All Female Band
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An all-female band is a
musical group A musical ensemble, also known as a music group, musical group, or a band is a group of people who perform instrumental and/or vocal music, with the ensemble typically known by a distinct name. Some music ensembles consist solely of instrumen ...
in
popular music Popular music is music with wide appeal that is typically distributed to large audiences through the music industry. These forms and styles can be enjoyed and performed by people with little or no musical training.Popular Music. (2015). ''Fun ...
that is exclusively composed of female musicians. This is distinct from a
girl group A girl group is a music act featuring two or more women in music, female singers who generally vocal harmony, harmonize together. The term "girl group" is also used in a narrower sense in the United States to denote the wave of American female p ...
, in which the female members are solely vocalists, though this terminology is not universally followed. While all-male bands are common in many rock and pop scenes, all-female bands are less common.


1920s–1950s

In the
Jazz Age The Jazz Age was a period from 1920 to the early 1930s in which jazz music and dance styles gained worldwide popularity. The Jazz Age's cultural repercussions were primarily felt in the United States, the birthplace of jazz. Originating in New O ...
and during the 1930s, "all-girl" bands such as the Blue Belles, the Parisian Redheads (later the Bricktops), Lil-Hardin's All-Girl Band, the Ingenues, the Harlem Playgirls led by the likes of Neliska Ann Briscoe and Eddie Crump, the International Sweethearts of Rhythm, Phil Spitalny's Musical Sweethearts, "Helen Lewis and Her All-Girl Jazz Syncopators" as well as "Helen Lewis and her Rhythm Queens were popular. Dozens of early
sound film A sound film is a Film, motion picture with synchronization, synchronized sound, or sound technologically coupled to image, as opposed to a silent film. The first known public exhibition of projected sound films took place in Paris in 1900, bu ...
s were made of the vaudeville style all-girl groups, especially short subject promotional films for
Paramount Paramount (from the word ''paramount'' meaning "above all others") may refer to: Entertainment and music companies * Paramount Global, also known simply as Paramount, an American mass media company formerly known as ViacomCBS. **Paramount Picture ...
and
Vitaphone Vitaphone was a sound film system used for feature films and nearly 1,000 short subjects made by Warner Bros. and its sister studio First National Pictures, First National from 1926 to 1931. Vitaphone is the last major analog sound-on-disc sys ...
. (In 1925,
Lee de Forest #REDIRECT Lee de Forest {{redirect category shell, {{R from move{{R from other capitalisation ...
filmed Lewis and her band in his short-lived
Phonofilm Phonofilm is an optical sound-on-film system developed by inventors Lee de Forest and Theodore Case in the early 1920s. In 1919 and 1920, de Forest, inventor of the audion tube, filed his first patents on a sound-on-film process, DeForest Phonofi ...
process, in a film now in the Maurice Zouary collection at the
Library of Congress The Library of Congress (LOC) is a research library in Washington, D.C., serving as the library and research service for the United States Congress and the ''de facto'' national library of the United States. It also administers Copyright law o ...
.) Blanche Calloway, sister of
Cab Calloway Cabell "Cab" Calloway III (December 25, 1907 – November 18, 1994) was an American jazz singer and bandleader. He was a regular performer at the Cotton Club in Harlem, where he became a popular vocalist of the Swing music, swing era. His niche ...
, led a male band, Blanche Calloway and Her Joy Boys, from 1932 to 1939, and Ina Ray Hutton led an all-girl band, the Melodears, from 1934 to 1939. Eunice Westmoreland, under the name Rita Rio, led an all-girl band appearing on
NBC Radio The National Broadcasting Company's NBC Radio Network (also known as the NBC Red Network from 1927 to 1942) was an American commercial radio network which was in continuous operation from 1926 through 1999. Along with the NBC Blue Network, it wa ...
and in short subjects for Vitaphone and RKO before changing her career to acting and her professional name to
Dona Drake Dona Drake ( ; November 15, 1914 – June 20, 1989) was an American singer, dancer, and film actress in the 1930s and 1940s. She was typically cast in ethnic roles including Latin American and Middle Easterners. Drake often presented herself ...
, appearing in numerous 1940s movies.
Ivy Benson Ivy Benson (11 November 1913 – 6 May 1993) was an English musician and bandleader, who led an all-female swing band. Benson and her band gained prominence in the 1940s, headlining variety theatres and topping the bill at the London Palladium, ...
's "All Girls Band" was the
BBC The British Broadcasting Corporation (BBC) is a British public service broadcaster headquartered at Broadcasting House in London, England. Originally established in 1922 as the British Broadcasting Company, it evolved into its current sta ...
's resident dance band in 1943 and toured until the 1980s. All-girl bands active in vaudeville, variety shows, and early sound films during the 1920s to the 1950s are documented by Kristin McGee in ''Some Liked it Hot: Jazz Women in Film and Television''. Sally Placksin, Linda Dahl, D. Antoinette Handy, and Frank Driggs along with professor
Sherrie Tucker Sherrie Jean Tucker (born March 18, 1957 in Modesto, California) is a musicologist, music historian, book author, professor, and journal editor. Tucker is co-editor-in-chief of ''American Studies'', a peer-reviewed academic journal. Educatio ...
, in her book ''Swing Shift: "All-Girl" Bands of the 1940s'', have also documented this era. A Polish group
Filipinki Filipinki were the first Polish all-girl vocal group and also Poland's leading female band of the 1960s. Career Filipinki were founded in October 1959 at an economic college in Szczecin and became popular in Poland through exposure at music fes ...
was established in 1959.


