The Soundtrack of Sisterhood: Female Musicians Shaping the Narrative
By Stella Violet
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It seems like female artists like Chappell Roan and Sabrina Carpenter have been dominating the pop music sphere this past year. But, in actuality, women only make up 21.7% of the music industry, making them the most underrepresented in the industry.
Throughout history women have shared their struggles of trying to succeed in music, mostly overcoming sexism in a male-dominated industry, in addition to hardships in life and relationships.
While there has been improvement in the music industry for women, it is still a very early stage for the success of women in music and how they are able to express themselves.
According to Billboard, “In 2023, 164 artists appeared on the Hot 100 Billboard Year-End Chart. Of these, 64.6% were men, 34.8% were women, and 0.6% were gender non-binary.”
Making the work of female trailblazers in the Country, R&B, Pop, Rap, Latin and so many other genres and subgenres that much more important.
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Janis Joplin
Rising to fame in the late 1960s as a member of the band Big Brother, Janis Joplin helped pave the way for women in rock music. In a typically, male-dominated industry, Joplin played into the “male-gaze” in order to succeed in the industry.
“On stage, Joplin oozed confidence, sexuality and exuberance. It all seemed so effortless, but [Holly] George-Warren describes Joplin as a bookworm who worked hard to create her “blues feelin’ mama musical persona.” Terry Gross wrote in an article for NPR.
At the time, it was rare to see a woman taking the stage at all, let alone a woman sharing her feelings through music. And, during performances Joplin made sure to connect with her emotions and share them with the audience.
“She wasn’t just standing up there singing – she was basically emptying out her guts through that amazing voice of hers, and touching her audience members like they had never been touched before,” said George-Warren.
However, Joplin faced endless amounts of sexism in the industry with critics “often singling out her body parts and talking about her physical appearance in a way that, of course, male singers, rock stars were really not getting…”.
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Bessie Smith
One of Janis Joplin’s biggest inspirations was Bessie Smith, a widely-known blues singer nicknamed the “Empress of the Blues”. Known for songs including “Empty Bed Blues”, “St. Louis Blues” and “Downhearted Blues”, with all three songs inducted into the Grammy Hall of Fame.
Smith began her career as early as 14 years old, which was the first time she was published according to the National Museum of African American History and Culture. Smith became a mentee of Ma Rainey, an iconic blues singer, and learned how to captivate audiences and refine her vocal style.
By 24 years old, Smith had her own solo acts and performed throughout the South and East Coasts. And, in 1923, Smith signed with Columbia Records. She sang with other notable jazz musicians including Louis Armstrong and Sidney Bechet.
Smith’s talent and ability to be unapologetically herself led her to become the highest paid Black entertainer of her time during the jazz era.
“She drank and was open about her romantic relationships with both men and women.”
Her influence on Janis Joplin, led Joplin to purchase a headstone for the unmarked grave of Smith which reads, “The greatest blues singer in the world will never stop singing.”
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Lauryn Hill
This year, Apple Music’s 100 Best Albums list named The Miseducation of Lauryn Hill the No. 1 album of all-time.
“This is my award,” Hill said to Apple Music, “but it’s a rich, deep narrative, and involves so many people, and so much sacrifice, and so much time, and so much collective love.”
Hill has always been fascinated and surrounded by music at home both through her family and through her extensive record collection featuring classic soul music of the 60s and 70s.
In high school Hill joined the Fugees as one of the group's songwriters, as well as a rapper and vocalist. She continued to act throughout her high school career and appeared in shows and movies such as As the World Turns and Sister Act 2: Back in the Habit.
It wasn’t until the Fugees second studio album in 1996 that the group became well known and received overwhelming recognition.
Two years later Hill released her first solo album, The Miseducation of Lauryn Hill.
The album topped the Billboard 200 chart and one single, “Doo Wop (That Thing)” debuted at Number 1 on the Billboard charts. That year, at the 1999 Grammy Awards, Hill made history by becoming the first woman to be nominated in ten categories in a single year, and the first woman to win five trophies in one night.
Her work has influenced and inspired many hip-hop and R&B artists of this generation such as Nicki Minaj, SZA, and Beyonce. As well as other notable artists like Adele and Amy Winehouse.
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Dolly Parton
Member of the Country Music Hall of Fame and Rock and ‘n’ Roll Hall of Fame, Dolly Parton, is an iconic woman and trailblazer in the music industry.
She alongside Loretta Lynn and Tammy Wynette helped revolutionize the world of country music for female artists.
