I also wrote this piece when I was in college. It is lighthearted, but further displays my respect for women and my concern for matters of equality. Please note that, since I wrote this, my esteemed homegirl, Joan Jett, has been inducted into the Rock n Roll Hall of Fame.
A representation of the art that has been an influence on me since my earliest memory sits in a majestic palace at 1100 Rock and Roll Boulevard in Cleveland, OH. The Rock and Roll Hall of Fame, in many ways, is as important to the landscape of human history as the Louvre or the Smithsonian. Sadly, the ladies of the music world are vastly under-represented in the house that Rock built.
Established almost 30 years ago, the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame has enshrined 296 inductees from a wide-variety of musical genres. Of these inductees, only 40 have been women(McDonnel, 2011). It is hard for me to imagine that, of all the brilliant women musicians who have contributed to musical history as writers, singers and musicians, only 40 have been deemed worthy of induction. Of all the women who have been snubbed by the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame, one of the most egregious omissions is Joann Jett.
Joann Jett was born Joan Larkin on September 22, 1958 in Philadelphia, PA. Her music career began, in earnest, when she was only 15.
“Jett started her musical career as a teenager, forming her first serious band, the Runaways, at the age of 15. The final line-up included Jett on guitar and vocals, Sandy West on drums,Cherie Currie on lead vocals, Jackie Fox on bass guitar, and LitaFord on guitar. The band was ahead of its time in many ways, with its hard-rock sound emerging during an era when disco music was king (Joann Jett).”
Jett’s big break came after she met producer Kenny Laguna in Los Angeles. Jett and Laguna cut Jett’s first solo album, but couldn’t find a record company interested in distribution. It the truest spirit of rock and roll, they formed their own record company and sold records at Jett’s shows. She went on to have monster hits with I Love Rock and Roll, Do You Wanna Touch Me and an edgy cover of the Tommy James cut, Crimson and Clover.
Jett belongs in the hall. Not because she has her share of hit records and fame, but because she embodies the spirit of rock and roll. From the tender age of 15, she was on the stage, on the road and on the move. If an over-rated circus act like Guns N Roses, a flash in the pan by comparison, is in the hall, Jett is the victim of an insulting snub.
“Joann Jett: Led one of the first all-girl aggressive rock bands, the Runaways, who have had two movies made about them but have never been nominated to the Rock Hall. Had a string of hits throughout the 1980s, from “I Love Rock ’n ’Roll” to “Crimson and Clover” to “I Hate Myself for Loving You.” Co-wrote and performed one of the greatest rebel rock songs of all time, “Bad Reputation.” Became a model, mentor and producer for 1990s female rock bands. Still tours constantly notas a pathetic parody of her old self, most recently gigging with the Foo Fighters at Madison Square Garden (McDonnel, 2011).”
Meanwhile, in Brooklyn, young Patricia Mae Andrzejewskiwas setting her sights on stardom. The world knows her as Pat Benatar(Pat Benatar).
Pat Benatar was a different kind of rocker. A standout music student at Brooklyn’s Lindenhurst High School, Benatarwas invited to study at the exclusive Julliard Conservatory. She opted to forego higher education for marriage. She married her high school sweetheart and accompanied him to Virginia, where he was stationed in the U.S. Army. During the day she was a wife and bank teller. At night she was rocking the Richmond club scene. Married life didn’t suit her, so she got a divorce and returned to New York (Pat Benatar).
"My dream was to be the singer in a rockin' band, like Robert Plant was to Led Zeppelin or Lou Gramm to Foreigner," she wrote in her 2010 memoir, Between a Rock and a Hard Place.”(Pat Benatar)
Benatar was discovered by a producer from Chrysalis Records. She went on to become a monster in the music world. With a string of hits that included Hit Me with Your Best Shot, Heartbreaker and Love is a Battlefield. Benatar was also a darling on MTV, where her videos got heavy play. At the height of her popularity, Benatar had eight number one hits and ten platinum albums (Pat Benatar).
Benatar’s exclusion from the hall of fame is just as perplexing as Jett’s. Her songs and visual images influencedmusic and fashion. She was tough like Jett, but she had a decidedly sexier image. In 2012, The Beastie Boys will be inducted in the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame (Rock and Roll Hall of Fame and Museum, 2012). Nothing against The Boys, I’ve always been a fan, but there is no way to justify their enshrinement prior to Pat Benatar. This pattern of female exclusion has been ongoing for some time.
Since the hall has always included artists who didn’t, technically, perform rock and roll, I’d also submit that the infinitely talented songstress, Patti LaBelle should also be among the inductees.