1960s

Bands composed solely of women began to emerge with the advent of
rock and roll Rock and roll (often written as rock & roll, rock-n-roll, and rock 'n' roll) is a Genre (music), genre of popular music that evolved in the United States during the late 1940s and early 1950s. It Origins of rock and roll, originated from African ...
. Among the earliest all-female rock bands to be signed to a record label were
Goldie and the Gingerbreads Goldie & the Gingerbreads was an all-female American rock band formed in New York in 1962. The quartet, primarily consisting of vocalist Genya "Goldie" Zelkowitz (later Genya Ravan), drummer Ginger Bianco, organist/keyboardist Margo Lewis and ...
, to
Atlantic Records Atlantic Recording Corporation (simply known as Atlantic Records) is an American record label founded in October 1947 by Ahmet Ertegun and Herb Abramson. Over the course of its first two decades, starting from the release of its first recor ...
in 1964, the Pleasure Seekers with
Suzi Quatro Susan Kay Quatro (born June 3, 1950) is an American singer, bass guitarist, songwriter, and actress. In the 1970s, she scored a string of singles that found success in Europe and Australia, with both "Can the Can" (1973) and "Devil Gate Drive" ...
to Hideout Records in 1964 and
Mercury Records Mercury Records is an American record label owned by Universal Music Group. It had significant success as an independent operation in the 1940s and 1950s. Smash Records and Fontana Records were sub labels of Mercury. Mercury Records released ...
in 1968, the Feminine Complex to Athena Records in 1968, and Fanny (who pioneered the all-female band sound in the early to mid-1970s) in 1969 when
Mo Ostin Mo Ostin (born Morris Meyer Ostrofsky; March 27, 1927 – July 31, 2022) was an American record executive. The chairman and CEO of Warner Bros. Records from 1972 to 1994 and co-founder of DreamWorks Records, he was inducted into the Rock an ...
signed them to
Warner Bros. Records Warner Records Inc. (known as Warner Bros. Records Inc. until 2019) is an American record label. A subsidiary of Warner Music Group, it is headquartered in Los Angeles, California. It was founded on March 19, 1958, as the recorded music division ...
. There were also others, such as the Liverbirds (1962–1967), the Ace of Cups (1967), the Heart Beats (1968), and Ariel (1968–1970) which included the three members of the Deadly Nightshade. From 1964 to 1968 the Pandoras was an all-girl band (one of the first) playing a few original tunes and a bunch of popular covers at concerts and dances throughout New England. They started out as a trio, with Simmons College students Kathy Kinsella and Pinky Keehner on rhythm guitar and lead guitar, and Sally Levy on drums. Much later, under the management guidance of Peter Bonfils, the band had some success, including a recording contract and a couple of singles with
Liberty Records Liberty Records was a record label founded in the United States by chairman Simon Waronker in 1955 with Alvin Bennett as president and Theodore Keep as chief engineer. It was reactivated in 2001 in the United Kingdom and had two previous rev ...
("About My Baby", b/w "New Day," and "Games" b/w "Don't Bother"), and gigs that showed all around the U.S. as well as in Newfoundland and
Puerto Rico ; abbreviated PR), officially the Commonwealth of Puerto Rico, is a Government of Puerto Rico, self-governing Caribbean Geography of Puerto Rico, archipelago and island organized as an Territories of the United States, unincorporated territo ...
, opening for acts including the Kingsmen,
Dionne Warwick Marie Dionne Warwick ( ; born Marie Dionne Warrick; December 12, 1940) is an American singer, actress, and television host. During her career, Warwick has won many awards, including six Grammy Awards. She has been inducted into the Hollywood Wa ...
,
the Byrds The Byrds () were an American Rock music, rock band formed in Los Angeles, California, in 1964. The band underwent multiple lineup changes throughout its existence, with frontman Roger McGuinn (known as Jim McGuinn until mid-1967) being the so ...
, and
Gary Lewis & the Playboys Gary Lewis & the Playboys were a 1960s Pop music, pop and Rock music, rock group, fronted by musician Gary Lewis (musician), Gary Lewis, the son of comedian Jerry Lewis. They are best known for their 1965 Billboard Hot 100, ''Billboard'' Hot 1 ...
.
The Shaggs The Shaggs were an American rock band formed in Fremont, New Hampshire, in 1965. They comprised the sisters Dorothy "Dot" Wiggin (vocals and lead guitar), Betty Wiggin (vocals and rhythm guitar), Helen Wiggin (drums) and, later, Rachel Wiggin ...
were an all-female family band who earned some regional notoriety during their time as a performing band in the late 1960s; by the time they had disbanded in 1975 their first album '' Philosophy of the World'' had caught the attention of
Frank Zappa Frank Vincent Zappa (December 21, 1940 – December 4, 1993) was an American guitarist, composer, and bandleader. In a career spanning more than 30 years, Zappa composed Rock music, rock, Pop music, pop, jazz, jazz fusion, orchestra ...
and by 1980,
NRBQ NRBQ is an American rock band founded by Terry Adams (piano), Steve Ferguson (guitar) and Joey Spampinato (bass). Originally the "New Rhythm and Blues Quintet", the group was formed circa 1965. Adams disbanded it for a time, and the group re ...
arranged for it to have a wide release. The Shaggs, particularly in their early years, were noted for their inability to adhere to basic norms of popular music (their drummer, Helen Wiggin, often found herself detached from the music her sisters Dot and Betty were singing and playing on guitar), which somewhat ironically (and to their bewilderment) made them icons of
outsider music Outsider music (from "outsider art") is music created by self-taught or naïve musicians. The term is usually applied to musicians who have little or no traditional musical experience, who exhibit childlike qualities in their music, or who have ...
.


