Rabz’ Radio Show March 2023: Rock Chicks


This post will no doubt be seen as either a desperate attempt to ensure some gender balance or an exercise in unrepentant sexism.

Quite frankly Cats, I couldn’t give a rodent’s.

The definitive “Rock Chick” when I was growing up was one Suzi Quattro. All that leather and attitude, as well those heavy guitar chords blasted out (by her all male band) very loudly. A path followed by the likes of the Runaways and one Joan Jett, whose definitive contribution to Rock’s canon was “I love Rock and Roll (so put another dime in the jukebox, baby)”.

Otherwise, I’ve not really got any favourite “Rock Chicks” as such, my preference for women in contemporary music being more about their magnificent voices and (any) physical desirability as an added bonus.

An aspiring Rock Chick should however recognise there is a “uniform”, undefined as it is. Some essentials might include tight jeans, tight tops, suede jackboots (black or tan) and a Brando, topped off with just about any possible edgy female hairstyle you could imagine (with additional points for the mighty Femullet).

Anyway, here’s this month’s two intro tracks.

Suzi Quattro – Can the Can

Zepparella – Kashmir

Again, barely scratching the surface here, Cats. No doubt there’s a whole heap of Rock Femmes that you’re just waiting to nominate in the comments thread. So, go for it Cats, you know you want to!

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Bruce of Newcastle
Bruce of Newcastle
March 4, 2023 7:10 pm

I tips me hat for a fine idea for a radio show! Yes, I did like Susi Q too when I was younger!

Can do no more than put up the rock chick. She’s a babe.

Rapture (1981)

miltonf
miltonf
March 4, 2023 7:11 pm
Elizabeth (Lizzie) Beare
Elizabeth (Lizzie) Beare
March 4, 2023 7:20 pm

I don’t think she was exactly a chick, Rabz, but Mumma Cass was quite the go in her day, before she stuff that fatal sandwich into her amble mouth.

Janis Joplin though, now there was a real rock chick. Early days, an a fine screamer.
Also died early.

Roger
Roger
March 4, 2023 7:21 pm
Bruce of Newcastle
Bruce of Newcastle
March 4, 2023 7:25 pm

Two rock chicks are better than one.

Veruca Salt – Volcano Girls (Live, 1997)

calli
calli
March 4, 2023 7:26 pm
Roger
Roger
March 4, 2023 7:26 pm

Janis Joplin though, now there was a real rock chick. Early days, an a fine screamer.

A very good interpreter of other’s songs when she wanted to be.

Here she is with her rendition of a Bee Gees classic, live in a TV studio, which is a notoriously unfriendly environment for live music, which is why most just lip sync.

Bruce of Newcastle
Bruce of Newcastle
March 4, 2023 7:29 pm

The Bangles.

Can’t beat four rock chicks. I doffs me hat. And a serenade of our bloglord too!

Bruce of Newcastle
Bruce of Newcastle
March 4, 2023 7:45 pm

Hard to conceive that Ann Wilson is 72. What an amazing voice. I’ll put this one up because some kind person recorded it off Rage, which almost makes me forgive the ABC for being a pack of arseholes.

HEART – Magic Man (1976)

Nelson_Kidd-Players
March 4, 2023 7:45 pm

More pop than rock, but this Brit managed for find her way to Australia on a Women’s Weekly discovery cruise, managed to stay here through a marriage of convenience* and managed to forge a career with a blaze of fame in a mid-tier local group.

Groove.

The one with the eye candy (something for everyone).

Nelson_Kidd-Players
March 4, 2023 7:47 pm

Or, the definitive Aussie rock chick.

Roger
Roger
March 4, 2023 7:51 pm

More “folky” than “rock chick”, but I’ll sneak her in regardless.

Great, great song : Who knows where the time goes?, Sandy Denny & Fairport Convention.

Nelson_Kidd-Players
March 4, 2023 7:51 pm

Oops, forgot my *.

* From her memoir. Cannot recall how explicitly it was stated, but the impression was clear in my recollection.

Bruce of Newcastle
Bruce of Newcastle
March 4, 2023 7:53 pm

Two green-eyed gals.

