# I’m missing, oh, about twenty to thirty years of good music
**URL:** https://boards.straightdope.com/t/i-m-missing-oh-about-twenty-to-thirty-years-of-good-music/300418
**Category:** Cafe Society
**Created:** [April 21, 2005, 2:28pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/i-m-missing-oh-about-twenty-to-thirty-years-of-good-music/300418 "2005-04-21T14:28:08Z")
**Posts on this page:** 20
**Page:** 1
### Author:  [@Elysian](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Elysian)
#### Post date: [April 21, 2005, 2:28pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/i-m-missing-oh-about-twenty-to-thirty-years-of-good-music/300418/1 "2005-04-21T14:28:08Z")
I was listening to NPR the other day, and they interviewed a singer who preformed in the sixties. She’s just put a new album out. She’s got a lovely cracked and smoky voice, but she used to have a voice that was clear as a bell. NPR played just a snippet of her old music, and that was all.
I got bored and swung the dial. Passed a few hip hop stations and disturbingly many religious programs before stopping at classic rock. Led Zeppelin was shrieking Whole Lotta Love, and, since there wasn’t anything else on, I listened to Plant go on about wanting to knock boots with some random woman.
It occurred to me, slowly, that I never hear women sing on the classic rock channels. Except for Janis Joplin, of course, although she’s only sung one song in her entire career, apparently. I began to toss around the idea of maybe listening to the classic rock channel for an entire 24 hours and writing down every song sung by a woman. I would then put together all of this evidence and write someone a strongly worded letter. Not wanting to torture myself, I discarded the idea.
So then I decided that I wanted to listen to all these voices that are now silent. That’s where you guys come in. I don’t know where to start, and I don’t have a lot of money to kick around. Are there any compilations that I can listen to? Any samples on the web? Give me singer names, and band names, and tell me what it sounds like to you.
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### Author:  [@ultrafilter](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/ultrafilter)
#### Post date: [April 21, 2005, 3:05pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/i-m-missing-oh-about-twenty-to-thirty-years-of-good-music/300418/2 "2005-04-21T15:05:52Z")
It’s not really clear what you’re looking for. Do you want classic rock bands with female singers? Do you want just anything you’re not hearing on the radio?
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### Author:  [@LilyoftheValley](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/LilyoftheValley)
#### Post date: [April 21, 2005, 3:06pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/i-m-missing-oh-about-twenty-to-thirty-years-of-good-music/300418/3 "2005-04-21T15:06:50Z")
Can’t address the rest of your post, but was the NPR interview [Marianne Faithfull](http://www.npr.org/templates/story/story.php?storyId=4561586)? I heard that interview.
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### Author:  [@Elysian](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Elysian)
#### Post date: [April 21, 2005, 4:25pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/i-m-missing-oh-about-twenty-to-thirty-years-of-good-music/300418/4 "2005-04-21T16:25:14Z")
Yes, I think that’s the one.
I want anything with female singers in the 60s, 70s, or 80s that is rock music.
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### Author:  [@silenus](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/silenus)
#### Post date: [April 21, 2005, 4:52pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/i-m-missing-oh-about-twenty-to-thirty-years-of-good-music/300418/5 "2005-04-21T16:52:53Z")
Jefferson Airplane
Fairport Convention (Sandy Denny did harmony vocals on _Battle of Evermore_)
Half of Motown!
the aforesaid Marianne Faithfull
Dusty Springfield
Linda Ronstadt
Joni Mitchell
The Go-Gos
Bananarama
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### Author:  [@mack](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/mack)
#### Post date: [April 21, 2005, 4:54pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/i-m-missing-oh-about-twenty-to-thirty-years-of-good-music/300418/6 "2005-04-21T16:54:41Z")
Well, the thing I like about a lot of female artists is the way they they’re not so easily pigeonholed. They take elements from all styles and put them together quite nicely. So, these might not all be “rock” per se, but they all have elements of rock in their music.