Parton currently holds the Guinness World Record for the most studio albums released by a female country singer (65).
Throughout her lifetime, Parton has focused on using her influence to focus on her philanthropic ideals. In 1995, Parton started Dolly Parton’s Imagination Library, which has gifted over 229 million books to more than 2.8 million children under the age of 5 according to its website.
Parton also started her own family amusement park, Dollywood, in Pigeon Forge, Tennessee which is notably one of the world’s best theme parks according to its website.
She started her career at 10 years old where she was featured on a television variety show in Knoxville, Tennessee. And, broke traditional stereotypes in her hit song “Dumb Blonde” which became her first Top Forty hit.
In 2004, Parton was awarded with the Living Legend Award by the Library of Congress for her contributions to the United States’ cultural landscape. And, in 2005, she received the National Medal of Arts, the highest award given to artists by the U.S. government.
Throughout her career, Parton is not only a female music trailblazer but a widely-known philanthropist and activist influencing today’s generation of female country musicians like Carrie Underwood and her granddaughter Miley Cyrus.
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Selena Quintanilla- Perez
Her fan-given nickname, the “Queen of Tejano Music” pays homage to her power and influence in the latin music sphere.
At the 1987 Tejano Music Awards, Selena won Best Female Vocalist of the Year and Performer of the Year, which was just the beginning for her international recognition.
Quintanilla-Perez was the first woman and musical performer to have five Spanish albums simultaneously charting on the Billboard 200 list.
She was a very family-oriented person and worked closely with her brother, A.B., who wrote many of her songs and was also her producer. Selena released five studio albums and one live album before passing away after being killed by her former manager, Yolanda Saldivar.
Prior to her solo career, Selena was the lead singer of her family band titled, Selena y Los Dinos. The band was what put Selena on the map and brought attention to her in the Latin music world.
In 1989, Coca-Cola chose Selena as a spokesperson because of her broad appeal to Latin audiences. She also opened two boutiques called Selena Etc., where she sold clothing and jewelry.
Since her passing, Selena has holidays, museums and college courses dedicated to her due to her influence in the music industry.
Her most notable achievement was being able to connect with both Spanish-speaking and English-speaking audiences through her music making her a notable trailblazer for artists such as Kali Uchis, Becky G, and Solange.
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Stevie Nicks
Stevie Nicks joined Fleetwood Mac in 1975 and rose to fame on her first appearance with the band on their self-titled album, Fleetwood Mac.
She was able to gain success through Fleetwood Mac and gain respect and admiration as a solo artist following the end of the band’s career.
For Nicks, her career has always been more than fame or the number of albums sold,
“It isn’t just singing, it’s that I would never perform again, that I would never dance across the stages of the world again.” Nicks told The Guardian in 2020. “I’m not, at 72 years old, willing to give up my career”.
Her musical influence has affected so many of today’s artists including Lana Del Rey, Lorde, Sheryl Crow and Smashing Pumpkins.
In 2017, she was featured on Lana Del Rey’s album Lust for Life, on the track titled ‘Beautiful People Beautiful Problems’. Lana Del Rey told KROQ: “She’s just everything you hope she’s gonna be, she’s so contemporary, and she knows all the new music that’s out weekly.”
In addition to Nicks music career, she has always been a trailblazer for creating and spotting trends in fashion, music, television and so much more. She’s also rumored to be involved in witchcraft, which Nicks never denies, telling V Magazine that she and Lana Del Rey are “witchy sisters.”
At 75, Nicks is still currently touring and sharing her gift to audiences both new and old and does not plan on stopping anytime soon.
Image Source: Pinterest; Amy WInehouse
There are so many more female trailblazers of the 21st century like Amy WInehouse, Britney Spears, Lady Gaga, Beyonce, and Taylor Swift. Which makes a list like this hard to capture each one individually and in-depth.
The ones featured in this article are each from a different genre of music and hold a longer and more impactful status than current female musicians.
As the music industry expands for female artists, I’m hoping to see a shift on how these women are treated in the public eye. With the most notable boundary being placed by Chappell Roan who recently took to social media to tell fans to stop approaching her in public and stalking her family and friends.
The message was received with mixed reviews from fans, however, Roan said in an interview at the VMA’s that people have been respecting her boundaries and that she hopes it can extend to other female artists.
By the next century I am hoping to see the gap between male and female artists close and allow women to express their voices to a more accepting and respectful audience.