Hole – Celebrity Skin (1998)

P
P
March 4, 2023 7:54 pm

One of the first female singers I can remember mentioning Rock and Roll,
Kay Starr with her big hit of the mid fifties (1956 here in Aus) –
Rock and Roll Waltz
As the title suggests this novelty song is a waltz in triple metre, but it also contains a bass riff that is reminiscent of typical boogie woogie and rock and roll riffs. Wiki

Crossie
Crossie
March 4, 2023 8:08 pm

I love this lady, every one of the tracks from her self-titled album is great.

Alannah Myles

Roger
Roger
March 4, 2023 8:10 pm
calli
calli
March 4, 2023 8:13 pm

If we’re going for vocals, how about Cindy Wilson? Unique voice.

Bruce of Newcastle
Bruce of Newcastle
March 4, 2023 8:13 pm

Miss Polly Jean

That whole album is something else. Many many hours listening to the CD, especially on long car trips.

Crossie
Crossie
March 4, 2023 8:13 pm

Let’s not forget Pat Benatar.

eric hinton
eric hinton
March 4, 2023 8:18 pm

The first joke I remember my younger sister cracking… updated to take advantage of a nuance not available to her at the time.

What do you call a wardrobe malfunction?

A 48 Crash

Roger
Roger
March 4, 2023 8:23 pm

This young lady was “where it’s at” c. June, 1967.

And unlike a lot of psychedelia, Surrealistic Pillow is still worth listening to nearly 60 years later, such is the quality of the songwriting & musicianship.

Crossie
Crossie
March 4, 2023 8:24 pm

The ultimate rock chick:

Debbie Harry

miltonf
miltonf
March 4, 2023 8:29 pm
Bruce of Newcastle
Bruce of Newcastle
March 4, 2023 8:32 pm

The rock chick track.

Robert Palmer – Simply Irresistible (1988)

So sue me…

Crossie
Crossie
March 4, 2023 8:33 pm

What about Duffy?

Crossie
Crossie
March 4, 2023 8:42 pm

Then there is Marie Fredriksson from Roxette who sadly is no longer with us.

The Look

Roger
Roger
March 4, 2023 8:43 pm

More R&B than rock, but I think I’ll be forgiven.

And an early example (c. 1966) of the pop/rock music promo video clip.

Bruce of Newcastle
Bruce of Newcastle
March 4, 2023 8:45 pm

NKP – The Eurogliders were excellent.

Eurogliders – City Of Soul (1985)

eric hinton
eric hinton
March 4, 2023 8:54 pm

Nina Hagen
White Punks On Dope

Bruce of Newcastle
Bruce of Newcastle
March 4, 2023 8:58 pm

No one has put up these fine ladies so I will rectify the error.

The Breeders – Safari (1992)

jupes
jupes
March 4, 2023 9:01 pm

Here she is with her rendition of a Bee Gees classic, live in a TV studio, which is a notoriously unfriendly environment for live music, which is why most just lip sync.

Superb.

Here’s a modern rock chick who lived the quintessential rock chick’s life and went out at the same age as Janis.

Amy Winehouse. Valerie

miltonf
miltonf
March 4, 2023 9:01 pm
Nelson_Kidd-Players
March 4, 2023 9:01 pm

Nothing dates your output by putting the year in the lyrics, Bruce! 😀

hzhousewife
hzhousewife
March 4, 2023 9:02 pm

Annie Lennox – Eurythmics

Dragnet
Dragnet
March 4, 2023 9:03 pm

The Runaways !
Cherry Bomb !!

Nelson_Kidd-Players
March 4, 2023 9:03 pm

Chrissie H. definitely deservers her place in this company, Rabz.

Alamak!
Alamak!
March 4, 2023 9:04 pm

Pleasure and Pain … when woman were allowed to sing about any topic they liked, not having to support the feminist elite party line.

Frank
Frank
March 4, 2023 9:07 pm

Detroit Cobras.

Sadly the singer Rachel Nagy is no more. I heard the two girls interviewed on the radio in Sydney after they had been out for a night drinking with the Cosmic Psychos, a pair of real diamonds, in rough. Apparently rice for dinner is a killer as far as hangovers go.

