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She Bop: The Definitive History of Women in Popular Music
Since She Bop was first published in 1995, digital downloading has transformed the music landscape. But has issue of gender inequality changed too?
For She Bop, Lucy O’Brien conducted over 250 interviews with female artists and women working behind the scenes in A&R, marketing, music publishing, and production to write a groundbreaking exploration of sexism in the music industry. Fusing many untold stories, O’Brien presents a feminist history of women in popular music, from 1920s blues to the present day. Talking to iconic artists from Eartha Kitt and Nina Simone to Debbie Harry, Poly Styrene, and Beyoncé, she charts how women have negotiated "old boy" power networks to be seen and to get their music heard.
This revised edition updates that story through many fresh interviews and new perspectives. In a new introduction and additional closing chapter, O’Brien asks why, in 2020, women own just 13 percent of music publishing and are still a minority among festival headliners. She celebrates the rise of unique women such as Lizzo and Billie Eilish who are bursting through and creating new possibilities for female artists, while also looking at the struggles of artists like Kesha and Aaliyah, and wondering whether the pop industry has had its #MeToo moment.
When she first wrote She Bop, O’Brien questioned the way the music press lumped female artists together under the term "Women in Rock," saying that the ultimate goal was to make that phrase redundant. Now, despite the gender inequalities that still exist, greater awareness means few magazine editors would dare to feature women in such a derogatory way.
Published to celebrate the original book’s 25th anniversary—and in the year that also marks the 50th anniversary of Women’s Liberation—this new She Bop will appeal to a huge cross-section of readers, from music fans to the LGBT audience and women of all generations.
For She Bop, Lucy O’Brien conducted over 250 interviews with female artists and women working behind the scenes in A&R, marketing, music publishing, and production to write a groundbreaking exploration of sexism in the music industry. Fusing many untold stories, O’Brien presents a feminist history of women in popular music, from 1920s blues to the present day. Talking to iconic artists from Eartha Kitt and Nina Simone to Debbie Harry, Poly Styrene, and Beyoncé, she charts how women have negotiated "old boy" power networks to be seen and to get their music heard.
This revised edition updates that story through many fresh interviews and new perspectives. In a new introduction and additional closing chapter, O’Brien asks why, in 2020, women own just 13 percent of music publishing and are still a minority among festival headliners. She celebrates the rise of unique women such as Lizzo and Billie Eilish who are bursting through and creating new possibilities for female artists, while also looking at the struggles of artists like Kesha and Aaliyah, and wondering whether the pop industry has had its #MeToo moment.
When she first wrote She Bop, O’Brien questioned the way the music press lumped female artists together under the term "Women in Rock," saying that the ultimate goal was to make that phrase redundant. Now, despite the gender inequalities that still exist, greater awareness means few magazine editors would dare to feature women in such a derogatory way.
Published to celebrate the original book’s 25th anniversary—and in the year that also marks the 50th anniversary of Women’s Liberation—this new She Bop will appeal to a huge cross-section of readers, from music fans to the LGBT audience and women of all generations.
- GenresMusicNonfiction
448 pages, Paperback
Published November 10, 2020
8 people are currently reading
120 people want to read
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Displaying 1 - 5 of 5 reviews
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July 21, 2023You would be hard-pressed to find one name of a female music performer, omitted in this one-of-a-kind volume. It is more than a who’s who of music; it is a literary masterpiece that certainly encapsulates the music industry from decades ago, right up to the present. This is the 25th anniversary revised and updated, making the best even better, if that is possible.
Lucy O’Brien has delved deeply into the world of music, and how women factored into the evolution of that music. The author says that besides music she has explored other areas where women are powerful—in the singer-songwriter genre, for instance, or within gospel music, or soul, where women immortalized the role of the disco diva. She has spoken to many of the performers noted in the book, but has also talked to the managers, publicists, producers, and executives, who work in the power broking areas.
The book of course begins with turn of the twentieth century performers like Ma Rainey, who was the first person to make blues popular in America. She traveled with her own group The Georgia Jazz Band. Others followed in her footsteps, and it was noted to some record executives, that there was a “Black market” for performers. She follows the path others took to tap into this genre. O’Brien truly gives us the history, every minor and major detail that went into the evolution of music, vaudeville, and the progression of jazz and blues that gave ways to other genres and musical tastes. And it is in that progression that we find how stars many grew up with began careers and how they advanced careers through music chosen and the audiences they catered to.
We find how 50’s pop came about and stars like Connie Francis who became American’s biggest star, created such hits as Lipstick On Your Collar,” seemingly appealing more to a male audience, but giving way to many other women who used coy songs to secure their audiences.
