All-women bands and Girl bands are musical groups in which women sing and play all the instruments. They are distinct from girl groups, where the women sing but do not play any instruments. In music, a band is a company of musicians, or musical ensemble, usually popular or folk, playing parts of or improvising a musical arrangement on different musical instruments. ... Singing is the act of producing musical sounds with the voice, which is often contrasted with speech. ... A musical instrument is a device constructed or modified with the purpose of making music. ... Girl group UC3 sing The Star-Spangled Banner for U.S. troops in Afghanistan A girl group is a musical group featuring several young female singers who generally harmonize together. ...

Although women have long been a part of the musical landscape, with composers such as Anna Amalia, Princess of Prussia and sister of Frederick The Great writing music in the 1700s and, more recently, Germaine Tailleferre of Les Six who worked with Jean Cocteau, as well as composing for the theatre and dance troupes, it was in the 1900s, with the commencement of the Big Band and Swing Era, that all-women bands began to emerge. Perhaps the best-remembered of such orchestras is the International Sweethearts of Rhythm. There were two Anna Amalia in Germany, both were composers Anna Amalia Princess of Prussia (1723-1787) Anna Amalia, Duchess of Saxe-Weimar-Eisenach (1739-1807) This is a disambiguation page — a navigational aid which lists other pages that might otherwise share the same title. ... Frederick the Great Frederick II of Prussia (Friedrich der Große, Frederick the Great, January 24, 1712 – August 17, 1786) was the Hohenzollern king of Prussia 1740–86. ... Germaine Tailleferre (April 19, 1892 - November 7, 1983) was a French composer and the only female member of the famous Group Les Six. ... Le Groupe des Six, 1922, by Jacques-Emile Blanche. ... Jean Cocteau Jean Maurice Eugène Clément Cocteau (July 5, 1889 – October 11, 1963) was a French poet, novelist, dramatist, designer, boxing manager and filmmaker. ... A big band is a type of musical ensemble associated with playing jazz music and which became popular during the Swing Era from 1935 until the late 1940s. ... Swing music, also known as swing jazz, is a form of jazz music that developed during the 1920s and had solidified as a distinctive style by 1935 in the United States. ...

But it was with the advent of rock and roll that groups comprised solely of women began to flourish. As evidenced by numerous compilations, particularly of garage bands, during the 1960s many women were playing in bands, although few were signed to major labels and so did not come to the forefront of public attention. However, records by all girl bands on smaller, regional labels are being rediscovered and are highly prized by collectors today. For instance, Feminine Complex released their self-titled album in the 1960s; in the 1990s it was rereleased on CD by independent label Teen Beat Records. One of the strangest groups from the 60s is undoubtedly The Shaggs, a group of sisters who, with limited mastery of their instruments, or of song structures, ended up creating their own, unique, musical language. Today, they are revered as outsider musicians, with a devoted cult following. Rock and roll (also spelled Rock n Roll, especially in its first decade), also called rock, is a form of popular music, usually featuring vocals (often with vocal harmony), electric guitars and a strong back beat; other instruments, such as the saxophone, are common in some styles. ... Please wikify (format) this article or section as suggested in the Guide to layout and the Manual of Style. ... The 1960s decade refers to the years from January 1, 1960 to December 31, 1969, inclusive. ... An independent record label is variously described as a record label operating without the funding (or outside the organizations) of the major record labels, and/or a label that subscribes to indie philosophies such as DIY and anti-corporate art. ... The Shaggs on the cover of their only official album, Philosophy of the World (1969) The Shaggs was an American all-woman band. ... Music sample: True Love will Find You in the End ( file info) — Sample of Daniel Johnstons True Love will Find You in the End Problems listening to the file? See media help. ...

Among the earliest all-women rock bands to be signed were Goldie and the Gingerbreads, to Atlantic Records in 1964, and Fanny in 1969 when Mo Ostin signed them to Warmer Brothers Records. The Roche sisters, Terre and Margaret/Maggie, recorded their first major-label album in 1975; their younger sister Suzzie joined them to form the Roches and to record (usually with male session musicians) and tour (usually without supporting musicians; all three play guitar and other instruments). Also in 1975, the Canadian duo of sisters, Kate and Anna McGarrigle, recorded the first of a string of albums. Joan Jett's first group The Runaways were also an early commercially successful, hard-edged all-women (or, indeed, all-girl, since all were in their mid-teens) band, releasing their first album in 1976; other members included Michael Steele, then known as Mikki Steele, and Lita Ford. Atlantic Records (Atlantic Recording Corporation) is an American record label that operates as a wholly owned subsidiary of Warner Music Group. ... Fanny were a late 1960s-1970s American all-women band led by June Millington. ... The Roches, a female vocal group, comprises three songwriting sisters from New Jersey: Maggie, Terre, and Suzzy Roche. ... Kate and Anna McGarrigle are a Canadian folk music duo from Quebec. ... Please wikify (format) this article or section as suggested in the Guide to layout and the Manual of Style. ... This article is about the 1970s band. ... Michael Steele (born on 2 June 1955 in Pasadena, California, USA) was a bassist, songwriter, and singer with The Bangles. ... Lita Ford on the cover of her 1988 album Lita Carmelita Rossanna Ford (born September 19, 1958) is a hard rock singer and guitarist who achieved popularity during the 1980s. ...

