A Women's History Month Tribute to the Musicians Who Shattered Glass Ceilings and Inspired Us Through the Decades
From Billie Holiday to Tina Turner, from Doris Day to Lady Gaga, these women and their songs have shaped our culture, awakened our consciences, and pointed us toward a better future
As I’ve grown older, I’ve increasingly turned to music as a source of comfort and inspiration. So, for Women’s History Month this year, I’ve chosen to devote this post to music created over the decades by great female recording artists that have touched or moved me in a particularly deep way.
Women’s History Month is a great time to pay tribute to the many ways in which women have broken various glass ceilings and left their mark on once male-dominated fields. There’s probably no greater example of that than the world of music, which for much of human history, and well into the 20th century, was a male domain.
But that’s changed in a big way in recent decades. When the conversation turns to musical superstars today, it’s women such a Taylor Swift and Beyonce that immediately spring to mind. A half century ago, during the heyday of Motown, it was women who reigned Supreme (as in The Supremes) and emerged as the Queen of Soul (as in Aretha Franklin). In the 1970s, Stevie Nicks’ distinctively mesmerizing vocals did much more than the band’s men to catapult Fleetwood Mac to legendary status, and Carole King and Linda Ronstadt established themselves as among the greatest recording artists of their generation. The 1980s brought us the powerhouse voices of Whitney Houston and Tina Turner, and the transcendent star power of Madonna; in the ’90s, vocalists like Mariah Carey and Celine Dion seemed able to achieve octave ranges that men could only dream of. In addition to the chart-topping dominance of Swift and Beyonce, the new century has already produced such female musical legends as Lady Gaga and Adele.
For this post, I’ve decided to single out one song from each decade going back to the 1930s that reflect both the musical brilliance of America’s women musicians and their ability to inspire and move us not only with their voices but their lyrics and the powerful messages those words contain for all of us, regardless of gender, race, ethnicity or any other human trait.
1930s
“Strange Fruit” (1939), Billie Holiday
One of the most controversial — and necessary — songs ever recorded, the legendary Billie Holiday faced vicious harassment and threats for daring to sing this song about the horrific reality of lynching in the American South. The song, which used the metaphor of “strange fruit” to call attention to Black bodies hanging from trees, forced America to face up to the shameful reality of racial terror that endured for generations after the Civil War, and was an early harbinger of the Civil Rights Movement. Long before protest songs became a staple of the anti-war, anti-establishment 1960s, Holiday showed the courage to say — through the power of song — the things about race in America that so few others were willing to utter.
Southern trees bear a strange fruit
Blood on the leaves and blood at the root
Black bodies swinging in the southern breeze
Strange fruit hanging from the poplar trees
1940s
“Strange Things Happening Every Day” (1944), Sister Rosetta Sharpe
One of the highlights of working on this newsletter is that I’m constantly learning new things in researching content for it. I was struggling to come up with a selection for this decade, as the 1940s music scene was still very much dominated by men (even the song about famed WWII heroin Rosie the Riveter was written and performed by men). What a revelation it was, then, to come across this masterful piece of toe-tapping guitar playing and joyous singing of a traditional African American spiritual by Sister Rosetta Sharpe, who some credit as the true creator (or at least the godmother) of rock and roll. Listening to it, it’s hard to believe that it was recorded a decade before the likes of Elvis Presley, Chuck Berry and Jerry Lee Lewis brought forth a new era and genre of music. The song, itself, also brilliantly captured the inspirational and spiritual heart of Black music, where hope and faith triumphed over the sufferings and hardships of living in a racist society. The strange in Billie Holiday’s “Strange Fruit” was about an unspeakable horror inflicted on her race; but the “Strange Things” that Rosetta Sharpe sang so exuberantly about change darkness into light.
