She's A Rebel: The History of Women in Rock & Roll

by Gillian G. Gaar

Gillian G. Gaar’s critically acclaimed, breakthrough book, the first full history of women in rock and pop ever written, became an instant classic upon its publication in 1992. Arranged chronologically and told with impassioned detail, She’s A Rebel charts a half century of women performers from the early R and B singers of the 1950s, to the girl groups, Motown acts, folksingers, and rock chicks of the 1960s, to the punk rebels and pop divas of the 1970s, to the brash all-girl bands, rappers, and riot grrls of the 1980s and 1990s. This expanded ten-year anniversary edition features over 75 photos and includes three all-new chapters on all the major artists of the last decade as well as an insider’s look at the music industry and the emerging power of women rock stars. With new preface by Yoko Ono and dozens of new profiles and interviews with performers—such as Courtney Love, L7, Bikini Kill, the Breeders, Sarah McLachlan, Ani di Franco, Sheryl Crow, Sleater Kinney, Alanis Morrisette, Lucinda Williams, Mariah Carey, Destiny’s Child, Lauryn Hill, Christina Aguilera, Nelly Furtado, Bjork, and many others— this book captures the amazing explosion of women’s voices and talent in the music world. “[She’s A Rebel] is as thoroughly entertaining as it is researched ... It’s exhaustive and exhilarating.”—Billboard

Genres: Music, Nonfiction, Feminism, History, Biography, Gender, Pop Culture

496 pages, Paperback

First published October 1, 1992

About the author

I write regularly about music, entertainment, and travel. I enjoy taking pictures for my articles and books as well. My very first book was "She's A Rebel: The History of Women in Rock & Roll," first published in 1992, and updated in 2002; Yoko Ono wrote the book's preface, and it still gives me a thrill to see her name on the cover. Other areas of expertise include Nirvana, the Beatles, and Elvis, all of whom I've written books about. I've also written for a variety of publications around the world, including Mojo, Rolling Stone, Goldmine (where I had regular Beatles and Elvis columns), and many others. I was also a senior editor at legendary Seattle music publication "The Rocket."

Reviews

[Jill H. · Rating 3 out of 5]

I'm not sure what I expected of this book but was disappointed. I thought that the author would spend much more time on the first girl groups/solo singers that broke into the Top 40 from the R&B rankings which were unfortunately called "race records". Black groups and solo acts were limited to black audiences and their songs were "covered" by white singers (and were really terrible). But the genius of the these talented ladies eventually captured white teens and rock and roll music finally came into its own.

But the author chose to give those pioneers rather short shrift and concentrated on some pretty obscure vocalists, mostly from England, who presented a new kind of music but were not very commercial (and in some cases, not very talented). The content was sometimes disconnected, jumping around and generally pretty dry. Not one of my favorite reads

[Sara · Rating 4 out of 5]

Any book that gives a shout out to Poison Ivy Rorschach gets 4 stars. She's the reason I picked up a guitar. I got to tell her that once too after a show. Cool.

[Lisa LaCarrubba · Rating 5 out of 5]

My one complaint is that I checked She's a Rebel out of the library and I wish I had bought it to use as a reference.

As the History of Women in Rock makes clear, the history if women's contribution to the genre is the history of rock music itself. The book is informative for anyone interested in the rock music but also insightful into the female perspective. Garr includes all the major female stars and influencers as well as minor stars, lesser known performers and a large number of women who work behinds the scenes. The book includes quotes, historical facts and places all in the context of the social issues of the time.

A must read to grasp the full history of rock through 1992. Ms. Garr, if you are reading this, please write an update from the early nineties to the present.

[Cheryl Zaleski · Rating 2 out of 5]

Dry, dry, dry... reads like an encyclopedia of names and dates. Tries to do too much within its space limitations. And automatically gets at least one star taken off for not mentioning Pink, one of the foremost voices in the past twenty years for strong women taking control of their lives (In 2009, Billboard magazine named Pink the #1 pop musician of the decade,and in 2012 VH1 named Pink #10 on their list of the 100 Greatest Women in Music), while giving up to four pages to artists such as Laura Love (?).