Nelson_Kidd-Players
March 4, 2023 9:07 pm
Nelson_Kidd-Players
March 4, 2023 9:09 pm

I’ve done this one before: C. Amphlett amping up Icehouse.

Dragnet
Dragnet
March 4, 2023 9:12 pm

Suzi Quatro and her sisters in their first band

The Pleasure Seekers

What A Way To Go

Frank
Frank
March 4, 2023 9:13 pm

Again with more of the previous since maudlin is the theme for the evening at castle Frank.

Nelson_Kidd-Players
March 4, 2023 9:14 pm

So hard to pick a favourite Blondie track…

Bruce of Newcastle
Bruce of Newcastle
March 4, 2023 9:17 pm

I love that Texas is from Scotland.

I don’t want a lover – Texas – live 1990

MatrixTransform
March 4, 2023 9:21 pm

The Breeders

speaking of Breeders … The Pixies

Pogria
Pogria
March 4, 2023 9:25 pm

Rabzsays:
March 4, 2023 at 7:41 pm
Sacré bleu – Je suis ta bombe cerise! ?

Dragnetsays:
March 4, 2023 at 9:03 pm
The Runaways !
Cherry Bomb !!

Guys, I still have my “unscratched” vinyl copy of The Runaways I bought when I was sixteen. nyah nyaaaaaah!

Crossie, I also have Parallel Lines on vinyl.

MatrixTransform
March 4, 2023 9:25 pm
rosie
rosie
March 4, 2023 9:25 pm

I was looking to see if someone mentioned Cherry Bomb.

Frank
Frank
March 4, 2023 9:27 pm

Susan Tedeschi doing The Letter by the Box Tops. Notable for the exuberance of the trombone player at the end.

Pogria
Pogria
March 4, 2023 9:27 pm

There is not a Rock Chick alive, dead or composting that will ever out rock chick Chrissie Amphlett.

P
P
March 4, 2023 9:29 pm
C.L.
C.L.
March 4, 2023 9:32 pm

Have always loved these ladies:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=R5rjYNLn0PA

Bruce of Newcastle
Bruce of Newcastle
March 4, 2023 9:35 pm

speaking of Breeders … The Pixies

Speaking of the Pixies…Ms Paz Lenchantin, rock chick in two epic bands.

Pixies – Gigantic (Paz Lenchantin vocals) – Tulsa, OK March 27, 2019

A Perfect Circle – Judith (2000)

Fine bass guitarist!

eric hinton
eric hinton
March 4, 2023 9:36 pm

Suze di baby animal

Early Warning

C.L.
C.L.
March 4, 2023 9:43 pm

Imelda May (with a dude named Jeff Beck guesting on lead)…

Stunning performance:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=FF5mtyPo-Wk

C.L.
C.L.
March 4, 2023 9:45 pm

We have to include the late, great, sexy Renee:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=x92Trn2pMBs

Pogria
Pogria
March 4, 2023 9:47 pm

Not exactly Hard Rock Chicks, but Bloody Hell they could sing and they were definitely easy on the eye.

Crossie
Crossie
March 4, 2023 9:47 pm

I first heard this singer and guitar player when my granddaughter gave me a lift, it was on her playlist.

Orianthi

MatrixTransform
March 4, 2023 9:48 pm

chicks on bass … Southern Culture on the Skids

Tintarella di Luna
Tintarella di Luna
March 4, 2023 9:50 pm

Excellent

Pogria
Pogria
March 4, 2023 9:53 pm

Suzi Quatro appeared on the very first episode of Countdown. Showing my age now, but I watched it!

She lost a bit of street cred though when she portrayed “Pinky Tuscadero” on Happy Days.

Pogria
Pogria
March 4, 2023 9:54 pm

Oops!, Suzi Quatro was “Leather Tuscadero” on Happy Days. My bad. Still stands though, she lost street cred.
Too many G & T’s tonight.

eric hinton
eric hinton
March 4, 2023 10:03 pm

Supremes (top fillum clip)

Bruce of Newcastle
Bruce of Newcastle
March 4, 2023 10:09 pm

On the hot and crazy matrix this lady is off the scale.