There are strange things happening everyday
Jesus is the holy light
Turning darkness into light
There are strange things happening everyday
He gave the blind man sight
When he praised Him with all his might
There are strange things happening everyday
1950s
“Que Sera Sera” (1955), Doris Day
This might be my favorite song from the era before rock and roll transformed American music (my late grandmother loved to quote from it). On the surface, the song (which was performed by Day in the Hitchcock film “The Man Who Knew Too Much”) seems somewhat silly with its whimsical answer to some of life’s biggest questions. But the message it contains is the same one that Buddhist monks (and other spiritual gurus) have been contemplating and teaching for centuries through meditation practices: The importance of living in the present and not allowing ourselves to fall victim to the worries of the future (or regrets of the past). Day brings a light-hearted beauty to the questions that too often consume our minds and cause us anxiety. “Will I be pretty? Will I be rich? Will I be happy?” and, ultimately “What lies ahead?” When we preoccupy ourselves with what lies ahead and all its uncertainties, we deny ourselves what lies in the moment at hand, including the majesty that each day affords on this earth to life life to this fullest. Day’s flippant answer to every anxious question of the future is one worth heeding as much today as it was when she first sang it in the 1950s.
Qué será, será
Whatever will be, will be
The future's not ours to see
Qué será, será
What will be, will be
1960s
“Respect” (1967), Aretha Franklin
The 1960s turned American society upside down, and American women, led by soul powerhouses such as Aretha Franklin, did the same to the male-dominated world of music. No song better captured that than “Respect,” which not only became a feminist anthem in the years to come but showed that women had the power to take songs created by men (“Respect” was first recorded by Otis Redding) and make them their own, often with superior results. Indeed, Franklin’s “Respect” ranks among the greatest songs ever recorded, by any artist of any era, opening new paths to respect for women both in and out of music. If ever there were a song that spoke for itself, it’s “Respect.”
R-E-S-P-E-C-T
Find out what it means to me
R-E-S-P-E-C-T
1970s
“Long Long Time” (1970), Linda Ronstadt
If there’s one singing voice I would describe as hypnotic, it’s Linda Ronstadt’s. There are no words to adequately describe the way her voice makes you feel. It’s no wonder she was able to excel in so many genres, from rock to country to Latin to opera (another apt definition for her voice is operatic). Taking the baton from Aretha Franklin, Ronstadt proved in the 1970s that women could more than compete with men for stardom. For all the legendary male folk rock stars (Dylan, Simon, Seeger, Young) who dominated this era of music, I’ve never heard one who could do with their voice what Ronstadt does in “Long Long Time.” For years before Ronstadt came on the scene, the female-performed love song was known foremost for its sugary superficiality and lack of depth (“Mr. Sandman,” “My Boyfriend’s Back,” “Be My Baby.”) In “Long Long Time,” Ronstadt’s soaring vocal chords, accompanied by some of the finest violin playing you’ll ever hear, plumb the depths of humanity’s most complicated emotion.
'Cause I've done everything I know
To try and change your mind
And I think I'm gonna miss you
For a long long time
1980s
“We Don’t Need Another Hero” (1985), Tina Turner
If Linda Ronstadt brought operatic hypnotism with her voice to the 1970s, what Tina Turner did with hers in the 1980s was pure power and thunder (including Thunderdone, the setting for this classic). Perhaps it had something to do with her escape from the abusive control of Ike Turner, but Tina’s hits of the 1980s seemed to burst free from the constraints that often boxed in great female vocalists. She pounded away at the lyrics and chords with an intensity and passion that had rarely, if ever, been heard previously from a female rocker. Her songs, and stage presence, were a tour de force of musical dynamism. And while “What’s Love Got to Do With It?” will always stand as her signature hit, “We Don’t Need Another Hero” from “Mad Max Beyond Thunderdome” is a poetic masterpiece that speaks to the ages and resonates even more today — with climate change wrecking the planet and threatening the future of our children and rampant disinformation threatening the very nature of truth and our democratic principles —than it did 40 years ago. We don’t need fake heroes with their false promises to lead us home, Turner thunders in the song; what we really need is love and compassion. Yes, now more than ever.
So, what do we do with our lives
We leave only a mark
Will our story shine like a light or end in the dark?
Give it all or nothing
1990s
“From a Distance” (1990), Bette Midler
The lyrics of this deeply spiritual song, accompanied by Bette Midler’s magnificent voice, make this one of the most beautiful, inspirational songs ever recorded, in my opinion. I’ve never grown tired of listening to it. Though it’s not a song from any one religion, it exemplifies what all religions should represent to us all — the voice of hope, the voice of peace, the voice of every land. It envisions a utopian society that seems impossible — no bombs, no disease, no hungry mouths to feed — but it’s a world that make so much sense when one looks at our beautiful planet from a distance. A place that appears so beautiful and peaceful from space should be so for those who inhabit it, but as we all know, it’s not. If God does watch us from a distance, as Midler sings, we owe it to Him, Her or They to do better with the great gift we’ve been given.