Take note, Gillian Gaar... "pop musician of the decade", not "female pop musician of the decade..."

[Alicia Snyder · Rating 5 out of 5]

mom bought me this as a teenager. it made me immesaurably happy, and i dreamed that one day, as she had written in the preface, that i would be in the sequel edition!

[Susan · Rating 2 out of 5]

I really really dig women that make rock music. I'm particularly fascinated by the earlier years, especially the late 50s/60s girl group stuff (though, yes, they were just tools of good producers and awesome songwriters [some of them actually women] for the most part, but man, some of them chicks had real talent). I was hoping this would be a little more inspirational or at least informative than it was. This was just really general, though it did provide an interesting reference or tidbit or two to follow up on. This book (the revised edition at least) definitely tries to give due to the explosion of women making music in the 90s (and where the hell has it gone today, I ask you?), but crap, if anything deserves a expansive treatise, it's that subject. As a survey, the book does a sufficient job in covering the basics. Damn, if it would only springboard some more in-depth books on the subject I'd be ecstatic.

[George · Rating 3 out of 5]

pretty good. fairly standard, dry history of women in rock. Looses points from me for not mentioning Carol Kaye the amazing session bass player from LA who is on almost every single recording made in the 60's. she also was a hugely influential teacher of bass with hundreds of books about how to play bass. I can understand overlooking lots of different folks in the 80's and 90's when there were more women in rock, but to miss someone behind the scenes in the early days seems a mistake. I wonder if the later edition corrects this.

[Gerry LaFemina · Rating 4 out of 5]

Although the book often gets redundant: the stories get similar afterwhile (that said, the role of women in rock music AND in American society hasn't changed significantly), there's a lot to be said for its sheer comprehensive nature. Starting with the founding mothers of rock n roll, and reaching to well past riot grrl, this book looks at most of the female names in rock, pop, r&b, and hip hop. Better still, Gaar also chronicles the role of female critics, producers, promoters, and more, reminding us that the life of rock music incorporates more than just musicians.

[Hannah]

Read for a paper (on "the archetype of the 'bad girl' in pop music"), along with Reynolds/Press _The Sex Revolts_ and a lot of Bikini Kill and Reverend Horton Heat lyric sheets. I remember it being not as rigorous or thorough as I wanted - maybe I couldn't find some obscure all-female Swedish grind band? - but ten years on, it's still one of the only credible "women in rock" books on the shelves.

[Annalisa · Rating 2 out of 5]

I think there are a lot of important musicians in this book, and I did learn a few things about them, but it's a dry read and I found myself skipping around to the women I wanted to learn about, rather than reading it straight through. When the author got to the Spice Girls, I put the book away and returned it to the library.

Girls to the Front, Hunger Makes Me a A Modern Girl, Rat Girl, are all WAY better reads. Check them out if you haven't.

[Molly · Rating 2 out of 5]

There is a great book waiting to be written about women in pop music. This is not that book. It's certainly an informative read but is miles away from being entertaining in any way. She covered the rock & roll in great depth but left out the sex and drugs. And let's face it isn't that what everyone looks for in a book about pop music?

[Courtney · Rating 4 out of 5]

Yet another book used for my unfinished Master's Thesis. A comprehensive guide to the history of women in the Rock and Roll world. Covers motown, teen idols, to punk. Pretty awesome read.

[Amethyst · Rating 4 out of 5]

Well, I haven't re-read it lately but I'm looking at it on my bookshelf and I remember thinking it was really a great book.

[Jon]

i've learnt that women's are truly rocking as well. he he he!!

[Teacherhuman · Rating 5 out of 5]

Most Excellent -- but I confess I liked Simon Reynolds' book better -- The Sex Revolts: Gender, Rebellion and Rock 'n' Roll

[Kae · Rating 5 out of 5]

Great book.