Tori Amos – Cornflake Girl (US Version)

Tori Amos – Cornflake Girl (UK Version)

The UK version is surreal, whoever did it I think was on interesting mushrooms.

Bar Beach Swimmer
March 4, 2023 10:11 pm

Rabz, that girl can’t sing Kashmir for nuts!

P
P
March 4, 2023 10:13 pm

Supremes (top fillum clip)

The Supremes in Paris in 1965, singing their first # 1 hit: Where Did Our Love Go? – Dancing and skipping through the streets of Paris.

Bruce of Newcastle
Bruce of Newcastle
March 4, 2023 10:20 pm

At the age of 37, she realised …

For some reason known only to my hindbrain Marianne Faithfull always reminds me of Jerry Hall.

Bryan Ferry – Let’s Stick Together (1976)

It’s fun that Rupert Murdoch made an honest woman of her, at age 60.
For a while at least. 😀

Bar Beach Swimmer
March 4, 2023 10:20 pm

Rabz, in my yoof I liked Suzie Quattro but now I appreciate the pure voice. Think Judith Durham, Karen Carpenter, or Doris Day, to name a few.

https://youtu.be/z4ZipKdI1sY

https://youtu.be/wc7g96GYBx0

MatrixTransform
March 4, 2023 10:24 pm

Hot Crazy Awesome

Fiona Apple – Not About Love

she’s banned from polite society like Ryan Adams is

Bruce of Newcastle
Bruce of Newcastle
March 4, 2023 10:30 pm

Three music producers one day got sick of the bland stuff coming across their desks. They thought they could do better. There was a small problem though…none of them could sing. So they found a rock chick by watching television.

Garbage – Stupid Girl (1994)

They’re still going 30 years and 17 million album sales later.

eric hinton
eric hinton
March 4, 2023 10:32 pm

Marianne Faithfull and Godard girl with large excursion eye movements

As tears go by

Bar Beach Swimmer
March 4, 2023 10:42 pm

Crossiesays:
March 4, 2023 at 9:47 pm

+1 for that one!

MatrixTransform
March 4, 2023 10:45 pm
Bar Beach Swimmer
March 4, 2023 10:49 pm
Bruce of Newcastle
Bruce of Newcastle
March 4, 2023 10:52 pm

If you could attached a copper cable to Ms Apple you could power a whole civilization.
Some ladies are live wires.

Fiona Apple – Sleep to Dream

MatrixTransform
March 4, 2023 10:59 pm

Ms Apple has been haunting me for about 15 years

Makka
Makka
March 4, 2023 11:08 pm

These chicks aren’t singing but they do qualify as “rock chicks”

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=XcATvu5f9vE&ab_channel=RobertPalmerVEVO

Bar Beach Swimmer
March 4, 2023 11:11 pm

Rogersays:
March 4, 2023 at 8:23 pm

Roger, that goil looks like she’s straight out of The Handmaid’s Tale!

MatrixTransform
March 4, 2023 11:13 pm

Ryan gets a raw deal from industry

you fight the system and the best you get is to be anti-hero

vale Jonny Cash

Sweet Carolina

Ashes and Fire

Bruce of Newcastle
Bruce of Newcastle
March 4, 2023 11:15 pm

Makka – I think the guitar solo is by a guy in a dress.

Bar Beach Swimmer
March 4, 2023 11:15 pm

I saw Robert Palmer in Sydney; the Eurogliders were the intro!

Makka
Makka
March 4, 2023 11:16 pm

She’s no spring chicken, but when younger Margo Timmins was a knock out.

Truly, she has the voice of an Angel;

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=J9D2yvD9Frk&ab_channel=dafnitin

Makka
Makka
March 4, 2023 11:17 pm

Geez, don’t spoil it Bruce!