1970s

Roger Ebert Roger Joseph Ebert ( ; June 18, 1942 – April 4, 2013) was an American Film criticism, film critic, film historian, journalist, essayist, screenwriter and author. He wrote for the ''Chicago Sun-Times'' from 1967 until his death in 2013. Eber ...
, in his
audio commentary An audio commentary is an additional audio track, usually digital, consisting of a lecture or comments by one or more speakers, that plays in real time with a video. Commentaries can be serious or entertaining in nature, and can add informatio ...
for ''
Beyond the Valley of the Dolls ''Beyond the Valley of the Dolls'' is a 1970 American satire (film and television), satirical Musical film, musical melodrama film starring Dolly Martin, Dolly Read, Cynthia Myers, Marcia McBroom, Phyllis Davis, John LaZar, Michael Blodgett, Er ...
'' (
1970 Events January * January 1 – Unix time epoch reached at 00:00:00 UTC. * January 5 – The 7.1 1970 Tonghai earthquake, Tonghai earthquake shakes Tonghai County, Yunnan province, China, with a maximum Mercalli intensity scale, Mercalli ...
) gives the film credit for inspiring all-female rock bands, with the fictional band Carrie Nations created for the film, stating that such bands were quite rare at the time, but started to spring up in the film's wake. Fanny were the first all-female rock band to release an album on a major label. On November 6, 1971, Fanny became the first all-female band to reach the Hot 100's top 40, with "Charity Ball" peaking at No. 40. In 1975, the Canadian duo of sisters,
Kate & Anna McGarrigle Kate McGarrigle (February 6, 1946 – January 18, 2010) and Anna McGarrigle (born December 4, 1944) were a duo of folk rock and country folk Canadian singer-songwriters (and sisters) from Quebec, who performed together until Kate's death in 2010 ...
, recorded the first of a string of albums, sometimes joined by their sister Jane.
The Runaways The Runaways were an American rock band who recorded and performed from 1975 to 1979. Formed in 1975 in Los Angeles, the band released four studio albums and one live album during its run. Among their best-known songs are " Cherry Bomb", " Holl ...
were an early commercially successful, hard-edged, all-female hard rock band, releasing their first album in 1976; band members
Joan Jett Joan Jett (born Joan Marie Larkin; September 22, 1958) is an American singer, songwriter, guitarist, and actress. Often referred to as the "Honorific nicknames in popular music#J, Godmother of Punk", she is regarded as a Pop icon, rock icon and ...
,
Cherie Currie Cherie Ann Currie (born November 30, 1959) is an American singer, musician, actress, and artist. Currie was the lead vocalist of the Runaways, a rock band from Los Angeles, in the mid-to-late 1970s. She later became a solo artist. Currie and h ...
, and
Lita Ford Lita Rossana Ford (born September 19, 1958) is an American guitarist, vocalist, and songwriter. She was the lead guitarist for the all-female rock band the Runaways in the late 1970s, and then embarked on a successful glam metal solo career tha ...
all went on to solo careers.David V. Moskowitz, ed.,
The 100 Greatest Bands of All Time: A Guide to the Legends Who Rocked the World
' (2015), p. xiii-xv.
In the United Kingdom, the advent of
punk Punk or punks may refer to: Genres, subculture, and related aspects * Punk rock, a music genre originating in the 1970s associated with various subgenres * Punk subculture, a subculture associated with punk rock, or aspects of the subculture s ...
in the late 1970s with its "anyone can do it" ethos lead to the formation of such bands as
the Slits The Slits were a punk/post-punk band based in London, formed there in 1976 by members of the groups the Flowers of Romance and the Castrators. The group's early line-up consisted of Ari Up (Ariane Forster) and Palmolive (a.k.a. Paloma Rom ...
, the Raincoats,
Mo-dettes Mo-dettes were an English all-female post-punk band, formed in 1979 by guitarist Kate Korris, an original member of the Slits and brief member of the Raincoats, and bassist Jane Crockford, a former member of Bank of Dresden. Ramona Carlier (v ...
, Dolly Mixture, and the Innocents among others, and the formation of other groups where the female members influenced the music and lyrical content ( Au Pairs, Delta 5) or were the featured artist within the ensemble, notably
