Book summary

Gillian Gaar's survey of the role of women in the largely male-dominated rock music industry covers a multitude of musical styles and job descriptions. In addition to regularly cited artists like Joni Mitchell, Janis Joplin, and Debbie Harry, there are profiles of early rock & roll performers like Big Mama Thornton, the composer of Elvis Presley's hit "Hound Dog" (who seems to have had an equal-opportunity career of financial mistreatment); the redoubtable rockabilly singer Wanda Jackson, whose "Fujiyama Mama" alerted the world to her incendiary vocal style; and Peggy Jones, one of the first rock & roll woman guitarists, who performed with Bo Diddley and earned the soubriquet Lady Bo. Non-musical women in the business include record executive Judy Dlugacz, and the late Lori Twersky, who edited the pioneering feminist magazine Bitch. All these women bring their own particular strengths and individuality to bear on the organizations for which they work. However, it's often their sheer creativity that impresses--when Suzanne Vega's record label, A&M, was threatening to sue a band that had sampled her work without authorization, she suggested the label issue the record legitimately instead, netting herself, the label, and the offending band a hit, instead of a lawsuit.

Media reviews

"Thoroughly entertaining and exhilarating."