[Todd Souvignier · Rating 4 out of 5]

great book, vast scope, and excellent taste in subjects. not enough material about THE SHANGRI-LAS, but double extra style points for referencing "The Boy Looked At Johnny" (Burchill and Parsons).

[Lydia · Rating 4 out of 5]

A little dry in parts, but over all a good reference.

[AP · Rating 5 out of 5]

Scholarly and definitive book on women in rock music from 1950s-2000. More appropriate as a textbook for a college course.

[Axl Peralta · Rating 5 out of 5]

It is the best encyclopedia for lovers of rock music and to discover groups that never knew existed but are worth knowing

[Millie · Rating 2 out of 5]

had to pick and choose who to read about. I think only about a 1/4 of it was ladies I care about.

[belle · Rating 3 out of 5]

great reference book but not really one that’s meant to be read straight through cover to cover so all i’m gonna say here is my biggest takeaway was that patti smith is really fucking cool

[A.L. Bellettiere · Rating 2 out of 5]

I wanted to love She’s a Rebel, but it just didn’t click for me. While the book is undeniably well-researched and thorough in documenting the contributions of women in music, it felt more like a dense history lesson than an engaging narrative.

I appreciated the effort to spotlight artists who paved the way for others, but the sheer volume of names and details made it hard to connect with any of them deeply. Instead of feeling inspired, I found myself skimming through chapters, waiting for something to grab me. Even jumping to the parts about artists I enjoy, like the Go-Go's, left me underwhelmed.

In the end, this book just wasn’t what I hoped for. If you’re a die-hard music historian, it might be your jam, but for me, it lacked the emotional punch or storytelling magic to keep me invested.

[Alana · Rating 5 out of 5]

First edition review: Look, it's dated. It won't say fuck but it'll print the N word (to name bands and quote people, but that's it). It says "Albert Gore." I legit forgot he was an Albert. It doesn't know whose next album is going to blow up after a lull so some of the forlorn pronouncements are funny in retrospect. So,e artists faded into obscurity soon after its publication. It's definitely not just a history but a moment in time. And yet there's so much info here I've never read anywhere else that I can't wag a finger for it not being set in 2024.

Should it be updated and updated and updated? For sure, that'd be great, but that's up to the author.

The one thing I really would like is an audiobook.

[Bryan · Rating 3 out of 5]

My favorite artists/singers tend to be female or female presenting so I was delighted to see this book on my friend's bookshelf and promptly asked if I could borrow it.

This is a well researched book on titular topic. However, at some points I felt like I was reading a "college textbook". I was able to make a list of artists to check out.

The edition I read was published in 1992 so it only goes up to that point.

[Noella Belnavis · Rating 4 out of 5]

Honestly this book was very educational on how women such as Yoko Ono were apart of rock and roll history. I enjoyed how the author was able to transition between taking about one artist to another without making things confusing. Also using quotes from interviews from the artist was a good way of having the audience know how the artist actually felt about a specific topic. Using as much information as possible to make sure everything comes across as logical was also a good choice

[Tabi · Rating 5 out of 5]

I learned quite a bit from this book, and was able to find some new (old) artists I wasn't aware of before.
Not only chronicling women singers/bands in rock, this extensive history also tells the behind-the-scenes accounts of producers, sound engineers, label owners...this is a fascinating account all around.
Well worth the read for music or history buffs.

[Harry O · Rating 5 out of 5]

Some reviews of this book make it out to be just a long list of names and events. It's a long and tedious book but only because of how much misogyny there is to be unpacked. Very eye opening for anyone interested in how the music business works in favor of commerciality over art and how gender plays a massive role in that.

[Sarah Wasserman · Rating 4 out of 5]

It's outdated at this point, so some of its conclusions were (happily) shown to not be the case as the 90s unfolded (and beyond). A great history nonetheless, with fun anecdotes, blending the more dry history with genuine interest.

[meg · Rating 4 out of 5]

really great book! helped a lot in my research for a playlist!