The Pretenders The Pretenders are a British rock band formed in March 1978. The original band consisted of founder and main songwriter Chrissie Hynde (lead vocals, rhythm guitar), James Honeyman-Scott (lead guitar, backing vocals, keyboards), Pete Farndon (ba ...
,
Siouxsie and the Banshees Siouxsie and the Banshees ( ) were a British Rock music, rock band formed in London in 1976 by vocalist Siouxsie Sioux and bass guitarist Steven Severin. Post-punk pioneers, they were widely influential, both over their contemporaries and later ...
and
X-Ray Spex X-Ray Spex were an English punk rock band formed in 1976 in London. During their first incarnation (1976–1979), X-Ray Spex released five singles and one album. Their 1977 single " Oh Bondage Up Yours!" and 1978 debut album '' Germfree Adol ...
. The expansion of punk into Europe gave rise to Switzerland's die Kleenex/LiLiPUT. In Australia in 1977 all-girl band Sweet Jayne began doing regular gigs with the original lineup: Cris Bonacci, Chris Scheri, Robyn Clark and Sally Zylstra. Labelled "Sweet and Heavy Rock", Sweet Jayne played mostly original material. Winning the Australasian Yamaha Battle of the Bands in 1978, Sweet Jayne went on through various cassette, vinyl and film clip releases and line up changes and played 700 gigs over 6 years. Sweet Jayne split up in 1983 when Chris Scheri (flute and vocals) and Cris Bonacci (guitar) were invited to the UK to work for
Mike Oldfield Michael Gordon Oldfield (born 15 May 1953) is an English retired musician, songwriter and producer best known for his debut studio album ''Tubular Bells'' (1973), which became an unexpected critical and commercial success. Though primarily a gu ...
. The all-female heavy metal band
Girlschool Girlschool are a British rock band that formed in the new wave of British heavy metal scene in 1978. Frequently associated with contemporaries Motörhead, they are the longest-running all-female rock band, still active after more than 40 ...
, from South London, formed in 1978. While somewhat successful in the UK, they became better known in the early 1980s. One of the original members of the band,
Kathy Valentine Kathryn Valentine (born January 7, 1959) is an American musician who is the bassist for the rock band the Go-Go's. She has maintained a career in music through songwriting, recording, performing and touring as well as additional academic and cre ...
, departed to join the all-female band
the Go-Go's The Go-Go's are an American all-female Rock music, rock band formed in Los Angeles in 1978. Except for short periods when other musicians joined briefly, the band has had a relatively stable lineup consisting of Charlotte Caffey on lead guitar ...
, switching from guitar to bass. Among Girlschool's early recordings was an EP titled ''
St. Valentine's Day Massacre The Saint Valentine's Day Massacre was the murder of seven members and associates of Chicago's North Side Gang on Saint Valentine's Day 1929. The men were gathered at a Lincoln Park, Chicago garage on the morning of February 14, 1929. They were ...
'' which they recorded with Bronze label-mates
Motörhead Motörhead () were an English rock music, rock band formed in London in 1975 by bassist and lead vocalist Lemmy Kilmister, guitarist Larry Wallis and drummer Lucas Fox. Kilmister was the primary songwriter and only constant member. The band a ...
under the name
Headgirl Headgirl was a collaboration between the English rock groups Motörhead and Girlschool, active occasionally between 1978 and 1981. They recorded ''St. Valentine's Day Massacre (EP), St. Valentine's Day Massacre EP'', credited as Motör Headgirl S ...
. In 1974, the Deadly Nightshade, a rock/country band (Anne Bowen, rhythm guitar/percussion; Pamela Robin Brandt, electric bass; Helen Hooke, lead guitar/violin) was signed by
RCA RCA Corporation was a major American electronics company, which was founded in 1919 as the Radio Corporation of America. It was initially a patent pool, patent trust owned by General Electric (GE), Westinghouse Electric Corporation, Westinghou ...
's custom label Phantom. The contract made RCA/Phantom the first mainstream record label to grant a band the right to reject any advertising offensive to feminist sensibilities. The band released two albums, ''The Deadly Nightshade'' in 1975 and ''F&W (Funky & Western)'' in 1976. Reunited in 2009, the Deadly Nightshade recorded and released a third album ''Never Never Gonna Stop'' in 2012 and they continually toured until Brandt's death in 2015, dissolving the band.


