What I'm Loving Wednesday

So Sunday was something called International Women's Day. Whatever that is. I just used it as an excuse to dig into some of favorite female artists. This is pretty much just chicks that rock. And by no means all inclusive. There are so many fantastic women in rock.

And after saying that, I'm going to start out with a country song. Of course it has Pat Benatar, so it counts. Here is Benatar along with country powerhouse Martina McBride doing McBride's "Independence Day" on CMT's show Crossroads.



I love Stevie Nicks. Her voice anyway. Always have. Instantly recognizable and unique. This is a live performance from 2011 of her song "Edge of Seventeen." Still sounds and looks great.



Ann and Nancy Wilson of Heart were my first chicks that rock loves. So talented. Here they are playing Led Zeppelin's "Stairway to Heaven" with the surviving members of Zep in the audience. Notice how happy Jimmy Page is with this rendition.



Original Runaway, the lovely Lita Ford, is still bringing it with new music. I'm partial to this cover of Alice Cooper's "Only Women Bleed" which brings a much needed female voice to the song.



I'm hanging onto the theory that rock is not dead. At least as long as there is still young talent making rock music like 16 year old Gabbie Rae.



Listen to good music. Enjoy the music you like.

Working Women's Wednesday: Pat Benatar, Rock Icon

Pat Benatar is one of the iconic female voices of our time in rock music. The diminutive vocalist with the huge
voice faced a lot of adversity and broke a lot of barriers en route to becoming a sensation in the '80's. Sure, she was fortuitous to come along at the perfect time, but that doesn't diminish anything she has accomplished.

Getting pushback from traditional rock radio, Benatar benefited heavily from the first global "radio" station, MTV. The fledgling television station that played nothing but music videos (some of you may be too young to remember, but that was actually what MTV was in its inception) needed content and Benatar was perfect for the format. Of course, there were many artists in the beginning days of MTV that didn't stay around for longer than a fleeting moment, but the one's with talent stuck around.

Along with guitarist turned husband Neil Giraldo, Benatar rocked to her way to classic status, epitomized by this 1982 release from the Get Nervous album, "Shadows of the Night".