their vocal vesatility are : Patsy Cline/Dusty Springfield/Cass Elliot … Though both Cass and Dusty Springfield had previously been in a group before going solo ( Dusty was with Lana Sisters and then with her brother Tom and Springfield and first Tim Fields later replaced by Mike Hurst as The Springfields and Cass Elliot with Cass and The Big 3, then The Mugwumps, then with Mamas & Papas, Cass collaborated with Dave Mason and then went solo ) . These ladies and their vocal versatility allowed them to sing a variety of styles .
As female musicians go, the list I had previously posted that you found sums up more or less the musicians aspect but some others are already have been mentioned here by other, are also ones that I enjoy …. ????☮
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Hi Jacki, thanks for the reply, to the reply and the other replies 🙂
And thanks again for the detailed listing. But enough thanks now. Patsy Cline must have been very well known in Canada and the US. She was not so popular with us. Dusty Springfield and Cass Elliot (The Mamas & The Papas) you hear more often on the radio.
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First 2 names that popped into my head are Patsy Cline and local lady Merrilee Rush. The rest of the favorites list would include Brenda Lee, Mandy Barrent, Susan Tedeschi. Others I enjoy are Aretha Franklin, Wanda Jackson, Jackie DeShannon, Cher, Suzie Quatro
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Hi Will, I just met Patsy Cline and Merrilee Rush through you. I like both of them, although they sang a little bit before my time. Relaxing and wonderful music. Thanks.
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Most of my faves have already been named, but to the list I might add Lesley Gore, Mary Travers (Peter, Paul and Mary), Susanna Hoffs (the Bangles), Marilyn McCoo (the Fifth Dimension), and Mary Weiss (the Shangri-Las).
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Hi David. Thank you for your favorites. I always find it exciting how many new ideas or suggestions you can get here through the forum. Of course, when I started the topic, I had certain female singers or composers in mind. However, I don’t know some of the ones mentioned so far by name, although I also know many of their songs and it’s fun to just browse through who these artists are exactly and what story they have to tell. Lesley Gore is one of them. “It’s my party” is still played on the radio all the time. If you had asked me who sang it: I would have just shrugged my shoulders.
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Susanna Hoffs and the Bangles have left me with many beautiful memories and therefore of course a song by her (or them) should not be missing:
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I listened to a bit of Kate Bush a while back. She has a very unique voice. This song was used on the soundtrack of a Kevin Bacon movie in the late eighties. Now that I say that I remember it was the nineties when I was listening to her. Seems like yesterday? She always surrounded herself with talented musicians, well it is just her in this one.
David Gilmour produced her first record. I think she was nineteen at the time. He would later play on her albums and on stage with her band.
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Hi JP, thanks for your answer. Yes, Kate Bush is an exceptional artist. She seems somehow always slightly eccentric and her music sometimes exotic. But I like to listen to her music very much. Kate Bush should not be missing in this topic in any case.
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At this point I would like to take you on a little trip around the world and present every day a different country and the musicians belonging to it. Female artists whose music I know and like, or of which I know that they are popular in the countries presented. I am happy about suggestions or additions.
France
I would like to start with France. I find it hard to make a selection here. There are so many great French musicians. Starting with Edith Piaf up to Indila, who I have presented above.
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France Gall
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There is a young lady on You-tube who goes by the name Sina Drums who is the most remarkable young talent I’ve ever seen! She can play all kinds of genres from rock to pop to swing! She started out doing rock covers and has added original music and collaborations! Look her up.
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Thank you Michael. I have heard the name Sina several times now. I hope you mean this young lady here. Yes she is doing a really good job. It’s a lot of fun to watch her playing. By the way, I always find it interesting to see how differently men and women play drums: the result always sounds good, but women somehow treat their drums more sensitively than men. I’ve noticed that a lot with Mona, too.
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Hi Jurgen
Some of the female artists I liked were Little Eva and Locomotion. In the late 70s and 80s I thought Blondie led the female wave of music to follow in the likes of Madonna.
My favourite female bands from those times were Bananarama. They wrote their own songs, had great vocals, and made some nice albums like “True Confessions”. Found an old vinyl of this at a thrift store a few years ago. I wore out that cassette pretty good back in the 80s. Didn’t care that much for their big dance hit songs, but some of their more artistic stuff was really good like Cruel Summer, True Confessions, Robert De Niro is Waiting, Trick of the Night, In A Perfect World. Siobhan Fahey was the artistic song writing driving force behind Bananarama and was always at odds with the big wigs of the record label who preferred they just did dance hits. She left the band in 1988 because of this and started her own band called Shakespeare’s Sister for a little while. I don’t think Bananarama was much of a music force after Siobhan left.