1980s and 1990s

The 1980s, for the first time, saw long-sought chart success from all-female bands and female-fronted rock bands. On the ''Billboard'' Hot 100 year-end chart for 1982
Joan Jett Joan Jett (born Joan Marie Larkin; September 22, 1958) is an American singer, songwriter, guitarist, and actress. Often referred to as the "Honorific nicknames in popular music#J, Godmother of Punk", she is regarded as a Pop icon, rock icon and ...
's "
I Love Rock 'n' Roll "I Love Rock 'n' Roll" is a rock song written by Alan Merrill and Jake Hooker (musician), Jake Hooker and first recorded by the Arrows (British band), Arrows, a British rock band, in 1975. A 1981 cover version by Joan Jett and the Blackhearts, ...
" at No. 3 and the Go-Go's' " We Got the Beat" at No. 2 sent a strong message out to many industry heads that females who could play could bring in money. While
Joan Jett Joan Jett (born Joan Marie Larkin; September 22, 1958) is an American singer, songwriter, guitarist, and actress. Often referred to as the "Honorific nicknames in popular music#J, Godmother of Punk", she is regarded as a Pop icon, rock icon and ...
played "no-frills, glam-rock anthems, sung with her tough-as-nails snarl and sneer", the Go-Go's were seen as playful girls, an image that even ''
Rolling Stone ''Rolling Stone'' is an American monthly magazine that focuses on music, politics, and popular culture. It was founded in San Francisco, California, in 1967 by Jann Wenner and the music critic Ralph J. Gleason. The magazine was first known fo ...
'' magazine poked fun at when they put the band on their cover in their underwear along with the caption "Go-Go's Put out!". However musician magazines were starting to show respect to female musicians, putting
Bonnie Raitt Bonnie Lynn Raitt (; born November 8, 1949) is an American singer, guitarist, and songwriter. In 1971, Raitt released her Bonnie Raitt (album), self-titled debut album. Following this, she released a series of critically acclaimed Americana (mu ...
and
Tina Weymouth Martina Michèle Weymouth ( ; born November 22, 1950) is an American musician, singer, songwriter, and a founding member and bassist of the new wave group Talking Heads and its side project Tom Tom Club, which she co-founded with her husband, ...
on their covers. While the Go-Go's and
the Bangles The Bangles are an American all-female band, all-female pop rock band formed in Los Angeles, in 1981. They are known for hit singles during the 1980s that made them one of the most successful pop rock groups of the decade. The band’s biggest ...
, both from the L.A. club scene, were the first all-female rock bands to find sustained success, individual musicians paved the way for the industry to seek out bands that had female musicians and allow them to be part of the recording process. While the 1980s helped pave the way for female musicians to get taken more seriously it was still considered a novelty of sorts for several years, and it was very much a male-dominated world. In 1984, when film maker
Dave Markey David Markey (born December 3, 1963, in Burbank, California, United States) is an American film director. Biography As a self-taught filmmaker and musician, David Markey directed, produced, edited, and photographed most of his films, the majorit ...
, along with Jeff and Steve McDonald from
Redd Kross Redd Kross is an American Rock music, rock band from Hawthorne, California, who had their roots in 1978 in a punk rock band called the Tourists, which was started by brothers Jeff and Steven Shane McDonald, Steve McDonald while Steve was still i ...
, put together the mockumentary '' Desperate Teenage Lovedolls'', a comically punky version of ''Beyond the Valley of the Dolls'', it also spawned a real band. While the Lovedolls could barely play at first, because of the film, and because they were an "all-female band", they received press and gigs. Klymaxx became the first self-produced all-female band in the R&B/pop style of music to play all instruments; several of their singles - including " Meeting in the Ladies Room" and " I Miss You" charted in both R&B and pop countdowns. Leading into the 1990s, the surge of heavy metal in the 1980s helped to shed another light on the role of females in music. Because of the success of the Go-Go's and the Bangles many females were frustrated at not being taken seriously or only thought of as "cute chicks playing music" and either joined rock bands or formed all-female metal bands. One such band that was playing harder music in San Francisco was Rude Girl. Originally signed to CBS Records, the band splintered before an album would be released and the remaining members released a 12-inch single in 1987 under the name Malibu Barbi. When Cara Crash and Wanda Day left 4 Non Blondes and joined Malibu Barbi their sound shifted from heavy metal to a sound described as combining a "driving beat with
Johnny Rotten John Joseph Lydon ( ; born 31 January 1956), also known by his former stage name Johnny Rotten, is a British-born singer, songwriter, author, and television personality. He was the lead vocalist of the punk rock band the Sex Pistols, which was ...
esque vocal and
post-punk Post-punk (originally called new musick) is a broad genre of music that emerged in late 1977 in the wake of punk rock. Post-punk musicians departed from punk's fundamental elements and raw simplicity, instead adopting a broader, more experiment ...
riffs". Around the same time in the Midwest, Madam X was signed to an offshoot of
Columbia Records Columbia Records is an American reco ...
,
Jet Records Jet Records was a British record label started by Don Arden in 1974, featuring musicians such as Lynsey de Paul, Electric Light Orchestra (ELO), Roy Wood, Gary Moore, Ozzy Osbourne, Alan Price, Adrian Gurvitz, Riot (band), Riot, Magnum (band ...
. In 1984, the
Rick Derringer Richard Dean Zehringer (August 5, 1947 – May 26, 2025), known professionally as Rick Derringer, was an American musician, producer and songwriter. He gained success in the 1960s with his band, the McCoys. Their debut single, " Hang On Sloopy", ...
