By: Dalia Perez
Women of color played a major role in the evolution of rock n roll but did not receive the recognition they truly deserved. These women have often been ignored and pushed aside when speaking about the story of rock n roll and instead white males have been placed at the center. I find this extremely insensitive since most of the time famous songs like “Hound Dog” by Big Mamma Thornton were often remanufactured by white male artists for the white population. These remanufactured songs often receive more popularity and were often identified as being the original version. Though in recent years “race-conscious feminist scholars have examined the involvement of women in a range of musical endeavors and explored the ways factors like race, class, and sexuality shape their experiences” (Mahon, 2011). This is important to acknowledge because feminist scholars are putting in the effort to create narratives for these women artist to prove they were part of the creation and evolution of rock n roll and to give them credit for being the original creators of songs that were stolen from them and remanufactured. The organization “Women Who Rock” has also put in the effort in exploring the role of women in a variety of music like rock n roll. This organization has joined together “scholars, archivists, musicians, media makers, performers, artists, and activists” (Habel-Pallán, Macklin, and Retman, 2014), to investigate the role of women in music like rock n roll. Overall, I believe that it is important to investigate the role women of color played in the music industry specifically they deserve recognition in the creation and evolution of rock n roll.
Two examples of songs that I believe prove that fact that women of color played a role in the evolution of rock n roll music are Etta James and Donna summer. These two women are known as two of the greatest Black female rock singers. The songs I chose are “Hot Stuff” by Donna Summer and “I’d Rather Go Blind” by Etta James. I chose these two songs because these are popular songs that prove that women of color played a role in the music industry in terms of rock n roll and these women deserve recognition.
AFRAM337 