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Women Who Rock: Bessie to Beyonce. Girl Groups to Riot Grrrl.
A stellar and unprecedented celebration of 104 musical artists, Women Who Rock is the most complete, up-to-date history of the evolution, influence, and importance of women in music. A gorgeous gift book, it includes a stunning, specially commissioned, full-color illustrated portrait of every musician and group.
From Bessie Smith and The Supremes to Joan Baez, Madonna, BeyoncéAmy Winehouse, Dolly Parton, Sleater-Kinney, Taylor Swift, and scores more, women have played an essential and undeniable role in the evolution of popular music including blues, rock and roll, country, folk, glam rock, punk, and hip hop. Today, in a world traditionally dominated by male artists, women have a stronger influence on popular music than ever before. Yet, not since the late nineteen-nineties has there been a major work that acknowledges and pays tribute to the female artists who have contributed to, defined, and continue to make inroads in music.
In Women Who Rock , writer and professor of journalism Evelyn McDonnell leads a team of women rock writers and pundits in an all-out celebration of 104 of the greatest female musicians. Organized chronologically, the book profiles each artist and places her in the context of both her genre and the musical world at large. Sidebars throughout recall key moments that shaped both the trajectory of music and how those moments influenced or were influenced by women artists.
With full-color illustrated portraits by women artists, Women Who Rock will be THE long-awaited gift book for every music fan, feminist, and female rocker, young and old musicians.
From Bessie Smith and The Supremes to Joan Baez, Madonna, BeyoncéAmy Winehouse, Dolly Parton, Sleater-Kinney, Taylor Swift, and scores more, women have played an essential and undeniable role in the evolution of popular music including blues, rock and roll, country, folk, glam rock, punk, and hip hop. Today, in a world traditionally dominated by male artists, women have a stronger influence on popular music than ever before. Yet, not since the late nineteen-nineties has there been a major work that acknowledges and pays tribute to the female artists who have contributed to, defined, and continue to make inroads in music.
In Women Who Rock , writer and professor of journalism Evelyn McDonnell leads a team of women rock writers and pundits in an all-out celebration of 104 of the greatest female musicians. Organized chronologically, the book profiles each artist and places her in the context of both her genre and the musical world at large. Sidebars throughout recall key moments that shaped both the trajectory of music and how those moments influenced or were influenced by women artists.
With full-color illustrated portraits by women artists, Women Who Rock will be THE long-awaited gift book for every music fan, feminist, and female rocker, young and old musicians.
416 pages, Hardcover
Published October 9, 2018
23 people are currently reading
336 people want to read
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Displaying 1 - 20 of 20 reviews
February 28, 2019
Love, love, LOVE this book!! Women Who Rock features over 100 amazing artists and is written by a collective of incredible women. If that weren’t enough, each artist gets their own gorgeous illustration, all created by extremely talented female artists. One of my favourite additions to the book was a playlist suggestion to go along with each chapter. I read, listened, and learned about old favourites while discovering new artists that are now in rotation on my playlists. Simply cannot recommend this book enough.
I had the opportunity to discuss this fantastic book with Evelyn McDonnell on my podcast Muses and Stuff. To listen click here
I had the opportunity to discuss this fantastic book with Evelyn McDonnell on my podcast Muses and Stuff. To listen click here
November 20, 2018
Strap in for this one, peeps. This book should have been in my wheelhouse: women musicians! feminist analyses of their careers! (mostly) beautiful illustrations! Evelyn McDonnell edits this volume! Contributors include Annie Zaleski, Theo Kogan, Lucretia Tye Jasmine, and other great writers! What could possibly go wrong?
Unfortunately, there are SO MANY copy-editing errors, a few head-scratching factual ones (Beyonce's nickname among her fans is KING BEY? Really?), and some questionable language choices (describing audiences as "deaf, blind, and dumb" for not getting the brilliance of The Runaways? W H A T) that it detracts from the quality of the book overall. If you are going to pull off a project like this, HIRE QUALIFIED COPY-EDITORS, unless you want your book to look sloppy as hell.