Bar Beach Swimmer
March 4, 2023 11:24 pm

Linda Ronstadt…

https://youtu.be/MeQyoTIQOOM

Bar Beach Swimmer
March 4, 2023 11:27 pm

When will I be loved?

https://youtu.be/wYGK3GvgaII

Makka
Makka
March 4, 2023 11:31 pm

Back in ’86, it was THE flick, with the hottest chick;

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Bx51eegLTY8&ab_channel=BerlinVEVO

Bar Beach Swimmer
March 4, 2023 11:38 pm

My older sister had this record – I loved it!

https://youtu.be/8LhkyyCvUHk

Makka
Makka
March 4, 2023 11:46 pm
Makka
Makka
March 4, 2023 11:55 pm

milt posted Joan upthread, she’s so good she deserves another run;

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ZQh6heYYOU0&list=RDZQh6heYYOU0&start_radio=1&ab_channel=djitras

Makka
Makka
March 5, 2023 12:30 am
Black Ball
Black Ball
March 5, 2023 1:04 am

Does Kate Bush qualify?

Black Ball
Black Ball
March 5, 2023 2:10 am

On Rage just now,
Heart, Alone

Black Ball
Black Ball
March 5, 2023 2:13 am
Black Ball
Black Ball
March 5, 2023 2:15 am
Tom
Tom
March 5, 2023 3:26 am

Voice of an angel: Linda Ronstadt, Blue Bayou (original studio version with those gorgeous country guitar licks).

WolfmanOz
March 5, 2023 4:03 am

Great post Rabz.

Still have a place in my heart for the great Suzi Q.

miltonf
miltonf
March 5, 2023 6:19 am

thanks Rabz- great fun

Pogria
Pogria
March 5, 2023 6:28 am

Kim Wilde still rockin’ it in Paris last year.
Note the huge difference between Kim and Mad Donna re their looks. Kim is a super hot woman of a certain age, Mads is Alien Resurrection.

Figures
Figures
March 5, 2023 6:54 am

Lana Del Ray.

She might be the greatest of all except I can’t play any of her songs when the young’ns are around.

Figures
Figures
March 5, 2023 6:56 am

Del Rey even.

As she would say “**** **** ****”

calli
calli
March 5, 2023 7:51 am

It’s old, it’s grainy, and it’s 1967 baby!

Here’s amazing Grace.

Bruce
Bruce
March 5, 2023 8:06 am

Here in Briz Vegas, we had “Railroad Gin”, fronted by Carol Lloyd.

A bunch of us used to go to their gigs in the original Brisbane Botanical Gardens. Early / mid 1970s.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=m-KCzJ2ZTro

The late Renee Geyer? More “soul and blues”? Maybe.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=GuwlXlb5AFM

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=DoXsluwOKPg

Bruce
Bruce
March 5, 2023 8:29 am

Speaking of Grace Slick:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=o7dJ3a-U6WQ

Duetting with Mickey Kantor, 1981:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=zwxCqrpucR0

That is a very tasty bit of guitar work from Craig Chaquico.

And now; a playlist of others:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=KwrnQxZQAAs&list=PL8aIynMubrGJqAHS2_n07jymfrqklYX9b

I have most of their albums on the original vinyl; very few seem to b available on CD. They get an occasional “outing”, but not everyone appreciates the music.

jupes
jupes
March 5, 2023 8:51 am

Couple of rock chicks in this band.

Fleetwood Mac – Rhiannon

pete of perth
pete of perth
March 5, 2023 10:34 am

Does twisted sister count?

jupes
jupes
March 5, 2023 11:03 am

Does twisted sister count?

About as much as Alice Cooper.

C.L.
C.L.
March 5, 2023 11:40 am

Does Kate Bush qualify?

Hell, yes.

Any point linking to the greatest video of all time?

You know what it is.

areff
areff
March 5, 2023 11:48 am

Jayne ‘Man enough to be a Woman’ County?

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=xSd6QjCDY9g

Katzenjammer
Katzenjammer
March 5, 2023 11:49 am
Tom
Tom
March 5, 2023 3:26 pm

Victoria’s greatest horse-racing tipster, Deane Lester, who was born with spina bifida and lived most of his life in a wheelchair without complaint, died last week, aged 54, after his final health battle with cancer.