From a distance, there is harmony
And it echoes through the land
And it's the hope of hopes
It's the love of loves
It's the heart of every man (every man)
2000s
“Beautiful” (2002), Christina Aguilera
One of the most powerful, uplifting songs from one of the greatest voices of her generation. Aguilera’s “Beautiful” became an anthem for every marginalized, disadvantaged, repressed group that has been victimized by the hate, ignorance and intolerance that so often pervades our society and breeds a culture more interested in tearing people down than lifting them up. The music of the new century by stars such as Aguilera captured themes of social justice and self-empowerment in much more raw terms; this song in particular resonated with the LGBTQ community in light of the bullying, harassment and denigration they had so often endured. “Beautiful” is at its heart a rejection of the notion that beauty is skin deep; it is found deep in the souls of every person, regardless of gender, race, ethnicity or sexual orientation, and it’s something that can never be denied through the words and acts of others. Two decades after it was recorded, it rings more true, and needs to be heard more than ever. As one fan wrote in a YouTube comment about the song, “This song saved my life. This was the first depiction of who I was. I felt seen. I felt accepted.”
You are beautiful no matter what they say
Words can't bring you down, no, no
Cause you are beautiful in every single way
Yes words can't bring you down. Oh, no
So don't you bring me down today
2010s
“Born this Way” (2011), Lady Gaga
Taking the baton from Aguilera’s “Beautiful” nearly a decade earlier, Lady Gaga fires a musical missile at homo and transphobia (and all other forms of discrimination) in “Born this Way,” declaring in no uncertain terms that “God makes no mistakes.” While Aguilera’s “Beautiful” alluded to but never specifically referenced the LGBTQ community, Gaga left nothing to doubt, while also nodding in this electric song to skin color, race, ethnicity and disability. Whatever the source of marginalization, the message of this song is clear: “Don't hide yourself in regret, just love yourself, and you're set.” And it was more than words; “Born this Way” launched a nonprofit by the same name, founded by Lady Gaga and her mom, to spread the power of kindness and belonging. The early decades of the 21st century saw a sea change in public attitudes toward the LGBTQ community, and their rights, and it was musical superstars like Aguilera and Gaga who helped pave the way. When pop culture and entertainment were willing to bring issues such as these out of the closet and into the iPods and iPhones of the masses, it wasn’t long before the politicians and other leaders boarded the train.
No matter gay, straight, or bi', lesbian, transgender life
I'm on the right track, baby, I was born to survive
No matter Black, white or beige, chola, or Orient' made
I'm on the right track, baby, I was born to be brave
2020s
“Black Like Me” (2022), Mickey Guyton
Perhaps the greatest testament to how far women have come in music (and society) since the 1930s is the fact that in 2024, arguably the two musicians who most tower over the music world are Taylor Swift and Beyonce. Such a reality would have been unthinkable in 1939, the year when this list begins.
But instead of a Swift or Beyonce song, I pick one from someone who is far from a household name to complete this journey, because it provides the perfect bookend to Billie Holiday’s “Strange Fruit,” representing both how far America has come in terms of addressing matters of racial injustice and how far it still has to go.
Mickey Guyton’s poignant and powerful “Black Like Me” perfectly encapsulates the era of Black Lives Matter. What Holiday could only say through metaphor and innuendo in “Strange Fruit,” Guyton can address candidly and sharply in “Black Like Me,” which is a poem on the legacy of systemic racism that still infects Black Americans, curtailing their rights, opportunities and livelihoods, in the 2020s. It’s a song about heartache and struggle, about a father who has to work twice as hard because of his skin color “just to live that good life,” about growing up and discovering that “nothing has changed.” “If you think we live in the land of the free, you should try to be Black like me” is Guyton’s message to us all, and it’s a message we need to hear, no matter how uncomfortable it may be. But, in the tradition of Sister Rosetta Sharpe and so many others songs in the canon of African American music, a song about the sadness of injustice ends with a statement of pride and the belief in a brighter future.
Oh, and someday we'll all be free
And I'm proud to be, oh, black like me