By By: Jordan Bontrager
Staff-Writer
Throughout the history of music, there have been many figures that have pioneered several pivotal movements in the medium. Most of the credit goes to men, but a lot of music nowadays is influenced by the many women that pioneered music genres.
Read on to learn about five women that have influenced music in a profound way. While these aren’t objectively the five most important women in music and there are many more to celebrate, these are just five that I would like to highlight.
Stevie Nicks: Stevie Nicks is a part of the band Fleetwood Mac as a vocalist. She is behind some of their most legendary and enduring tracks such as Dreams, Sara, and my personal favorite Fleetwood Mac song, Landslide. Her solo career isn’t too shabby either. Stevie Nicks is a legend in rock music and her work is 100 percent worth a listen.
Joni Mitchell: Joni Mitchell is a folk music icon. Her 1971 album Blue is one of the greatest folk albums ever, and just one of the greatest albums period. Joni’s story is also a very heartwarming one – from humble beginnings, she dropped out of high school and started going down a troubled path, but then decided to pursue music.
As a nod to any fellow guitar players who are reading this, Joni devised many alternate tunings to help her play guitar better, as she had polio that weakened her left arm so she needed those guitar tunings to help her play how she wanted.
Sister Rosetta Tharpe: This woman might have invented rock and roll. She gained notoriety for her gospel recordings in the 1930s and 1940s, but as a prominent queer figure, she lived the rockstar lifestyle as well. I’m sure there are people who don’t want to credit a queer, Black woman for being a progenitor of the rock genre, but she was one of the first people to incorporate the electric guitar into music and deserves much more recognition.
Taylor Swift: How could I skip Taylor? She’s gone through the wringer during her career, but she still puts out a lot of quality work. I don’t think her work is flawless, but when she’s at her peak, she’s making some of the best music ever made. I still get teary eyed when I listen to All Too Well.
As a strong and powerful woman in her field, Taylor has had a lot of harsh criticism during her career, but has come out the other side, especially in her recent symbolic decision to re-record her albums as her own creative property.
Adele: Adele is one of my favorite artists ever. Her powerful voice and emotionally resonant lyrics are timeless. I still belt out Rolling in the Deep and try to match her vocal intensity when I sing along to Set Fire to the Rain, and she draws all of my emotions out when I listen to Easy On Me and Someone Like You.
Adele’s music is some of the most honest, relatable and gut wrenching out there, and she serves as an inspiration to women. Like Taylor Swift, she deserves all the success she’s had – even with only four albums, she is one of the most successful and well-known musicians of our time.