On Deano’s deathbed, surrounded by friends and family, he requested the timeless classic composed by Fleetwood Mac’s Christie McVie, Songbird. Rest in peace, Deano: your legacy for me was planting this beautiful creation in my mind.

johanna
johanna
March 5, 2023 4:57 pm

As usual, I was not around for Saturday night – standing engagement, and it is rude to be playing on one’s phone while your hosts/friends are being hosts and friends.

But my goodness, what a wonderful array of Rock Chicks. Cats and kittehs have that genre well and truly covered. 🙂

I was delighted to see plenty of Chrissie Hynde, Janis and Grace. And more.

Another favourite is Kim Carnes, most famous for Bette Davis Eyes.

But I prefer this one. Draw of the Cards.

That is hawt!

More to come.

johanna
johanna
March 5, 2023 5:40 pm

Someone mentioned Nina Hagen, which is right and proper. But the thread lacks her astonishing evocation of New York. Once heard, never forgotten.

Glad to see the recognition of Heart, who were both talented and driven, especially out of Canada. It used to be a place where talented musicians got out there and made a career. There were plenty of them. k d lang, Gordon Lightfoot and Heart. Oh, and that terminaly depressed bloke.

Nowadays, it seems to be all about self pity and blaming others.

Oh, and those black gels. The Divine Diana, and many others.

Maybe Rabz should consider doing a post about The Brill Building.

Louis Litt
March 5, 2023 6:25 pm

Linda Day George – I can’t link her greatest hits here – her voice is brill.
She used to teach voice in Melbourne . This life seemed idealism. Teach voice and then tram it home in the suburbs.

eric hinton
eric hinton
March 5, 2023 6:30 pm

P. Smith 25th floor

Dusty introduces Martha and the V’s Nowhere to run

Bruce
Bruce
March 5, 2023 6:58 pm

But WAIT!

There’s MORE!

Patti Smith
Carolyn Mas
Thelma Houston (with “Pressure Cooker)
Annie Lennox
Pat Bennatar?
Ann and Nancy Wilson

I’ll see if I can find some of my “Euro” stuff. There was a Berlin-based “rock musical” called “Linie Eins”, set in the carriages of the Berlin subways. The show toured Oz in 1988 (pre the fall of the wall), as part of the “Expo on Stage” activities in Brisbane. The main female protagonist / vocalist knew how to work a song or two.

Shy Ted
Shy Ted
March 5, 2023 7:39 pm
Bruce in WA
March 5, 2023 8:46 pm

Suzi Quattro’s old man used to use her as a private punching bag until a group of … motorcycle enthusiasts intimated they would not be too happy if he did it anymore.

Alamak!
Alamak!
March 5, 2023 8:51 pm
Alamak!
Alamak!
March 5, 2023 9:01 pm

and stretching the definition of a rock chick slightly … Maria Callas

Bruce
Bruce
March 5, 2023 10:40 pm

Definitely NOT “Rock Chicks”, but this is how to keep a big crowd happy.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=FFpZFnJ6ZT8

backburn
backburn
March 6, 2023 9:00 am

How about a modern Aussie Punk Chick?

Amy Taylor from “Amyl and the Sniffers”

Freaks To The Front (Live)
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=4V65Ot9vuJc

Pogria
Pogria
March 6, 2023 12:19 pm

Rabz,
I would have thought Babuska would be more to your liking. You get to see a LOT MORE of Miss Bush! 😉

Angus Black
Angus Black
March 7, 2023 1:13 pm

There’s no doubt Suzi Quattro was a total honey in her day – I well remember her performance (as a support act) at a Union Ball (Hull Uni, longer ago than I like to think).

A Pocket Rocket, no question.

Does anyone remember a TV show called Rock Follies (mid 70s) – the manufactured band was called the Little Ladies and was led by Julie Covington (also Charlotte Cornwell, Ruka Lenska) who really did turn the power up.

Slightly more recently, it’s hard to go past Jenny Lewis who fronted Rilo Kylie early this century.

Nelson_Kidd-Players
March 7, 2023 10:36 pm

Yep, overlooked Annie. She definitely deserves a place on this page.

https://m.youtube.com/watch?v=Uhpu2N4rQZM

  1. When all the CA votes are counted, the total vote count will be roughly similar to 2020.Kamal-toe sits on about…

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