20 female musicians that changed the world

March
08
  1. Ma Rainey – the mother of the blues. Ma caracterises a direct and down-to-earth style. Her biggest hit is certainly “Trust No Man”. Combined with Bessie Smith, female performers of the 1920s become more successful than many of their male counterparts.
  2. Billie Holiday. She channeled the frustration caused by the traumas in her private life into some of her best songs.
  3. Ella Fitzgerald. The performer broke all boundaries with her versatile and dominant voice. She was the first black woman on the cover of Copacabana magazine.
  4. Wanda Jackson – the queen of rockabilly.
  5. Janis Joplin was among the first rock singers to take on the freedom of living that the sixties promised.
  6. Carole King was one of the key musical figures of the sixties. Carol wrote some of the biggest pop and girl group hits of the era such as “The Loco-Motion,” “It Might As Well Rain Until September” and “Will You Love Me Tomorrow.”
  7. Aretha Franklin brings the power of gospel music to pop by creating her biggest hit “R-E-S-P-E-C-T”.
  8. Cher. Cher built her way from bubblegum pop to independent success through the hits “Be My Baby!”, “You’ve Lost That Lovin’ Feeling” and “I Got You Babe”.
  9. Joan Jett. As a guitarist and punk, Jett opened the way for women in punk rock.
  10. Diana Ross. In 1976, the Billboard magazine declared the member of The Supremes the “entertainer of the century”.
  11. Kate Bush becomes the first female artist with a UK NO.1 album.
  12. Madonna is still the best-selling female singer of all time and is often considered one of the most influential.
  13. Whitney Houston. Her first album was the best-selling debut by a woman in history. Additionally, Houston is the only female artist to ever have seven consecutive number one Billboard singles.
  14. Janet Jackson. Her music, dance and performance style were instrumental in inspiring many notable female artists.
  15. Mariah Carey was the first female singer to top the Billboard UK music chart with her debut single “Fantasy”.
  16. Britney Spears. The pop princess broke through with the video for her platinum single “… Baby One More Time”.
  17. Beyoncé. After a successful collaboration with Destiny Childs, her solo career is constantly on the rise. The last few albums are characterized by a darker and more serious aesthetic that rounds out her strong stance on feminism and the BLM movement.
  18. Rihanna. The long-standing career of the pop singer is experiencing another great success this year by performing at the Superbowl with a pregnant belly.
  19. Lady Gaga is one of the best-selling artists ever. Gaga is the proud owner of six Grammys, three Brit Awards and approximately 114 million albums sold.
  20. Taylor Swift writes some of the most infectious pop lyrics on the music scene. In her performances and videos, she actively advocates for her friends and colleagues in a way that countered the media’s tendency to turn female stars against each other.