Unfortunately, there are SO MANY copy-editing errors, a few head-scratching factual ones (Beyonce's nickname among her fans is KING BEY? Really?), and some questionable language choices (describing audiences as "deaf, blind, and dumb" for not getting the brilliance of The Runaways? W H A T) that it detracts from the quality of the book overall. If you are going to pull off a project like this, HIRE QUALIFIED COPY-EDITORS, unless you want your book to look sloppy as hell.
October 23, 2018
Evelyn McDonnell sought out a variety of women to write a few thousands words that captured the essence of 106 women who left a mark on rock, pop, country, hip hop and beyond. Starting with Bessie Smith, Big Mama Thornton and Wanda Jackson, this is an overview of the women who've defined our pop culture through records.
Oversized with a shocking pink dust jacket, WOMEN WHO ROCK offers coffee table confection with a great deal of hard facts, interpretive consideration of the recordings and career overview/historical significance. Whether a casual fan, or someone who takes their music history serious, this is a great gift -- and a strong addition to any library, music or otherwise.
Superstars from every era are tied together by original art, a handful of essays from McDonnell making connections and capturing moments and a passion from the contributors for the artists they're writing about. Linda Ronstadt? Check. Whitney Houston? Tina Turner? Rihanna? Beyonce? Absolutely. Patti Smith? The Slits? Poison Ivy? Joan Jett? Yes, indeed. And of course, Joni Mitchell, Carole King, Stevie Nicks, Madonna, Cindy Lauper, Taylor Swift.
Feminist, cultural, musical. This isn't quite the Little Book of Saints, but it's a great way to learn about the women who've paved the way without being drowned in minutiae, throttled by mansplaining or choked with gossip, fashion or dating logs.
Oversized with a shocking pink dust jacket, WOMEN WHO ROCK offers coffee table confection with a great deal of hard facts, interpretive consideration of the recordings and career overview/historical significance. Whether a casual fan, or someone who takes their music history serious, this is a great gift -- and a strong addition to any library, music or otherwise.
Superstars from every era are tied together by original art, a handful of essays from McDonnell making connections and capturing moments and a passion from the contributors for the artists they're writing about. Linda Ronstadt? Check. Whitney Houston? Tina Turner? Rihanna? Beyonce? Absolutely. Patti Smith? The Slits? Poison Ivy? Joan Jett? Yes, indeed. And of course, Joni Mitchell, Carole King, Stevie Nicks, Madonna, Cindy Lauper, Taylor Swift.
Feminist, cultural, musical. This isn't quite the Little Book of Saints, but it's a great way to learn about the women who've paved the way without being drowned in minutiae, throttled by mansplaining or choked with gossip, fashion or dating logs.
May 27, 2023
I spotted this in a local thrift store and, being an avid female avant-pop and rock devotee, I flipped through it. As expected, it's very broad in scope, which both to it's credit and detriment.
While there are women here that I would put in my own book (Rosetta Tharp, Yoko Ono, Laurie Anderson, Siouxsie Sioux, Poison Ivy, Alice Bag, etc.) there are also many I would not. This is because the usual pop suspects fit together extremely poorly with the lesser-known cult artists. It's like mixing salt and sugar together or wearing clashing colors. I don't mean to say this as an insult to mainstream pop. I mean to say that this should've been divided into two books instead of all lumped into one: One for the pop divas and one for the underground legends.
It's also not as broad as maybe it thinks it is, as it purposely seems to ignore such obvious feminine revolutionaries as Nico (lest we forget goth-pioneering The Marble Index). But perhaps she was accidentally overlooked because the book couldn't decide whether it wanted to be an ode to uber-pop divas like Madonna, Kate Bush, Lady Gaga, Stevie Nicks, and The Go-Gos, or to artists that are only now starting to get credit for their work, such as Rosetta Tharp and Carol Kaye. Once again, such an overly varied grouping of women quickly makes me feel whiplash.
I'll also note that Alice Bag's presence is very out-of-place, since she is by and large the most underground artist with the smallest discography in the whole darn book. Unless they are deeply into LA punk, very few readers will recognize her name (or the blink-and-you'll-miss-it reference to her goth icon gal pal, The Sisters of Mercy's bassist Patricia Morrison). I am nigh equally mystified by Diamanda Galas' presence, as she is also very niche but had nothing to do with the goth scene as the writer of her chapter so claims. Eva O would've been a far better choice if they wanted a woman to represent the US goth scene.