Trick of the Night was my favourite song of theirs and one of their most acclaimed.
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Thank you Jung for all the background information on Bananarama. I have never perceived the formation in such a differentiated way. In our country they had three very big hits: „Robert de Niro is waiting“, „Cruel Summer“ and „Venus“. Maybe there were more, but these three titles could place themselves at the top of the charts. Venus in particular was a party hit. The song was played in all discotheques and clubs. Since I am a child of the 80s, I like the music very much, of course. „A trick of the night“ was not known to me before. For Banarama an unusual slow/relaxed song, I like it. Anything that sounds like synthesizer, keyboard, drum machine and hard beats: bring it on. My favorite from the 80s is Kim Wilde. At the beginning of her career she always seemed a bit cool and distant, somehow very british, but I saw her live again a few years ago: a nice, sympathetic woman who is a bit out of shape (like many of us) but she still has a great voice. To my knowledge she has produced a total of 9 LP’s / CD’s. Wikipedia claims there were 14. Then I am still missing some….
PS: Shakespeare’s Sister was familiar to me by name. Now that you mention them, I know that I also know some of their songs. Thanks. Again two puzzle pieces in my head that have found each other. I think Shakespeares’s Sister definitely represents a musical evolution compared to Bananarama
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That’s a good song Jurgen, thanks. It has a nice melancholic feel to it and the guitar work is great. Shakespeare’s Sister gave Siobhan the outlet she needed for her artistic output that she couldn’t with Bananarama anymore.
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Speaking of “Shakespeare’s Sister”, some believe Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart’s 5 years older sister Maria Anna Mozart was the greater more talented genius of the two. Because of the views of society at the time, Maria Anna could not further her career in music like Wolfgang could. The music world today could be so much richer if gender equality prevailed back then. If you’re interested, read on:
(Wikipedia)”from 1769 onwards she was no longer permitted to show her artistic talent on travels with her brother, as she had reached a marriageable age.” Wolfgang went on during the 1770s to many artistic triumphs while traveling in Italy with Leopold, but Marianne stayed at home in Salzburg with her mother.
Per Sylvia Milo:
“In the 18th century, Mozart toured Europe, wowing audiences across the continent and impressing critics. But we’re not talking about Wolfgang… Wolfgang’s older sister Maria Anna Mozart (nicknamed ‘Nannerl’) went on tour with her brother and father and, playwright Sylvia Milo argues, she was actually the more talented sibling.
“Nannerl toured Europe with her father and young brother, Wolfgang Amadeus. Far from being in her brother’s shadow, Nannerl actually shone as the more talented youngster. In a letter, Leopold Mozart (their father, pictured above) wrote: “My little girl plays the most difficult works which we have… with incredible precision and so excellently. What it all amounts to is this, that my little girl, although she is only 12 years old, is one of the most skilful players in Europe.”
“And we don’t just have to take their dad’s word for it. In 1762, the two little Mozarts played for a collection of aristocrats in Munich. One of those present, Count Karl von Zinzendorf recorded his thoughts in his diary: “The little child from Salzburg and his sister played the harpsichord. The poor little fellow plays marvellously. He is a child of spirit, lively, charming. His sister’s playing is masterly, and he applauded her.”
“Nannerl also composed – she sent one of her compositions to her brother in 1770 and he responded in a letter with the words: “My dear sister! I am in awe that you can compose so well, in a word, the song you wrote is beautiful.” Sadly, the composition hasn’t survived.”
There are some who even speculate, some of Wolfgang Amadeus work, may be his sisters.
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A very exciting story, thank you Jung. I did not know that W.A. Mozart had a talented sister and I can well imagine that at that time many hidden talents were never awakened because they belonged to a woman. Unfortunately, this applies not only to music, but to all the arts. I don’t want to know how many female painters or writers were never allowed to become active because they had two X chromosomes and at that time it was not appropriate for a woman to practice an art. A real pity. Some women resorted to male synonyms in order to be accepted in the male world of the time. For example one of the most successful authors of the Victorian age “George Elio” was a woman and her real name was “Mary Ann Evans”. There is much example of this, unfortunately. I would not be surprised if some of Mozart’s works can be traced back to “Nannerl”.