Every decade and every musical style has been effectively noted here with so many noted names you are almost star struck on every page, with some famous performer and stories of how they gained fame and audiences. Chapters in the book include: Stupid Cupid, I Wanna Dance With Somebody, Ladies Of The Canyon, She Wears The Trouser, Final Girls, and so much more.
There are just too many famous performers to even try to name here, but let’s just say, if you are looking for the ultimate musical reference book, then SHE BOP truly bops to the top of best in music books!
Lucy O’Brien has delved deeply into the world of music, and how women factored into the evolution of that music. The author says that besides music she has explored other areas where women are powerful—in the singer-songwriter genre, for instance, or within gospel music, or soul, where women immortalized the role of the disco diva. She has spoken to many of the performers noted in the book, but has also talked to the managers, publicists, producers, and executives, who work in the power broking areas.
The book of course begins with turn of the twentieth century performers like Ma Rainey, who was the first person to make blues popular in America. She traveled with her own group The Georgia Jazz Band. Others followed in her footsteps, and it was noted to some record executives, that there was a “Black market” for performers. She follows the path others took to tap into this genre. O’Brien truly gives us the history, every minor and major detail that went into the evolution of music, vaudeville, and the progression of jazz and blues that gave ways to other genres and musical tastes. And it is in that progression that we find how stars many grew up with began careers and how they advanced careers through music chosen and the audiences they catered to.
We find how 50’s pop came about and stars like Connie Francis who became American’s biggest star, created such hits as Lipstick On Your Collar,” seemingly appealing more to a male audience, but giving way to many other women who used coy songs to secure their audiences.
Every decade and every musical style has been effectively noted here with so many noted names you are almost star struck on every page, with some famous performer and stories of how they gained fame and audiences. Chapters in the book include: Stupid Cupid, I Wanna Dance With Somebody, Ladies Of The Canyon, She Wears The Trouser, Final Girls, and so much more.
There are just too many famous performers to even try to name here, but let’s just say, if you are looking for the ultimate musical reference book, then SHE BOP truly bops to the top of best in music books!
September 1, 2023
Lucy O'Brien's most recent release, Lead Sister: The Story of Karen Carpenter, was an incisive and heartbreaking biography of the 1970s soft-rock superstar who died too young in part because of a sexist music industry. So I thought She Bop would be another hit. And it was, but in a very different way.
Instead of the intimate portrait of one woman, O'Brien takes us through 100 years, five continents, and scores of female musicians. And not just the singers/band members, but also the producers, songwriters and DJs. There are definite through lines about the creative ways women found to combat sexism, racism, homophobia, etc., and many of the interviews are fascinating. But I could only read a couple of chapters at a time to avoid overwhelming myself. I'd recommend this book as a helpful reference tool, but it may not appeal to casual readers.
Instead of the intimate portrait of one woman, O'Brien takes us through 100 years, five continents, and scores of female musicians. And not just the singers/band members, but also the producers, songwriters and DJs. There are definite through lines about the creative ways women found to combat sexism, racism, homophobia, etc., and many of the interviews are fascinating. But I could only read a couple of chapters at a time to avoid overwhelming myself. I'd recommend this book as a helpful reference tool, but it may not appeal to casual readers.
November 12, 2020
If there's a theme spanning She Bop, it's the way women artists have always had to negotiate the lenses men see them through. With men as the music industry's perennial gatekeepers, women have rarely had the freedom to embody their own authentic selves the way men have. I reviewed She Bop for The Current.
January 11, 2021
This is a very thoroughly researched look at women in music over the past nine or so decades.
February 2, 2021
Tosh and I discuss this on our Book Musik podcast.
Respect! Women have been fighting the pop music establishment since the beginning for just a little bit… Rock ‘n’ rollers like to think they live by their own rules, outside the establishment, but women know that it’s an ol’ boys club on par with cliques of politicians and financiers. So, sisters are doing it for themselves and finding unique ways to assert their creative voices. O’Brien gives us an exhaustive look at the struggles and triumphs of women in the music biz since recorded music started.
Respect! Women have been fighting the pop music establishment since the beginning for just a little bit… Rock ‘n’ rollers like to think they live by their own rules, outside the establishment, but women know that it’s an ol’ boys club on par with cliques of politicians and financiers. So, sisters are doing it for themselves and finding unique ways to assert their creative voices. O’Brien gives us an exhaustive look at the struggles and triumphs of women in the music biz since recorded music started.
Displaying 1 - 5 of 5 reviews