wirestock_creators / Depositphotos.com
When people think about the history of rock music, they often picture men with guitars, but women have been shaping rock music from the beginning.
Artists like Janis Joplin, Joan Jett, Bonnie Raitt, Stevie Nicks, Patti Smith and Debbie Harry didn’t just participate in rock music. They helped change what a rock star could look like.
Joan Jett is one of the best examples. Before becoming a solo star, she was a member of The Runaways, an all-female rock band that helped challenge the idea that girls didn’t belong in hard rock. Jett later became a rock icon with The Blackhearts, combining punk, glam and classic rock. She was inducted into the Rock & Roll Hall of Fame in 2015.
Then there is Bonnie Raitt, whose blues-inspired guitar playing and powerful voice made her one of rock’s most respected musicians. She began recording in 1971 and eventually became a Rock & Roll Hall of Fame inductee.
Women also helped change rock through bands. Heart, The Go-Go’s, The Runaways and later groups like Bikini Kill showed that women could be singers, guitarists, songwriters and bandleaders.
And the influence didn’t stop there. The Riot Grrrl movement of the 1990s gave women in punk and alternative rock a new platform to speak about sexism and other issues while creating their own communities within music.
Rock music has changed a lot over the years, but women have been there through every stage of it. They weren’t just along for the ride. They helped build the road.