Here is an example of a 19th century French female composer who has walked her rocky path. Really remarkable.
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Hi Jurgen, that is a remarkable story of Augusta Holmes. I wasn’t familiar with her. Her music La Nuit et l’amour is very beautiful. I bet if we research a little on great female composers, we would be just scratching the surface of great talent.
Clara Schumann, a German pianist and composer, is one of the most famous of the woman musician and composers of the Romantic period that I am aware of. She was one of the foremost pianists of the time and her virtuosity was considered on par with the legendary Franz Liszt, and likely even better. She was active and performed for 6 decades. Chopin praised her skills immensely and even wrote to Liszt about her. She married composer Robert Schumann and also was close to Johannes Brahms and even provided some musical advice to him in his compositions.
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From now on I will always wonder which Mozart is this, Wolfgang Amadeus or Maria Anna?
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Hi Jung, thanks for the little excursion into the world of Clara Schumann. As for German composers and classical musicians, I am as always quite clueless. But thanks to your help, my knowledge is constantly increasing. Nannerl was perhaps the ghostwriter of her brother Wolfgang Amadeus, who knows? 🙂
Thanks also for the video of Marina Krupkina. Rondo Alla Turca ( in German: “Türkischer Marsch”) sounds great on the guitar. I didn’t even know there were 10 string guitars (or have known this once and forgotten again). I always thought 6 or 12 strings were the common standard. It is always exciting listening to music written for a particular instrument, in this case the piano, transferred to another instrument.
Speaking of Clara Schumann and the piano, I’m going to take a bold leap from the Romantic period to the present day. Some time ago I was able to experience Hiromi Uehara (上原 ひろみ) at a live concert. The name didn’t really mean anything to me at the time, but after I was able to experience live how this woman plays the piano, she left a lasting impression on me. At the beginning of her performance, there is a small person sitting there, barely standing out from the piano. But when I see her fingers and hands move and start racing across the piano keys, it’s impressive. As she plays, she radiates an insane dynamism and energy. She develops into a real whirlwind and at some point seems to forget the world around her. The passion and also the joy that is conveyed in her performance is very impressive. There was a point in the concert where I thought “now she’s putting her feet on the piano keys and she’s playing the piece four-handed”, so to speak. This is true magic.
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Hi Jung, here I have two more examples of how classical music can be transposed to alternative instruments.
In another topic we had introduced Tina Setkic with Ludwig van Beethoven’s Moonlight Sonata. Here she successfully tries her hand at Vivaldi:
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J.S. Bach also sounds wonderful on the guitar:
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Jurgen, these two Baroque pieces sound great on guitar. Thanks.
If the electric guitar was around in the 1700 and 1800s, Vivaldi, Bach, Mozart, and Beethoven I think would have been blown away and loved it. The electric guitar certainly complements those classics in a wonderful way. I am sure if Beethoven was alive today, he would have some great uses for the electric guitar in his music. Would add a new dimension to his music for sure.
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Great Britain and Ireland
The situation here is the same as in France: a huge selection of fantastic female singers and composers. Only whom to introduce? Kate Bush, Kim Wilde, Bananarama and some others have already been mentioned here. Maybe Sally Oldfield, Maggie Reilly, Bonnie Tyler, Adele, Duffy or these two?
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Kim Wilde
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Kim Wilde
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The Corrs
An Irish pop / folk band. Consisting of the three sisters Andrea, Caroline, Sharon and the brother Jim Corr.
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Celtic Woman
Celtic Woman is an Irish music group consisting of four female singers and a violinist. Their repertoire includes both traditional Celtic music and classical European music. (I personally like the album “Songs from the Heart” best).
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Ah yes, the Corrs! I discovered them on TV singing So Young, and I was so impressed by both their musicianship and their stage presence that I went out and bought their CD. I’m pretty sure that was the only album by a contemporary group that I purchased in a 30-year stretch between the Bangles and MLT. Coincidentally or not, all three of those groups include at least a couple of sisters.
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The Corrs had their greatest hit with the album “Talk on Corners”, which was the most successful CD of 1998 in the UK. The Corrs were thus the first Irish band to achieve such success in Great Britain, David.
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David, Jurgen, yeah I’ve enjoyed Corrs music, they are very good. I like their version of this REM song.
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Very nice cover song, thanks Jung.
PS: I just imagine how it is to be constantly on tour with your sisters. Would that be something for you Jung, „The Roes”? I would probably argue with my sister most of the time 🙂
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