As a devoted fan of art pop and post-punk from around the world, I can't help but be a little disappointed. But that is of course based purely on my own personal interests, which lean more towards the alternative and experimental music that Alice Bag, Poison Ivy, Laurie Anderson, and Yoko Ono came from. I cannot help but wish others of their kind were present:
The freak folk maestros Buffy Sainte-Marie, Vashti Bunyan, and Catherine Ribeiro. The jazz-funk divas Annette Peacock, Asha Puthli, and Joan Armatrading. The Japanese New Wave queens, Akiko Yano (the unsung originator of the "Kate Bush sound"), Jun Togawa, Miharu Koshi, and Sheena Ringo. The ethereal 4AD goddesses Elizabeth Fraser, Lisa Gerrard, and Lisa Germano. The avant-garde rebels Nina Hagen, Jane Siberry, Meredith Monk, Cosey Fanni Tutti, Danielle Dax, and Happy Rhodes. Genre-defying all-girl bands The Slits, The Raincoats, and Malaria!. Etc, etc. So much I hope for from books like this, but have yet to see.
Music historians' constant snubbing of Akiko Yano and Nina Hagen is especially continually disappointing to me, since they're so willing to include the sonically very similar Bush and Galas in their books and reviews. Ah, well... Aside from my personal feelings, I really do wish this was two separate books and not one. Hence why I rated it as middle-of-the-road. This book was stuck between two separate worlds and so was I.
While there are women here that I would put in my own book (Rosetta Tharp, Yoko Ono, Laurie Anderson, Siouxsie Sioux, Poison Ivy, Alice Bag, etc.) there are also many I would not. This is because the usual pop suspects fit together extremely poorly with the lesser-known cult artists. It's like mixing salt and sugar together or wearing clashing colors. I don't mean to say this as an insult to mainstream pop. I mean to say that this should've been divided into two books instead of all lumped into one: One for the pop divas and one for the underground legends.
It's also not as broad as maybe it thinks it is, as it purposely seems to ignore such obvious feminine revolutionaries as Nico (lest we forget goth-pioneering The Marble Index). But perhaps she was accidentally overlooked because the book couldn't decide whether it wanted to be an ode to uber-pop divas like Madonna, Kate Bush, Lady Gaga, Stevie Nicks, and The Go-Gos, or to artists that are only now starting to get credit for their work, such as Rosetta Tharp and Carol Kaye. Once again, such an overly varied grouping of women quickly makes me feel whiplash.
I'll also note that Alice Bag's presence is very out-of-place, since she is by and large the most underground artist with the smallest discography in the whole darn book. Unless they are deeply into LA punk, very few readers will recognize her name (or the blink-and-you'll-miss-it reference to her goth icon gal pal, The Sisters of Mercy's bassist Patricia Morrison). I am nigh equally mystified by Diamanda Galas' presence, as she is also very niche but had nothing to do with the goth scene as the writer of her chapter so claims. Eva O would've been a far better choice if they wanted a woman to represent the US goth scene.
As a devoted fan of art pop and post-punk from around the world, I can't help but be a little disappointed. But that is of course based purely on my own personal interests, which lean more towards the alternative and experimental music that Alice Bag, Poison Ivy, Laurie Anderson, and Yoko Ono came from. I cannot help but wish others of their kind were present:
The freak folk maestros Buffy Sainte-Marie, Vashti Bunyan, and Catherine Ribeiro. The jazz-funk divas Annette Peacock, Asha Puthli, and Joan Armatrading. The Japanese New Wave queens, Akiko Yano (the unsung originator of the "Kate Bush sound"), Jun Togawa, Miharu Koshi, and Sheena Ringo. The ethereal 4AD goddesses Elizabeth Fraser, Lisa Gerrard, and Lisa Germano. The avant-garde rebels Nina Hagen, Jane Siberry, Meredith Monk, Cosey Fanni Tutti, Danielle Dax, and Happy Rhodes. Genre-defying all-girl bands The Slits, The Raincoats, and Malaria!. Etc, etc. So much I hope for from books like this, but have yet to see.
