I have spent a lot of time meandering through various music topics, but it has always been male centric.  I recognize that unfortunate bias.  It was not intentional, but sadly the music business is very sexist.  I decided a couple nights ago after watching a vlog that I needed to address my lack of diversity in music.

I owe quite a few women a generous thanks for helping me advance in my field of music education.  My two middle school band directors were very influential in fostering a love for music.  They helped me find my skill on trumpet and baritone over 40 years ago.  Both teachers are retired now, but I am very thankful to Mrs. B. and Ms. G for that help.  I have had quite a few college professors who also influenced my academic studies.  The most influential of them all is Dr. H. Without her commitment to research of women in music, and her tireless advocation of research methods in graduate school I would not have developed the keen interest in learning through academic research.  I thank all of you from the bottom of my heart for supporting this meandering soul in the wilderness.

Now the remainder of this writing I will discuss women in music that I admire greatly.  The list will meander through genres, but I want to give these professionals a big thank you for being an influence on my musical journey.  

Aretha Franklin – I remember the first time I heard Aretha sing.  I was in middle school and she was meandering around the genre issues of the late 70’s and 80’s.  Her classic R&B style of the 60’s had fallen out of favor to disco and new wave pop styles.  Yet her work in this later time period was my gateway to her musical excellence from the decade of my birth.  WHen I heard these classic tunes RESPECT, Chain of Fools, and Think it gave me a different perspective on the music of my parent’s generation.  My parents did not listen to R&B though.  They listened to white popular music.  I disliked the antiseptic pop and country they liked with the exception of Johnny Cash.  Aretha was someone I discovered on my own.  She changed my perspective of what modern popular music could sound like.  I felt her emotion.  She led me to James Brown and Diana Ross amongst others.  Franklin’s appearance in the Blues Brothers changed my parent’s mind on my musical tastes.  Aretha opened doors in my life.

Gloria Estefan – Late in my high school years Miami Sound Machine released Primitive Love and it became a national hit with the song Conga.  Since I grew up in a community that celebrated Hispanic culture, hearing Latin music on a popular radio station was like a dream come true.  I followed Gloria’s career for about 15 years, until work stole all of my available time.  I saw Gloria Estefan in Concert in Normal, IL while I was in college.  She was one of the first artists to visit the new Redbird Arena on the campus of Illinois State University.  I was blown away by all of the musicians on that stage.  I could only aspire to play a fraction of the skill on that stage.  I love her Spanish music just as much as her English music (lyrics not style.)  I have continued to collect her music over the years while enjoying her musical development from afar. Some of the music from Primitive Love is dated technologically, but her later music when she was marketed as a solo artist is still fresh and approachable today. She needs to be in the Rock n Roll Hall of Fame.  

Julie Giroux – As I was receiving my undergraduate education women were seldom brought up in the historical or compositional context of music.  I spent more time learning about the great male masters.   Devoting hours to analyzing modern classical music, creating 12-tone matrices and analyzing complex pieces of music.  Clara Schumann, Fanny Mendelssohn, Amy Beach, and Anna Magdalena Bach were footnotes.  I did not know about Hildegard of Bingen or Barbara Strozzi until my doctorate studies in music.  The first female composer that came into my purview as a band director was Anne McGinty.  The second was Julie Giroux.  In the early 2000’s Giroux’s music started to gain a foothold within the fragile economic world of band music publishing.  I started championing her music as often as I could.  Giroux writes music that is melodic, dramatic, and very much like a film score.  Every part is fun to play or sing, and when you conduct it the musical moments come often and they inspire.  Giroux helped open doors for other women in the band music world.  It is nice to see this world becoming more inclusive.  What started for me with Mystery on Mena Mountain, became extraordinary with Italian Rhapsody, Khan, March of the Sundried Tomatoes, Swashbuckler, and Culloden.  I still recommend her music to young band directors.  Giroux inspired me to look deeper in the world for the composers of music that just happen to be women.  Thank you Julie.  I hope your Neapolitan Mastiff Worf is doing well.  My Neo, Bubbles says hello!

Adele – It feels like yesterday, but I know it was 18 years ago.  The first time I heard Adele sing Chasing Pavements I heard a voice that eclipsed all of the vocalists of the late 90’s and early 2000’s.  Her phrasing and musicality had the warmth and expression of Aretha.  It eclipsed R&B legend Alicia Keyes that I enjoyed but not in the manner that would make me rush out to the music store to buy a compact disc or black vinyl disc (BVD.) Adele’s music transcended audiences.  She appealed to nearly everyone I knew.  Adele also broke barriers.  Her beauty transcended the norms set by the media.  I have yet to hear her perform live, but it is on my to do list.  The warmth and breadth of her pitch bends create an aesthetic experience.  The maturity she has demonstrated vocally over the past 18 years continues to impress.  I think I could listen to Adele singing the alphabet song in her contra alto voice and smile.  She has grown up in the social media era and survived numerous challenges.  She has remade her life, and I can’t wait to see what she does next.  

Amy Lee – Back in the 20th century when metal and hair metal were all the rage in the late 80’s and 90’s I never heard a woman beyond Lita Ford, Joan Jett, or Nancy Wilson.  These ladies were good, but the songwriting or the marketing did not match up to some of the other bands of the era.  When Amy Lee showed up with Evanescence on the national stage in the 2000’s a dramatic turn in the harder rock, light metal scene saw glorious possibilities.  Streaming services also enabled us a chance to listen to bands with female leads.  Amy Lee’s brooding anthems and singable choruses gave a new timbre to this older style of music.  Once I heard her, she inspired me to search out other female leads in the genre.  Lacuna Coil and Halestorm were high on my streaming list for quite some time.  I have enjoyed watching Evanescence evolve and become more dynamic and creative with their music.   Amy’s music helped create a conduit for my eldest son and I to bond over.  Her algorithm on streaming got my son to explore Alice in Chains, Rage Against the Machine, and many other grunge, alt-metal, or hard rock bands that I follow as well.  

There you have it.  A short list of five of my favorite artists that happen to be women.  One traditional composer and four popular musicians.  Other notable artists that I admire who happen to be women are Sheryl Crow, Tracy Chapman, Alanis Morissette, Diana Krall, Diane Schuur, Ella Fitzgerald, Dawn Upshaw, and Karen Carpenter.  Thank you for reading this cleansing blog that I chose to write to avoid sinking in the chasm of U.S. governance.  In the meantime take care of your loved ones…    …so it goes…