Nine Younger Women Who Rock
The Donnas and Pink Top this List of Younger Rocking Ladies
Who are the younger musical women of today who are carrying the torch lit by Janis Joplin and Bonnie Raitt?
Women Rock Our World
There are a lot of musical women who have rocked our world. We already know about Janis Joplin, Grace Slick, Bonnie Raitt, Chrissie Hynde of the Pretenders, Lucinda Williams, Joan Osborne, Tori Amos, Fiona Apple, Alanis Morrissette, Annie Lennox, Ani DiFranco, Cyndi Lauper, Patti Scialfa, Gwen Stefani, Edie Brickell, Natalie Merchant and Sheryl Crow. But who are the younger ladies of rock who have picked up the torch and are keeping our world lighter, brighter and rocking hard like the good folk do?
The Donnas
What if Joan Jett and Pat Benatar had four teenage love daughters? They would be The Donnas, a sassy group of chicks who totally rock out in a solid 80's garage band kind of way. The Donnas are Brett Anderson, Maya Ford, Allison Robertson, and Torry Castellano. This girl band was all born in 1979, and not a real Donna amongst them. Recommended: Spend the Night (2002) or Bitchin' (2007).
Pink (Alecia Beth Moore b. 1979)
Bitchy, assertive and always amusing, Pink's lyrics come off semi-autobiographical of a girl who has fought hard to get where she is. If God is a DJ, she is spinning Pink records 24/7/365. Recommended: Missundaztood (2001) or I'm Not Dead (2006)
The Dixie Chicks
Natalie Maine's voice gives a lot of soul to the Dixie Chick sisters, Martie Maguire and Emily Robinson. The Dixie Chicks get bonus points for daring to speak out against President Bush. Recommended: Taking the Long Way Home (2006) and Wide Open Spaces (1998).
Amy Winehouse (b. 1983)
You've probably heard of the Motown revivalist and her stint in Rehab. Sometimes popular is worth paying attention to and Winehouse is one of those exceptions. Recommended: Back To Black (2007) and Frank (2007).
Joss Stone (b. 1987)
Like Amy Winehouse, Joss Stone is a British lass who can rock like Aretha Franklin. How can one chick channel so much soul? Recommended: The Soul Sessions (2003) and Introducing Joss Stone (2007).
Amy Lee (b. 1981)
Amy Lee sings with the voice of an angel over some head-banging heavy metal with lots of bass. Imagine if Alison Kraus joined Led Zeppelin...oh, not that hard really. ;-) Recommended: Fallen (2003) and The Open Door (2006)
M.I.A. (Mathangi "Maya" Arulpragasam b.1978)
A UK girl of Sri Lankan descent, M.I.A. had the honor of being barred from the United States way before Amy Winehouse. This international chick rocked the world with her debut album produced by Diplo, Arular (2005).
Grace Potter (b.1984)
Grace Potter and the Nocturnals are a Massachusetts-based band whose 2007 release This Is Somewhere put them on the map of rock and roll forever. Buy this album, plan a road trip and crank it up.
Susan Tedeschi (b. 1970) has been nominated for three Grammy awards but has never won. Tedeschi has opened for John Mellencamp, B.B. King, Buddy Guy, The Allman Brothers, Taj Mahal and Bob Dylan and is still not a household name. Susan Tededschi has been around so long that she already has a greatest hits CD, The Best of Susan Tedeschi: Episode One (2005).
Also, keep an ear out for KT Tunstall, Feist, Jem, and the Be Good Tanyas. So make a promise during Women's History Month that you will stock up on CDs by the above musical women who rock our world.