Music historians' constant snubbing of Akiko Yano and Nina Hagen is especially continually disappointing to me, since they're so willing to include the sonically very similar Bush and Galas in their books and reviews. Ah, well... Aside from my personal feelings, I really do wish this was two separate books and not one. Hence why I rated it as middle-of-the-road. This book was stuck between two separate worlds and so was I.
August 24, 2019
Women Who Rock: Bessie to Beyonce, Girl Groups to Riot Grrrl edited by Evelyn McDonnell (Black Dog & Leventhal Publishers 2018) (780.92).
This is a collection of mini-biographies of the editor's favorite women singer-songwriters. She selected artists to highlight from a wide range of genres. Particularly interesting were the bios of Emmylou Harris, Linda Rondstadt, Dolly Parton, Carole King, Patsy Cline, and Amy Winehouse. (New trivia: Patsy Cline was born Virginia Patterson Hensley. She was born one week after the marriage of her sixteen-year-old mother and her forty-two-year-old father, and she was only thirty years old when she died in a plane crash).
Don't expect any in-depth discussions in this volume. It's a fine book for cursory introductions to entertainers with which a reader might not be familiar. My rating: 7/10, finished 8/24/19.
January 3, 2023
A wonderful beautifully put together coffee table book about women who rock-there are small pieces on each woman who made it to the book with unique artwork for each individual. It’s a snippet into their history and the profound effects they’ve had on music culture. I really enjoyed learning about artists I don’t know well and smiled to myself reading pretty much what I already knew about the artists I know and love. It is a lovely compilation of women who made a difference to the world of music.
February 3, 2024
Lots of great short profiles of women. I jumped around a bunch, reading the ones that interested me: Santigold, Rhianna, Kathleen Hanna, Peaches, Lauryn Hill, Liz Phair, Patsy Cline, kd lang, Wanda Jackson, Joan Jett (they should have talked about her WNBA fandom!), Sleater-Kinney, Nina Simone, Chaka Khan, Dolly Parton, Ronnie Spector, Cher, Donna Summer, Poly Styrene, Kate Bush, Sinead O’Connor, PJ Harvey, Poison Ivy. I wish they would have included Sarah Vaughn and Miriam Makeba.
November 5, 2018
This is a gorgeous book. I haven't read all of it yet but based on the illustrations, the artist selections, and the overall look of the book, it is a 5 stars for me. Are there a few people, Billie Holiday for example, missing? Yes, but I can't fault the female rockers they selected. I look forward to combing through this over the next few days. Nice to see women being given their due.
January 5, 2019
This was a great blend of feminism and musical geekery (you know, two of my favorite things). The only complaint I have is that there are so many women who rock who were ommitted from Women Who Rock. Then again, that would probably require a book the size of a small refridgerator, which honestly might not be a bad thing.
March 19, 2019
A collection of essays about powerful women in music who made changes, blazed trails, set trends, changed minds and generally kicked ass. Yeah.....
March 20, 2019
I loved it!!
March 20, 2019
A 2018 staff favorite recommended by Jocelyn. Check our catalog: https://encore.cooklib.org/iii/encore...
March 23, 2019
Heavy Tome about women who influenced rock. Really nothing more nothing less.
July 25, 2020
Short Bios of the ladies that say..."anything musical a guy can do,so can us girls"! Full of little glimpses of the girl power movement. Interesting and remarkable. Insight. Later. Keep Reading.
January 4, 2021
Real photos would have been fun!
May 12, 2025
If you love female based music and want to add it to your playlist... This is for you.
December 6, 2018
This book was a great resource.It had lots of suggestions for great women artists to listen to .
February 26, 2025
This book is perfect: essays written by women, about influential women in the landscape of the music industry who all overcame some type of adversity to get their music heard, along with stunning artwork for each essay (also all by women). I confess I haven't finished the book yet, because there is so much information and music to digest! Each essay comes with a recommended playlist, and listening to these women as I read about their lives and their careers is a transformative way to read. Highly recommended to anyone who loves music and wants to diversify their listening habits.
December 13, 2018
Great illustrations!
July 12, 2020
Would have been 5 stars had it included Alanis! I've added many songs to my playlist and books to my reading list. Loved learning about these trailblazing women of Rock.
Displaying 1 - 20 of 20 reviews