Something I’ve been wondering about, and never see too much discussion about.
Who, do you all think are the TOP FEMALE Guitar Players in Rock-n-Roll, Pop, Blues.
Guitarists like Bonnie Raitt come to mind, also Texas Blues Artist Sue Foley would be up there, Heart’s Nancy Wilson and maybe Chrissy Hynde from the Pretenders would definitely make the list.
Remember, we’re not talking classical, we’re talking Rock-n-Roll here, maybe we’ll allow Country, since Barbara Mandrell might be in there. Maybe.
Remember also that we want the TOP Guitarists. So that would exclude anybody from the GoGo’s, the Bangles, or the Runaways. (Wait a minute, was Joan Jett in the Runaways?) Also, it should be people who have sold more than a few hundred records.
Remember also to tell me some songs they do so I can check 'em out.
PJ Harvey. Good slide, mandoline style picking, huge ugly distorted stuff as well as well as Delta blues tones. I love the second album (Rid of Me) but some people find it hard going.
Of the others the OP named I’d have to say there are some mis-apprehensions in there. Both Joan Jett and Nancy Wilson rely on power chords too much for me to consider them excellent players (hey, I do it too). Chrissy Hynde plays a good rhythm, is an excellent songwriter, and has one of the all time great voices, but she’s not really a ‘player’ in that sort of way. And I can’t speak to Barbara Mandrell or Sue Foley.
Maybe I’d go with Shawn Colvin or Jill Sobule. Jill in particular does some great finger picking work. Not up to Chet Atkins standards, but who is? And she wouldn’t embarass herself in front of him.
I’ve been a Bonnie Raitt fan since 1978, when I stole a mini bus from Fridley Bus Company & hauled half a dozen friends down to Elko to see her & Daisy Dillman & Lamont Cranston.
Cripes, I’m old!
ANYHOO, it was getting on toward evening, & storm clouds were threatening the proceedings. She said “I’m gonna sing those storm clouds away.”
And the skies opened up, and the rain went away, and the setting sun bathed the stage with burnished orange.
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In college, someone broke into my room and stole my camera and my Bonnie Raitt poster - the b&w one that was put out with her 1st album. I still hate the bastard that did that to me, but you’ve got to admire his taste. Given the chance, I’d kick him to death, but he did manage to pick the only 2 items out of that pile of chaos of any worth.
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Johanna Storm? I might have the name wrong, but she does a cover of “The Sky Is Crying” (SRV) that is fairly awesome.
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There was a bar down on 56th that changed it’s name weekly. At one point, it was Norma Jean’s. The graffiti in the men’s room stayed the same through all the name changes: Chrissy Hynde is God. Yeah, she’s not Clapton or even friggin Dylan when he remembers that he knows how to play a guitar. That ain’t the point.
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The owners of Fridley Bus Co. informed the State Police of their missing mini-van, (much quicker than I expected!) but apparently the message didn’t get out to everybody. We were pulled over for taunting Iowans, but everyone eventually got home OK & the bus was returned - with gas, I might add.
I’m not sure why they would be excluded–Vicki Peterson of the Bangles, and Jane Wiedlin and Charlotte Caffey of the Go-Gos, are all damned good guitarists. (I’ve seen Wiedlin and Caffey perform live as a duo, and they were terrific.) In fact, I’d place Petersen in front of Chrissie Hynde in guitar-playing skill. She was the lead guitar player in her band, whereas Hynde played rhythm behind first James Honeyman-Scott, then Robbie McIntosh.
Joan Jett was indeed in the Runaways, as was Lita Ford.
Hilken Mancini and Chris Toppin of Fuzzy are both good guitarists, switching back and forth from rhythm to lead and writing some great pop songs, too.
I’m a big fan of early Michelle Shocked. Her work on her first two albums - Texas Campfire Tapes and Short Sharp Shocked are classic folk rock and blues. I’ve never seen her ‘live’ but I heard she’s also an excellent mandolin player.
