3 Female Country Singers Who Stood for Empowerment

Country music, above all else, is known for its truth-telling powers. The genre prides itself on sharing the stories of the people who love and honor its sounds. While some music tries to lift up stars and marquee names, country music has always tried to honor real people, their hopes, wishes, and dreams. As such, it’s also become a perfect place for social critique and empowerment.

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We wanted to examine three examples of this throughout the history of the genre. Three country artists who weren’t afraid to share what was on their minds to help those who looked and lived like them. Indeed, these are three female country singers who stood for empowerment.

Dolly Parton

Throughout her career, Dolly Parton has uplifted real people. She comes from a tiny town with a giant family and knows what it means to work together just to get by to the next day. She grew up playing music with her parents and siblings, and today all that she learned from those early moments in life influences the way she lives. Whether creating amusement parks for people to earn a living wage, donating money to important medical issues, writing songs that focus on topics other than glitz and glamor, and providing reading libraries for children, to many, she’s a saint. Not only that, but being a very visible woman in country music has inspired countless younger artists in her wake.

Loretta Lynn

One of the best songwriters of her era, Loretta Lynn seemed to think of country music as an amplifier for her views on life. And thank goodness for that. Not only would she write stiff upper-lipped songs like “Don’t Come Home A-Drinkin’ (With Lovin’ On Your Mind)” but she would also write tunes that cut against social norms, including “The Pill”, which is all about the need for birth control methods. Singing with a smile that could both inspire you and cut you down, Lynn remains a beacon for many music fans, both when it comes to country and otherwise.

Patsy Cline

Patsy Cline was the first woman to wear pants on the stage of the Grand Ole Opry. If you need one detail to sum up the iconic singer, that’s the one. She was a tough person who sang about heartache and heartbreak. She wore dungarees and was even tougher than they were. And it came out in her music. She didn’t tell you to hide or demure. She told you to go out walking after midnight. She wanted to see muscles on your bones, not the wilting fear so many grow accustomed to. For all this, Cline became the first female solo artist to be inducted into the Country Music Hall of Fame.

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