-produced album '' We Reserve the Right'' was released along with the single "High in High School". The Petrucci sisters were a focal point of the band – Maxine, the lead guitarist, and Roxy, the drummer. However, based on management decisions, it was decided that it would be better if only one of the sisters was in the band and Roxy was placed in another band, the all-female,
Los Angeles Los Angeles, often referred to by its initials L.A., is the List of municipalities in California, most populous city in the U.S. state of California, and the commercial, Financial District, Los Angeles, financial, and Culture of Los Angeles, ...
–based Vixen. Vixen was founded also in the Midwest, but in St. Paul,
Minnesota Minnesota ( ) is a U.S. state, state in the Upper Midwestern region of the United States. It is bordered by the Canadian provinces of Manitoba and Ontario to the north and east and by the U.S. states of Wisconsin to the east, Iowa to the so ...
, by
Jan Kuehnemund Janice Lynn Kuehnemund (; November 18, 1962– October 10, 2013) was an American guitarist who founded the all-female hard rock/glam metal band Vixen. Life and career Born in St. Paul, Minnesota, Kuehnemund formed an all-female band known a ...
during the mid-1970s. Kuehnemund folded the band a few months later, when her bandmates either dropped out or joined other bands, and she reformed it after moving to L.A. at the start of the 1980s. Vixen was sometimes described as "the female
Bon Jovi Bon Jovi is an American Rock music, rock band formed in Sayreville, New Jersey in 1983. The band consists of singer Jon Bon Jovi, keyboardist David Bryan, drummer Tico Torres, guitarists John Shanks and Phil X, percussionist Everett Bradley ...
", eventually becoming commercially successful due largely to the band's signature hit " Edge of a Broken Heart" from their self-titled debut album, making Vixen erroneously a one-hit wonder, although their next hit, a cover of Jeff Paris's "Cryin'", charted even higher in both Britain and the US. The band folded again in the early 1990s following musical differences, but reformed twice more in their history. Maxine Petrucci also joined Vixen, albeit as a touring bass guitarist, after her sister invited her in 1998 until the Petruccis and their fellow band members were forced to disperse when Kuehnemund, feeling left out and her lead in representing Vixen being usurped, successfully sued to keep the rights to her band's name. She reunited Vixen in 2001, with a new bassist in tow, until disagreements with the band's management caused Kuehnemund's bandmates to leave, driving her to search for and hire new members. In 2004, Vixen's line-up from the ''Vixen'' and '' Rev It Up'' era made a one-time appearance on
VH1 VH1 (originally an initialism for Video Hits One) is an American basic cable television network that launched on January 1, 1985, and is currently owned by the MTV Entertainment Group unit of Paramount Global's networks division based in New Y ...
's ''
Bands Reunited ''Bands Reunited'' is a television program produced by VH1 in 2004. Hosted by Aamer Haleem, the show documents attempted reunions of formerly popular musical groups for special concerts in either London or Los Angeles. A show normally consists ...
'', as its Canadian host has been a fan of the band. The line-up from 2001 recorded a fourth album, '' Live & Learn'', released between 2006 and 2007. Kuehnemund died in 2013 and Vixen was reformed with three-quarters of the "classic" line-up plus
Gina Stile Gina Tagliente (born January 19, 1965), better known as Gina Stile, is an American former guitarist. She was lead guitar player of the reformed female hard rock band, Vixen, from 1997 to 1998 and 2013 until her departure from the band in Marc ...
, the lead guitarist from the ''
Tangerine The tangerine is a type of citrus fruit that is orange in colour, that is considered either a variety of the mandarin orange (''Citrus reticulata''), or a closely related species, under the name ''Citrus tangerina'', or yet as a hybrid (''Citr ...
'' period, to honor her legacy. Both Stile and long-time frontwoman/rhythm guitarist Janet Gardner have left the band by the end of the 2010s. With the resurgence of interest in pop-punk bands in the US in the early 1990s, along with the sunset strip "hair metal" scene becoming extremely crowded, bands who combined a "non-image" with loud raw music started were gigging at clubs like Rajis in Hollywood. Bands such as
Hole A hole is an opening in or through a particular medium, usually a solid Body (physics), body. Holes occur through natural and artificial processes, and may be useful for various purposes, or may represent a problem needing to be addressed in m ...
,
Super Heroines The Super Heroines were an American deathrock trio formed in Los Angeles during the early 1980s. However, unlike other early deathrock bands such as Christian Death and 45 Grave, Super Heroines did not carry on a traditional goth sound, instead ...
, the Lovedolls, and L7 became popular, while demonstrating on stage, and in interviews, a self-confident "bad girl" attitude at times, always willing to challenge assumptions about how an all-female band should behave.
Courtney Love Courtney Michelle Love (née Harrison; born July 9, 1964) is an American singer, guitarist, songwriter, and actress. A figure in the alternative and grunge scenes of the 1990s, Love has had a career spanning four decades. She rose to promi ...
described the other females in Hole as using a more "lunar viewpoint" in their roles as musicians. In the 1990s,
riot grrrl Riot grrrl is an underground feminist punk movement that began during the early 1990s within the United States in Olympia, Washington, and the greater Pacific Northwest, and has expanded to at least 26 other countries. A subcultural movement ...
became the genre associated with bands such as Bratmobile and
