As Laurel Thatcher Ulrich once said, “Well-behaved women seldom make history,” and that has never been so true for music. Not weighed down by conformities, women across the globe have been created, and revolutionized, the musical landscape as far back as Hildegard von Bingen in the 11th century, and that trend continued into the 20th and 21st centuries with the popular music explosion. From pop to country, plenty of female artists have made their mark on the industry, if not changed what it meant to be a star.
Videos by American Songwriter
1. Billie Holiday
Beginning with one of the first singer-songwriters to ever grace popular music, Billie Holiday got her start in Harlem’s nightclubs during the tail end of the Harlem Renaissance, and all that entailed for jazz and swing music. Much of her career was built on her live performances, and in 1933, she landed her first record deal, proving to be a success.
Holiday became the first Black woman to ever work with an all-white orchestra, as well as tour with an all-white band. She also did not have a formal music education, and improvised both outside, and inside, the studio—a technique used among many jazz acts. This gave her a unique edge in the industry at the time, as she helped bring the sounds of jazz out into the mainstream, challenging musicians, and listeners alike, to break free from rigid formality.
One of Holiday’s most famous—and controversial—songs, “Strange Fruit,” was released in 1939. The song was originally penned by poet Abel Meeropol. It is, by all accounts, a protest piece, forcing listeners to reckon with the inescapable, deadly realities of racism in America—specifically the lynching of Black Americans.
Her voice is conversational, utilizing her inflection to draw attention to certain words and phrases, and seen seething over the words coming out of her mouth.
2. Aretha Franklin
Universally considered the Queen of Soul, Aretha Franklin is not only one of the greatest vocalists of all time but a revolutionary one. Her career began in the church, where she took on solo performances, even when she was still too small to reach the microphone.
In her mid-teens, she wondered how she could combine gospel with secular lyricism and began exploring the possibility as she broke into the music industry. She signed with Columbia Records, and put out her first album, Aretha, in 1961.
Her best-known song is, by far, “Respect”—released in 1967, but a timeless classic. Franklin’s voice is cushioned by a funk beat and backing vocals, but her voice soars like an instrument all its own. The song is about building trust with a significant other, and demanding mutual respect if the relationship is going to work out.
Were the lyrics to be replaced with a hymn, the song would undeniably be a gospel song, but it, along with the rest of Aretha’s discography, distilled the blooming, goosebump-raising aspects of the gospel into a new kind of pop hit.
3. Dolly Parton
Dolly Parton isn’t just a renowned country singer, but a cultural icon as well, bending the notion of a “country star,” or a musician, period. The Queen of Country earned her moniker throughout the ’70s and ’80s, and she doesn’t show signs of mitigating her presence in the industry.
Parton’s country career launched when she was just 13. From there, she would become the platinum blonde, silky smooth voice she’s known as today. To this day, she balances music, movie and television appearances, charity work, and business endeavors. Her many worlds converged in the 1980s film, 9 to 5, where she both co-starred alongside Jane Fonda and Lily Tomlin, and composed the movie’s theme song “9 to 5.” Both the song and the movie, are regarded as ahead of their time, exploring the intersection between feminism and worker’s rights.
Parton has always been adamant about education as well and dedicates much of her charity work to making sure children have access to the books they need for school. It goes to show that a musician can balance many facets, touching the lives of millions in a multitude of ways.
4. Kate Bush
The story of Kate Bush’s success sounds like an unlikely one—an experimental pop artist making it big off of an androgynous art rock song that challenged what one could demand of God, or a higher power. But the formula worked, as “Running Up That Hill (A Deal With God)” had staying power into the 2020s—where it promptly charted again in 2022 thanks to a resurgence in the Netflix series Stranger Things.
Bush’s career began long before Hounds of Love, though, where her demo got into Pink Floyd drummer David Gilmour’s hands. With some assistance from Gilmour, Bush was able to polish her demos and shop them around to labels. She landed on EMI Group Limited in 1975.
Throughout the late ’70s, Kate Bush would release “Wuthering Heights” and “The Man With the Child in His Eyes.” The songs, and their visuals, would showcase Bush’s strange, skewed vision of the possibilities of pop, and pop stardom, going on to permanently skew it herself.
5. Lorde
Lorde’s popularity is much more recent. After the release of “Royals” in 2013, and Pure Heroine, popular music that decade took a turn to include slower, darker, more minimalist production and cynical lyricism. And keep in mind, she created this ripple effect at just 16.
The New Zealand alt-pop artist worked closely with Joel Little, known for his work with Ellie Goulding and Tove Lo, in her early career to find and polish her sound, honing the poetic touch in her lyrics before pushing “Royals” out to the world. The song hit No. 1 on Billboard where it stayed for nine weeks.
She would go on to craft equally impactful alt-pop successes, such as “Green Light” in 2017, which reached number sixteen on the Hot 100, and follow-up albums, Melodrama and Solar Power.
Photo by Ross Marino/Getty Images