Patricia Holte, LaBelle’s
“As a teenager, she began singing secular music with friend, Cindy Birdsong. The duo formed the Ordettes in 1959 and, a year later, signed on two more friends, Nona Hendryx and Sarah Dash. As the group experienced increasing success, Patricia's parents allowed her to leave high school with her friends in order to go on tour (Patti LaBelle).
The Ordettes, with Patricia as the lead vocalist, signed with Newtown Records in 1961. The company changed the group's name to The Bluebelles, from which Patti took her new stage name, LaBelle, French for "The Beautiful." In their first year at Newtown, they recorded their debut single "I Sold My Heart to the Junkman." The song became an instant gold record and a No. 1 hit (Patti LaBelle).”
As their successes had waned by the late 60’s, The Bluebelles found themselves down a member and without management. Nona Hendryx left the group to join Diana Ross and The Supremes, Newtown dropped them from the label and their management team resigned. Under the leadership of their new manager, Vicki Wickham, the ladies changed their name to LaBelle and soon found themselves on the powerful Warner Bros. label. Their sexually-charged disco ballad, Lady Marmalade, became the group’s first number one hit in 12 years(Patti LaBelle).
Patti LaBelle went solo in the 1980’s and her solo success has continued. She has also forayed into acting and is an author. She has displayed amazing talent, perseverance and diversity for 50 years. It is time for the Rock and Roll Hall of fame to recognize her greatness.
Donna Summers has a similar story. Summers, a singer/songwriter and widely acknowledged Queen of Disco,was born in Boston.
“Donna Summer is a singer-songwriter who is known as the “Queen of Disco.” Summer co-wrote the landmark single “Love to Love You Baby” in 1975, and the club version of the song introduced the 12-inch disco mix. Over the next 14 years Summer wrote or co-wrote “Bad Girls,” “She Works Hard for the Money,” and her signature song, “Last Dance,” from the film Thank God It's Friday, among many others(Donna Summers).”
I am not, nor have I ever been a fan of disco. It simply isn’t my style. I cannot, however, argue with the assertion that disco was an influential part of pop culture. One of the most revered bands in rock and roll, KISS, had a hit with the heavily disco-influenced I Was Made for Loving You. Millions of people around the world were caught up in disco fever. Black artists enjoyed popular support from people of all races like never before. At the center of that perfect storm was Donna Summers. If for no other reason, Donna Summers’ status as an icon of the disco era should make her a rock and roll hall of fame inductee.
Even when women are inducted into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame, it is usually much later than their initial eligibility or does not truly reflect their level of contribution. Take, for instance, the case of Tina Turner.
In spite of her accomplishments in the music industry, her induction was relegated to being part of her collaboration with her abusive and marginally-talented ex-husband, Ike Turner. It is pretty clear who among these two had the talent and who was riding a coat tail. Others, though they were eventually inducted, were placed on the back burner far longer than their male counterparts. Such is the case of Bonnie Raitt.
Bonnie Raitt, is my personal favorite of the artists I’ve profiled. Raitt came on the music scene in 1971, though she didn’t enjoy a lot of commercial success until the 1980’s(Bonnie Raitt). Artists are eligible for induction in the Hall of Fame twenty-five years after their first album is released. In spite of decades of critical acclaim, Raitt wasn’t selected for the hall until 2000. Her contributions to a Stevie Ray Vaughn memorial project in 1996 won a Grammy Award. I credit this event for finally getting her the credit she so richly deserves. While she never has had the sort of commercial success of a female pop singer, the hall has regularly recognized artistic merit. Unfortunately, that recognition has been given primarilyto male performers.
The law of large numbers assures that there will always be more men than women will be inducted into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame. There have always been and I suspect there will always be more men than women in the music industry. Recently, the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame and Museum opened an exhibit entitled Women Who Rock, presumably in response to the annual installment of bad press that accompanies their induction announcement.
While I’d like to see this exhibit, it is a bit insulting to categorize performers based on anatomical similarities. Beyond anatomy, what do Joann Jett, Donna Summers and Bonnie Raitthave in common? Oh yes. They’ve been snubbed by the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame.
Works Cited
McDonnel, E. (2011, December 11). The Rock and Roll Hall of Fame's Women Problem. Retrieved February 14, 2012, from Salon: http://www.salon.com/2011/12/
Rock and Roll Hall of Fame and Museum. (2012). Beastie Boys Biography. Retrieved February 13, 2012, from Rock and Roll Hall of Fame:http://rockhall.com/inductees/
Patti LaBelle. (2012). Biograp
Bonnie Raitt. (2012). Biograph
Donna Summer. (2012). Biography.com.
Pat Benatar. (2012). Biography
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