Women In Music
By Jettrainbow

When you think of women in music depending on the type of music you prefer different artists will come to mind. Whether you love country, blues, jazz, rock or pop, one thing remains the same, women have impacted the music industry for decades with little or no recognition. It might even surprise you to learn it was not until 1981 when the Go-Go's released Beauty and The Beat, that any all female band that also played their own instruments achieved significant commerical success.

25 years have passed since that ground breaking release and one can argue little has changed since than. Sure we went through the 80's with an explosion of female musicians led by Joan Jett, The Go-Go's, Heart, Pat Benatar and many others. In the 90's we had the riot grrl movement, followed by an explosion of indie bands and labels. All led by women in music, all determined to release their music on their terms.

Joan Jett who continues to perform today and released such classics as, "I love Rock N' Roll" and "I Hate Myself for Loving you" remains one of the most beloved and influential female rockers of all time. But like fellow artists, "Heart" who dominated the billboards in the late 70's and 80's, both acts have never won a Grammy Award. And Jett who was also a founding member of "The Runaways" the first all female band that played their own instruments does not even have a star on Hollywood's Rock Walk.

Even the Rock N' Roll Hall of Fame that did not open until 1986 did not include a single female performer in their first induction ceremony. In fact in the last 20 years, out of the 144 inductees into the Rock N' Roll Hall of Fame, only 21 acts were female fronted or had a female performer in the band.

In this column we are going to revisit the careers of some of the legendary female performers who helped shape the face of music despite the many obstacles they faced. We'll look back at an industry that pumped billions of dollars into the media, congress and radio, creating the largest entertaiment industry that remains dominated by male performers today.

Next month we'll revisit, "The Runaways" who formed in 1975 creating the first all female band, that also played their own instruments. Find out how the media, the industry and even fans reacted to this talented but misunderstood proto-punk band. Today, The Runaways are legends for the trails they blazed, but in 1975 they were spit upon and labeled as nothing but trashy, teen age rebels. Find out how a band that boasted members such as Lita Ford and Joan Jett battled for their place in history.