Anyway:
Joni Mitchell
Kate Bush
Blondie
Pat Benatar
Laurie Anderson
Heart
Jefferson Starship
Jane Siberry
Cher :eek:
Sugarcubes (Bjork’s old band)
Tom Tom Club
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### Author:  [@mack](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/mack)
#### Post date: [April 21, 2005, 4:59pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/i-m-missing-oh-about-twenty-to-thirty-years-of-good-music/300418/7 "2005-04-21T16:59:12Z")
…Joan Jett
Siouxsie and the Banshees
Bow wow wow
Edie Brickell and New Bohemians
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### Author:  [@jools](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/jools)
#### Post date: [April 21, 2005, 4:59pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/i-m-missing-oh-about-twenty-to-thirty-years-of-good-music/300418/8 "2005-04-21T16:59:51Z")
Stevie Nicks / Fleetwood Mac
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### Author:  [@silenus](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/silenus)
#### Post date: [April 21, 2005, 5:01pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/i-m-missing-oh-about-twenty-to-thirty-years-of-good-music/300418/9 "2005-04-21T17:01:46Z")
The Pretenders
Curved Air
Renaissance
Joy of Cooking
Isis
B-52s
Romeo Void
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### Author:  [@mack](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/mack)
#### Post date: [April 21, 2005, 5:04pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/i-m-missing-oh-about-twenty-to-thirty-years-of-good-music/300418/10 "2005-04-21T17:04:29Z")
10,000 Maniacs
Tracy Chapman
Joan Armatrading
(sorry, they just keep popping into my head)
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### Author:  [@silenus](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/silenus)
#### Post date: [April 21, 2005, 5:08pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/i-m-missing-oh-about-twenty-to-thirty-years-of-good-music/300418/11 "2005-04-21T17:08:40Z")
Eurythmics
Petula Clark
Tina Turner
Jackie DeShannon
Rita Coolidge
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### Author:  [@fishbicycle](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/fishbicycle)
#### Post date: [April 21, 2005, 5:55pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/i-m-missing-oh-about-twenty-to-thirty-years-of-good-music/300418/12 "2005-04-21T17:55:47Z")
Hey nineteen, that’s Aretha Franklin.
(She don’t remember The Queen Of Soul)…
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### Author:  [@mack](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/mack)
#### Post date: [April 21, 2005, 6:03pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/i-m-missing-oh-about-twenty-to-thirty-years-of-good-music/300418/13 "2005-04-21T18:03:38Z")
Rickie Lee Jones
Suzanne Vega
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### Author:  [@pulykamell](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/pulykamell)
#### Post date: [April 21, 2005, 6:26pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/i-m-missing-oh-about-twenty-to-thirty-years-of-good-music/300418/14 "2005-04-21T18:26:53Z")
You can add one of my favorite bands: **X-Ray Spex** to the list.
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### Author:  [@NDP](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/NDP)
#### Post date: [April 21, 2005, 6:33pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/i-m-missing-oh-about-twenty-to-thirty-years-of-good-music/300418/15 "2005-04-21T18:33:54Z")
I don’t think anyone’s mentioned these yet:
–The Bangles
–The Runaways
–Gladys Knight
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### Author:  [@ColonelDax](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/ColonelDax)
#### Post date: [April 21, 2005, 6:41pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/i-m-missing-oh-about-twenty-to-thirty-years-of-good-music/300418/16 "2005-04-21T18:41:45Z")
Bonnie Raitt
Pattie LaBelle
Maxine Brown
Ann Peebles
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### Author:  [@Skywatcher](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Skywatcher)
#### Post date: [April 21, 2005, 7:19pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/i-m-missing-oh-about-twenty-to-thirty-years-of-good-music/300418/17 "2005-04-21T19:19:15Z")
The Waitresses
Mary Hopkin
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### Author:  [@cuauhtemoc](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/cuauhtemoc)
#### Post date: [April 21, 2005, 7:42pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/i-m-missing-oh-about-twenty-to-thirty-years-of-good-music/300418/18 "2005-04-21T19:42:27Z")
Laura Nyro
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### Author:  [@Talon\_Karrde](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Talon_Karrde)
#### Post date: [April 21, 2005, 7:55pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/i-m-missing-oh-about-twenty-to-thirty-years-of-good-music/300418/19 "2005-04-21T19:55:41Z")
Patti Smith
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### Author:  [@Skywatcher](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Skywatcher)
#### Post date: [April 21, 2005, 8:06pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/i-m-missing-oh-about-twenty-to-thirty-years-of-good-music/300418/20 "2005-04-21T20:06:29Z")
Just occurred to me to check my iPod. In addition to the previous two (and ones mentioned by others):
Ann & Nancy Wilson
Belinda Carlyle
Bonnie Tyler
Captain & Tennille
Carla Thomas
Carol & Cheryl
The Chiffons
Crystal Gayle
The Crystals
Cyndi Lauper
Darlene Love
Debbie Gibson
Debby Boone
The Delicates / Bernadette Carroll
Diana Ross / Supremes
Dionne Warwick
Dodie Stevens
Donna Summer
Eartha Kitt
The Elegants
The Emotions
The Exciters
Gloria Estefan
Gloria Gaynor
Jo Ann Campbell
Juice Newton
Katrina & The Waves
Kim Wilde
Laura Branigan
Madonna
The Manhattan Transfer
Marilyn McCoo
Martha & The Vandellas
The Marvelettes
Melissa Manchester
Olivia Newton-John
Patti Austin
Phranc
Rose Royce
The Shangri-Las
Sheena Easton
The Shirelles
Thelma Houston
Toni Basil
The Trammps
Vicki Sue Robinson
Whitney Houston
Wilson Phillips
Yvonne Ellman
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