Who said girls can't rock?!

The B Girls lived such a small band life, but were great nonetheless. They relocated to New York from Toronto, sang back ups for Blondie on the Autoamerican album, stirred up some buzz in music zines, recorded a handful of songs... only to release one 45 on Bomp! Records. I really think they could have been the east coast version of the Go-Go's!! The original lead singer quit right before they were about to open for The Clash. They have a pretty cool website, check it out here. A compilation of all their recordings was released a few years ago and you can buy it here. Some of the songs were even recorded by Debbie Harry!!

Check out this awesome rare footage of a Sid and Nancy interview... the girl on the far right is Cynthia from The B Girls and her then-boyfriend. Some guy named Stiv Bators...never heard of him... ;-)

John Waters' women

I'm a huge John Waters fan and, like everyone else, I love all the characters in his movies. Everyone knows Debbie Harry (Hairspray) was in Blondie, but did you know Divine had a moderately successful disco/dance career? Did you know Edith Massey recorded a punk anthem released on a super rare picture disc 7-inch single?





There are a chock full of female recording artists in Hairspray, probably the most well-known was Blondie's Debbie Harry. But did you know Pia Zadora, the beatnik lady who wanted to get naked and smoke, recorded 8 albums? Colleen Fitzpatrick, who played the snotty Amber Von Tussle, had a big hit in the 1990's under the stage name Vitamin C. The movie also featured the amazing OG rock n roller Ruth Brown as Maybelle Motormouth!!







While I know this blog is specifically dedicated to female singers, I still have to mention Tab Hunter and Stiv Bators were in one of my all-time favorite Waters films, Polyester. Tab also recorded the Polyester theme song with Debbie Harry. Oh! And Toussaint McCall was in Hairspray... so was Ric Ocasek and Sonny Bono!!!!!!









Rachel Sweet was the voice behind Allison Vernon-Williams in Cry Baby. Traci Lords recorded a handful of dance singles in the 90's. Iggy Pop was also in this movie, but he needs no introduction... Patty Hearst never recorded any music, but there are plenty of songs written about her, which is pretty cool. I freaking LOVE this Rachel Sweet song:



L7 was in Serial Mom as Camel Lips:



...and I think that covers it. Am I missing anybody? If so, let me know!!

Before they were stars

...because we all have to get our start somewhere, right?



Chrissie Hynde (The Pretenders)
Ohio-born Hynde moved to Europe in the mid 70's and joined several bands before she struck gold the The Pretenders. She sang in a band called The Frenchies, played guitar in a band called Masters of the Backside (later known as The Damned) (!!!), joined the Johnny Moped Band and right before the formation of The Pretenders, played guitar in The Moors Murderers.



Debbie Harry (Blondie)
I just found out she used to be a waitress at Dunkin' Donuts... this is my kinda gal. She also used to be a Playboy Bunny. In the 60's she sang in a folk pop band called Wind in the Willows - it took me YEARS to find a copy of their record! Click that link to hear them and see the cover, you'll see a pre-blond Deb! Right before Blondie formed, her and Chris (Stein) (Blondie's guitarist/Debbie's boyfriend), started a female-fronted group called The Stilettos. Debbie and Chris then formed BLONDIE. Thank goodness! Blondie's 2-CD compilation Platinum Collection has some amazing early Blondie songs that never made it to vinyl... such a shame because they are GREAT songs:







Suzi Quatro
Before she became the most badass woman of ALL TIME, she played bass in a rad all-girl band in the 60's called The Pleasure Seekers with her sister Patti (who went on to form Fanny). Pssst! Check out the latest Ugly Things for a really interesting Pleasure Seekers article.





Charlotte Caffey (The Go-Go's)
Before she joined one of the most successful girl groups of all time, Charlotte played bass in LA punk band The Eyes. She sang on the song below... soooo rad...





Annie Lennox (Eurythmics)
A few years before the Euythmics formed, Annie sang in a poppy new wave band called The Tourists. They released a few albums, but I don't think they had much mainstream success in America...





Carole King
I consider Carole one of the greatest female songwriters of all-time. She recorded a few cute pop songs in the 60's before she really made it big as a solo artist in the 70's... I LOVE this song!!!





Tammy Terrell
Before this gorgeous lady was singing duets with Marvin Gaye, she was known as Tammy Montgomery and singing alongside James Brown... no biggie. This track is hellaaaa rare on vinyl, but if you can find it: BUY IT. AND PLAY IT. A LOT.