Bikini Kill Bikini Kill is an American punk rock band formed in Olympia, Washington, in October 1990. The group originally consisted of singer and songwriter Kathleen Hanna, guitarist Billy Karren, bassist Kathi Wilcox, and drummer Tobi Vail. The band pio ...
. Other punk bands, such as Spitboy, have been less comfortable with the childhood-centered issues of much of the riot grrrl aesthetic, but nonetheless also have dealt explicitly with feminist and related issues. All-female
Queercore Queercore (or homocore) is a cultural/social movement that began in the mid-1980s as an offshoot of the punk subculture and a music genre that comes from punk rock. It is distinguished by its discontent with society in general, and specifically ...
bands, such as
Fifth Column A fifth column is a group of people who undermine a larger group or nation from within, usually in favor of an enemy group or another nation. The activities of a fifth column can be overt or clandestine. Forces gathered in secret can mobilize ...
, Tribe 8, and
Team Dresch Team Dresch is an American punk rock band originally formed in 1993 in Olympia, Washington. History In 1993, Donna Dresch formed Team Dresch with herself playing guitar and bass, Jody Bleyle on guitar and vocals, Kaia Wilson on guitar and voc ...
, also write songs dealing with matters specific to women and their position in society. A film put together by a San Diego psychiatrist, Dr. Lisa Rose Apramian, along with the former drummer from
the Motels The Motels are an American new wave band from Berkeley, California, that is best known for the singles " Only the Lonely" and " Suddenly Last Summer", each of which peaked at No. 9 on the ''Billboard'' Hot 100, in 1982 and 1983, respectively. ...
and the Droogs, Kyle C. Kyle, the documentary '' Not Bad for a Girl'' explored some of these issues with interviews from many of the female musicians on the riot grrrl scene at the time. In
contemporary Christian music Contemporary Christian music (CCM), also known as Christian pop, and occasionally inspirational music, is a genre of modern popular music, and an aspect of Christian media, which is lyrically focused on matters related to the Christianity, Chri ...
history, there was the first all-female
Christian rock Christian rock is a form of rock music that features lyrics focusing on matters of Christian faith, often with an emphasis on Jesus in Christianity, Jesus. This music is typically performed by Christians, Christian individuals. The extent to whi ...
band Rachel Rachel, which existed only during the early 1990s and who performed in an
album-oriented rock Album-oriented rock (AOR, originally called album-oriented radio) is an FM radio format created in the United States in the late 1960s that focuses on the full repertoire of rock albums and is currently associated with classic rock. US rad ...
style. Jennifer York became the first woman to establish a Christian band, specifically an all-female group. Even though Rachel Rachel's success was short lived when they folded due to "creative differences" and too great a geographic distance, future rock bands or non-rock musical groups in the Christian genre that have only women as members followed their lead in the next decades to come. Many female musicians from all-female bands in the 1980s and 1990s have gone on to more high-profile gigs.
The Pandoras The Pandoras were an American all-female Garage punk (fusion genre), garage punk band from Los Angeles, California, active from 1982 to 1991. The band is among the first handful of all-female rock bands to ever be signed to a major label. From t ...
' former members include members of
the Muffs The Muffs were an American pop punk band based in Southern California, formed in 1991. Led by singer and guitarist Kim Shattuck, the band released four full-length studio albums in the 1990s, as well as numerous singles including "Lucky Guy" and ...
; Leather Leone, the singer from Rude Girl and Malibu Barbi, went on to sing for Chastain; Warbride's founder and lead guitarist, Lori Linstruth joined
Arjen Lucassen Arjen Anthony Lucassen (born 3 April 1960) is a Dutch singer, songwriter, multi-instrumentalist musician and record producer, best known for his long-running progressive metal/rock opera project Ayreon. Lucassen started his career in 1980 as th ...
; Abby Travis from the Lovedolls has played with
Beck Beck David Hansen (born Bek David Campbell; July 8, 1970), known mononymously as Beck, is an American musician, singer, songwriter, and record producer. He rose to fame in the early 1990s with his Experimental music, experimental and Lo-fi mus ...
,
Elastica Elastica were an English rock band formed in London in 1992 by guitarist/singer Justine Frischmann and drummer Justin Welch after their departure from Suede. The band was stylistically influenced by punk rock, post-punk and new wave musi ...
, and Bangles; Meredith Brooks, from the Graces, went on to solo success and Janet Robin, from Precious Metal, was the touring guitarist for Brooks as well as
Lindsey Buckingham Lindsey Adams Buckingham (born October 3, 1949) is an American musician, record producer, and the lead guitarist and co-lead vocalist of the Rock music, rock band Fleetwood Mac from 1975 to 1987 and 1997 to 2018. In addition to his tenure with ...
and
Air Supply Air Supply is an Australian soft rock duo formed in Melbourne, Australia, in 1975, consisting of Englishman Graham Russell (vocals, guitar) and Australian Russell Hitchcock (vocals). With record sales of 100 million worldwide, they had a suc ...
. Sweet Jayne's Cris Bonacci became Girlschool's lead guitarist in 1985 and stayed with the band for fewer than 10 years.
Girlschool Girlschool are a British rock band that formed in the new wave of British heavy metal scene in 1978. Frequently associated with contemporaries Motörhead, they are the longest-running all-female rock band, still active after more than 40 ...
, despite numerous line-up changes, have never broke up despite a brief hiatus and celebrated their 40th anniversary in 2018.


