A few words about me and women…
One day a couple of years ago I was crawling on the floor in a record store in Texas, or maybe it was Oregon..I don’t know…rummaging through boxes of clearance CD’s that were selling for fifty cents each or five for a couple of bucks. I love clearance racks because the rewards almost always outweigh the risks and I’m gonna miss them when those stores start fading away in a couple of years. That’s another thing I’ll write about I guess, but right now I’ve got women on my mind.
So it was a few days ago, early in the morning when I rose before dawn to slip out to the gym with iPod in ears, and as always, the shuffle feature is enabled because I just damn like surprises and you never know what you’ll get. And sure enough, here comes Lisa Loeb and Emmylou Harris singing “Falling In Love” that I uploaded from the Lilith Fair CD I found that day in Texas or Oregon…I don’t know which…and it’s such a perfect song, and a perfect moment that I thought…I need to share this. But I looked around at all these sweaty guys on bikes and treadmills, pumping iron and whatever, and thought to myself that maybe it wasn’t the right moment to do so.
My sister is six years older than me and when she went to college in 1963, she started bringing home Joan Baez LP’s and I got to admit it was like fingers on a chalk board for me to have to listen to her. But there was also Odetta and Judy Collins and Peter, Paul and Mary, and for a young boy that Mary was some exotic creature in her short skirt and white boots and I’d melt when she sang about lemon trees or magic dragons.
Few years later Joni Mitchell and David Crosby came into this music store I worked at one day to look at some guitars and to be honest, I didn’t know who the heck she was. So I hung with the Byrd man in his fringe jacket but later hit a record store to pick up the album he had just produced for her and oh my…Joni. And so while other guys were getting into Zeppelin, Aerosmith and Sabbath…I listened to Sandy Denny and Curved Air. Steeleye Span and Julie Driscoll. Peanut Butter Conspiracy and Serpent Power. Grace and Janis, Mamas and Papas. If there was a woman singing, I was there.
Over time, my passion for female singers moved to something I actively sought out as opposed to just listening to and appreciating. If I was in a bar that had Patsy Cline on the jukebox, I’d fill it with quarters and play Crazy a dozen times in a row. I liked Dolly’s My Tennessee Mountain Home record, and when I could pick up WSM on a Saturday night, I’d love to hear all of those great women who were on the show..some you knew, many you didn’t. Laura Cantrell, a fine singer in her own right, has been active in trying to insure that all these great women vocalists from the past are better recognized by the Country Music Hall of Fame because it’s not all just Hank or Lefty, Merle or Buck.
I’ve written on these pages about Lucy Kaplansky and Eliza Gilkyson, and have touted Angela Easterling who has put out just a great recording. Lately I’m listening to Sera Cahoon and Sara Watkins, and just got Eilen Jewell. As I write this, I have Antje Duvekot playing, and this afternoon it was the Wailin’ Jennys and Be Good Tanyas. I don’t know…Canada and all places cold have lots of great women singers and bands, but that’s probably a stereotype.
Aimee Mann is cool as ice, and today I downloaded Matthew Sweet and Susanna Hoffs’ second volume of Under The Covers and it’s on the money. Of course I can’t wait for Gillian to give us another disc, and Caitland Cary and Tres Chicas also seem to be taking their time. There’s the Waifs, Weepies, and sisters like the Roches, McGarrigle, Peasall and Stairwell. I like Sierra Hull, both Alison’s..Krauss and Moorer…Julie Miller and Donna Jean; Rhonda Vincent, Patty Griffin, Dar Williams, Petra Haden, Pieta Brown and Iris DeMent. Among The Oak and Ash is a mighty fine record or band, along with Sometymes Why…which make me seem to think that there are more bands with women these days than ever before.
Kris Delmhorst and Lori McKenna are New Enland based and record on Signature, which I think was once Mary Gauthier’s label. Linda Thompson is working on a new record and trying to fund it through Hector, and that reminds me: what’s up with Laura Veirs? Margo Timmons, Mindy Smith, Thea Gilmore, Josie Cotton, Lene Lovich (her lucky number’s one), Syd Straw, Susan Cowsill, Cash and Carter girls, Stacy Earle…she’s got a boy in the hospital with no medical insurance and sure could use donations. She and Him, Sinead, Sharon Shannon, Shawn Colvin and Arlo’s daughter Sarah Lee.
Saw an amazing set once with Rosalie Sorrels and Utah Phillips. You may think I’ve lost my mind, but that Lohan girl did a fine Frankie and Johnnie in the Prairie Home Companion movie. Meryl Streep and Lily Tomlin also did a couple nice duets in the film. Romi Mayes, Nancy Blake, Ravi’s daughter Norah Jones….and another daughter..Martha Wainwright. Music ability must be in the gene pool. Ever hear of Lynne Hanson or Lene Marlin? I like them. Kelly Willis, Kathleen Edwards and all the Kates: York, Wolf, Campbell and Bush. From down under, Kasey Chambers and the gal from the Greencards.
This might be getting too long and I have thousands more to go. Haven’t even touched Motown, the great blues and jazz singers or fifties stars like Little Peggy March, Leslie Gore or Brenda Lee. I do want to mention the compilation “Cinnamon Girl”…a tribute to Neil Young with all female singers. A couple dozen women, a few I named earlier and it’s just a joy to listen to. Don’t know why it wasn’t a bigger seller, but there’s a lot I don’t know.
So there you go….just a few words about some of the women I like, and the incredible music they give us.
I feel better now that I’ve shared.