Let’s include a nod to Suzi Quattro. When she first appeared on the scene in 1971 the music industry didn’t know what to do with her. They were used to girl acts that sang and looked pretty, not a woman who played like Jimi Hendrix and wore leather.
By breaking out of the Supremes mold she made Joan Jett, Melissa Etheridge, and the rest possible.
I agree that there are several candidates mentioned here that are known as singers first and rhythm guitarists second. Not that this is insignficant, but I don’t reckon it’s what the OP had in mind.
There’s also a distinction to be made between good folk guitarists – who are primarily known for fancy fingerpicking rather than lead work – and rock ‘n’ rollers, who would be prized for blues-based lead guitar lines.
In the former category, no one has mentioned Joni Mitchell, who not only fingerpicks quite well, but also pioneered a number of unusual tunings that gave her guitar work a distinctive sound that was not duplicated by anyone else.
In the latter, the very first example that comes to mind of a female guitarist moving into the realm of Clapton/Hendrix et al (that is, playing solos that really made you sit up and take notice) was April Lawton from the group Ramatam, whose debut album came out in 1972. Mike Pinera of Iron Butterfly and Mitch Mitchell of the Jimi Hendrix Experience were also members. They had a second album a year later, and then April seems to have dropped off the planet.
OK Cool. For some reason, I haven’t heard too much of her. Sounds like someone I’d like to give a listen though.
quote by Jonathan Chance
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I guess I put Chrissy Hynde in there because she is such an intense rocker. As far as Nancy Wilson I’ll stick by that one. As far as chick guitarists go, she’s at the top. I’ll definitely be downloading some Jill Sobule to check her out. quote by Purd Werfect
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Another new one on me. I gotta get around more. pldennison quote
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OK, I’ll explain that one. It’s because I have this predjudice towards Bubble Pop bands like Bangles and Go-Go’s. My fault. I see Chrissy Hynde as a serious, intense Rock-n-Roller who has studied the craft and paid her dues. I see the Bangles and Go’s as Pop stars first and muscicians second. My own opinion. I did download Fuzzy though, a song called “Don’t Tell Me Girl”, which I thought was in the GoGo mode but pretty entertaining. quote by dodge_this
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Hey! I’m a Michelle Shocked fan to, from what I’ve heard of her, which isn’t a whole lot. Someone turned me on to her last year. I just didn’t think of her as a Guitarist though. scampering gremlin quote
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I have heard of her, but never heard her. I’ll look for her though. Dr Pinky Bonnie Raitt is awesome, oh…and good story by the way. theotherangel Stephanie Seymour? Don’t ask me either. Feynn I’m with you on the Dolly Parton thing. She is quite talented. How does she play with 3inch long fingernails? BigStar303 Joni Mitchell as a top guitarist? I never have been able to get into her. She is recognized as a MAJOR contributor to Rock, but a little TOO introspective, deep and slow for me. Juniper200 That’s the second vote for an Indigo Girl. Yet another band I haven’t paid enough attention to apparently. quote by JBirdman12
That’s cool, Randy, I understand your reasoning even if I don’t agree. I would say, however, that those bands are songwriters first, guitarists second. Pop stardom, after all, is predicated on catchy tunes, and they did write all their own material. Plus, given the dearth of female instrumentalists in rock music, I give a lot of credit to all-girl bands.
The Fuzzy song you d/led is actually a cover of, of all things, a Beach Boys song! You should check out some of their other material. They’re not, like, guitar heros, but they play some excellent stuff. Come to think of it, there was some pretty good guitar work on both Veruca Salt albums, too, with two guitar-playing women fronting the group.
Longtime weirdo-rockabilly band The Cramps features lead guitar work by a woman, Poison Ivy Rorshach. I don’t know if this band sold enough records to qualify under Randy’s criteria, but they do carry quite a bit of underground cachet.