2000s and 2010s

In Japan, the 2010s brought a boom of all-female heavy metal bands forming and gaining mainstream attention. Although considered pioneers as the first to form in 2007, Destrose never achieved commercial success. Aldious have been cited as the initiators of the movement when their first album ''Deep Exceed'' (2010) topped the
Oricon , established in 1999, is the holding company at the head of a Japanese corporate group that supplies statistics Statistics (from German language, German: ', "description of a State (polity), state, a country") is the discipline that ...
Indies Albums Chart and reached number 15 on the main chart. Another notable girls metal band is Cyntia, who are believed to have been the first of the movement to join a major record label when they signed to
Victor Entertainment is a subsidiary of JVCKenwood that produces and distributes music, movies and other entertainment products such as anime and television shows in Japan. It is known as JVC Entertainment in countries where Sony Music Entertainment operates the RC ...
in 2013. Other bands include Mary's Blood, Fate Gear, and Lovebites, the last of which won the 2018 Metal Hammer Golden Gods Award for Best New Band. Another example of all-female band is the Brazilian death metal band
Crypta Crypta is a Brazilian death metal band formed in São Paulo in 2019. The band consists of bassist-vocalist Fernanda Lira, drummer Luana Dametto (both former members of thrash metal band Nervosa (band), Nervosa), and guitarist Tainá Bergamaschi. ...
, formed 2019 in São Paulo. They released their first album titled ''Echoes of The Soul'' through
Napalm Records Napalm Records is an Austrian independent record label focused on heavy metal, hard rock and folk/folk rock/folk metal. Originally, Napalm focused on black metal bands, such as Abigor and Summoning, and folk metal bands, such as Falkenbach a ...
in 2021. Crypta performed at the
Wacken Open Air Wacken Open Air (, abbreviated as W:O:A) is a Heavy metal music, heavy metal music festival, held annually since 1990 on the first weekend of August in the village of Wacken, Schleswig-Holstein, Wacken in Schleswig-Holstein, Germany. Almost all ...
2022 festival. In the 2010s, some groups that would typically fit the description of an all-female band began expressing their ambivalence towards the term, and similar terms such as "girl band" or "female-fronted band". Female musicians have written about the gendered
double standard A double standard is the application of different sets of principles for situations that are, in principle, the same. It is often used to describe treatment whereby one group is given more latitude than another. A double standard arises when two ...
behind such descriptors, pointing out how seldom the term "all-male band" is used, and that a society with
gender equality Gender equality, also known as sexual equality, gender egalitarianism, or equality of the sexes, is the state of equal ease of access to resources and opportunities regardless of gender, including economic participation and decision-making, an ...
would not describe types of musical groups based on the gender of their members. Prominent bands who have adopted this viewpoint include American pop rock trio
Haim Haim can be a first name or surname originating in Hebrew or derived from the Old German name Haimo. Etymology Hebrew Chayyim ( ', Classical Hebrew: , Israeli Hebrew: ), also transcribed ''Haim, Hayim, Chayim'', or ''Chaim'' (English pronunciat ...
, and Australian alternative rock trio Camp Cope.


Outside pop music

All-female bands are not restricted to the mainstream genres. The British/Australian string quartet Bond play classical crossover (first and second
violin The violin, sometimes referred to as a fiddle, is a wooden chordophone, and is the smallest, and thus highest-pitched instrument (soprano) in regular use in the violin family. Smaller violin-type instruments exist, including the violino picc ...
,
viola The viola ( , () ) is a string instrument of the violin family, and is usually bowed when played. Violas are slightly larger than violins, and have a lower and deeper sound. Since the 18th century, it has been the middle or alto voice of the ...
, and
cello The violoncello ( , ), commonly abbreviated as cello ( ), is a middle pitched bowed (sometimes pizzicato, plucked and occasionally col legno, hit) string instrument of the violin family. Its four strings are usually intonation (music), tuned i ...
) and sing the occasional vocals that accompany some of their tracks. Many bands across many genres are all-female, such as the psychedelic folk group Spires That in the Sunset Rise.


See also

* List of all-female bands * Mixed-gender band *
Riot grrrl Riot grrrl is an underground feminist punk movement that began during the early 1990s within the United States in Olympia, Washington, and the greater Pacific Northwest, and has expanded to at least 26 other countries. A subcultural movement ...
*
Queercore Queercore (or homocore) is a cultural/social movement that began in the mid-1980s as an offshoot of the punk subculture and a music genre that comes from punk rock. It is distinguished by its discontent with society in general, and specifically ...
*
Women in music Women in music play many roles and are responsible for a broad range of contributions in the industry. They continue to help shape movements, genres, and trends as composers, songwriters, instrumental performers, singers, conductors, and mu ...
*
Women's music Women's music is a type of music based on the ideas of feminist separatism and lesbian separatism, designed to inspire feminist consciousness chiefly in Western popular music, to promote music "by women, for women, and about women." Women's mu ...


Bibliography

* * * * * * *


References


External links


GirlBand.org


maintained by Nicole Emmenegger (aka Jenny Woolworth)

* ttp://www.metaladies.com Metaladies.comAll-Female Metal Bands {{DEFAULTSORT:All-Female Band Types of musical groups Women in music