Music’s Most influential Women
8 March | Witten By Kirsten Moreton
The 8th of March is recognised as International Women’s Day, a global holiday celebrating gender equality and women’s rights. There are women excelling in every industry even those seen as male dominant, and music is no exception to this. Across genres and decades, female musicians have been influencing and shaping music into what it is today. Rock music in particular has seen a huge number of incredibly talented artists from Stevie Nicks to Kate Bush and female musicians will never be forgotten for their incredible skills, providing inspiration for aspiring small female artists and women in general. So heres to just a few of the many women who defined music and made modern rock what it is today.
Stevie Nicks
and Christine McVie
It would not be right to write about influential female artists without mentioning the incredible Stevie Nicks and Christine McVie. The two were part of the iconic Fleetwood Mac, a group which defined music with their unique genre bending sound.
The musical icons shaped music by creating sounds that took influence from pop, folk and rock, creating a unique sound and showing music lovers that songs do not need to stick to one genre.
The influence and success of this incredible band would be nothing without Stevie and Christine with the two of them creating some of the groups most successful songs. Christine McVie was a big contributor in writing The Chain, As Long as You Follow, and Hold Me, and Stevie Nicks was responsible for many iconic tracks such as Sara, Gypsy, and Dreams. Needless to say, these women inspired music and millions of fans with their incredible talent.
Debbie Harry
The one and only Debbie Harry, also known as Blondie is arguably one of the most influential singers of her time. The group Blondie first emerged in in the late 70’s and Harry quickly became recognised for her unique vocals. In two years between 1979 and 1981, the singer released four number one tracks, an incredible achievement for a new act in such a short amount of time.
Call Me, Heart of Glass, Atomic and One Way or Another, remain iconic staples for the group even today. That being said, what really makes Debbie Harry so influential is the huge names in music that appeared in the 80’s and 90’s that were inspired by her. Particularly female musicians.
Female singers and and front-women such as Madonna, Hole’s Courtney Love and Gwen Stefani from No Doubt all expressed taking from and finding inspiration in Blondies iconic Debbie Harry.
Kate Bush
Kate Bush is influential and inspirational for a number of reason. Unforgettably, she is known for being the first women to reach number one in the UK charts with a self written song for her delightfully unique Wuthering Heights, which charted at number one in 1978. She achieved this at just 19 years old.
Bush became known for her incredibly unique sound that challenged what was seen as popular. Her music was truly ethereal and something completely new for music lovers. Her vocals in particular were groundbreaking, showing off her incredible range with unique melodies and challenging vocal lines. In 1985 she released her best known track, Running Up That Hill, a much darker piece which fit in with the synthy and technological sound of the 80’s, however this track was still something different.
Bands such as New Order and The Cure explored synth and keyboard in indie rock and pop music did the same with a much lighter approach and yet, Bush’s music remained unique. She has truly shown musicians how you can push boundaries within genres and create music that is completely unique.
Today hundered’s of female artists are emerging, and much like the women mentioned, are pushing genre boundaries and creating incredible music. Supporting small artists is incredibly important in ensuring the music industry thrives with talent. So make sure to support some of the talented female musicians that are out there today. Who knows, they could go on to change music like these women did.
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