Meanwhile, in the 1970s, a number of feminist folk music-based performers began fostering a Women's Music Movement; a number of women moved between the more-traditional folk festivals and the women's gatherings, including some of the members of the 1980s all-women bluegrass band Blue Rose. More recently, another bluegrass and related-music all-women group, Uncle Earl, have been touring the festival circuit (apparently named in honor of bluegrass pioneer Earl Scruggs). The 1970s decade refers to the years from 1970 to 1979, inclusive. ... Feminism is a social theory and political movement primarily informed and motivated by the experience of women. ... Folk music, in the original sense of the term, is music by and for the common people. ... Womens music (or womyns music, wimmins music) is the music by women, for women, and about women (Garofalo 1992:242). ... Since roses lack a gene to produce delphinidin, the primary plant pigment that produces true blue flowers, blue roses were traditionally created by dyeing white roses. ... Uncle Earl is an American old-time music group that formed in 1999. ... Earl Scruggs Earl Eugene Scruggs (born January 6, 1924 in Shelby, North Carolina) created a banjo style (now called Scruggs style) that is one of the defining characteristics of bluegrass. ...

Punk, a progression in some ways of the garage rock of the 1960s, naturally included all-women bands just as garage rock had in the 1960s and opened the door wider for women with a desire to perform, spawning groups such as the Raincoats, the Slits, and Lilliput. Some well-known otherwise all-women bands had men in the band at times, particularly but not limited to drummers. Punk Rock is an anti-establishment music movement that began about 1976 (although precursors can be found several years earlier), exemplified by The Ramones,the Misfits, the Sex Pistols, The Clash and The Damned. ... The Raincoats were formed in 1977 by Ana da Silva (vocals, guitar) and Gina Birch (vocals, bass) while they were students at Hornsey College of Art, London, England. ... The Slits are an all female punk rock band. ... Lilliput has several meanings: In Jonathan Swifts satirical novel, Gullivers Travels, the land of Lilliput was occupied by very small people. ... A session drummer at practice A drummer is a musician who plays the drums, particularly the drum kit, marching percussion, or hand drums. ...

Meanwhile, two bands had a very large commercial and pathbreaking effect in the early and mid 1980s; both came from the LA punk/garage scene, though did best commercially with the work most slickly distant from their roots. The Go-Go's and the Bangles were the first all-women rock bands to find sustained success; each had a sequence of three major-label albums in the first segment of their careers, released several hit singles apiece, and inspired not a few other young women, both positively and, perhaps, negatively (as when the Bangles ended the first phase of their collective career as very nearly a chorus, playing fewer of their own instrumental tracks on each album in turn and on guest appearances on television). Both bands have released reinvigorated reunion albums in the 2000s: the Go-Go's' God Bless the Go-Go's (2001) and the Bangles' Doll Revolution (2003). The 1980s refers to the years of 1980 to 1989. ... The Go-Gos classic line-up, (L-R): Charlotte Caffey, Gina Shock, Belinda Carlisle, Kathy Valentine, Jane Wiedlin. ... The Bangles were one of the new generation of independent all-women bands that followed The Go-Gos in the early 1980s. ...

With the resurgence of interest in pop-punk bands in the US in the early 1990s, L7 became very popular, while demonstrating onstage and in interviews a self-confident "bad girl" attitude at times, always willing to challenge assumptions about how an all-women band should behave. Although it could be debated whether the existence of all-women bands is inherently political or not, many groups comprised of women have set forth with a political aim in mind. Particularly in the 1990s, Riot Grrrl groups such as Bratmobile and Bikini Kill have addressed feminist and other socio-political issues they feel are inherent in the estate of the women's band. Other punk bands, such as Spitboy and its successor Instant Girl, have been less comfortable with the some of the childhood-centered issues of much of the Riot Grrrl esthetic, but nonetheless also have dealt explicitly with feminist and related issues. All-women Queercore bands, such as Tribe 8 and Team Dresch, also write songs dealing with matters specific to women and their position in society. Pop punk (also known as Punk-pop) is a fusion genre that combines elements of punk rock with pop music, to varying degrees. ... The examples and perspective in this article or section may not represent a worldwide view. ... L7 is a punk all-women band. ... This article or section does not cite its references or sources. ... Bratmobile was an American punk band. ... Bikini Kill was a punk band of the Riot Grrrl movement formed in Olympia, Washington in October of 1990 (see 1990 in music). ... Spitboy was a punk rock band from San Francisco that consisted of four women who founded the band in early 1990s. ... Queercore is a cultural and social movement which arose during the early-to-mid 1980s. ... Tribe 8 is an all-women outspoken dyke punk band from San Francisco, USA. Considered one of the first queercore groups, they take their name from the practice of tribadism. ... Team Dresch are a queercore band who performed and recorded in the 1990s and made a significant impression on that movement, as well as on the independent music scene. ...

Courtney Love, leader of Hole, has said that it is impossible to find a female bass guitarist. This is belied by her own former bassist Melissa Auf der Maur as well as others such as Sara Lee (Gang of Four), Tina Weymouth (Talking Heads and Tom Tom Club), Me'shell Ndegeocello, D'Arcy Wretzky (the Smashing Pumpkins), Kim Deal (Pixies and the Breeders), Kim Coletta (Jawbox - retired), Jo Bench (Bolt Thrower), Sean Yseult (White Zombie), Rayna Foss-Rose and later Nadja Peulen (Coal Chamber), Kim Gordon (Sonic Youth), Paz Lenchantin (A Perfect Circle), Lorna Doom (The Germs) and many others. Courtney Michelle Love[1] (born July 9, 1964) is an American rock musician and Golden Globe-nominated actress, best-known as lead singer for the now-defunct alternative rock band Hole and for her two-year marriage to Nirvana frontman Kurt Cobain. ... Hole was an alternative rock band that formed in Los Angeles in 1989 and disbanded in 2002. ... Melissa Auf der Maur Melissa Gaboriau Auf der Maur (born March 17, 1972) is a Canadian rock musician of Franco-Swiss ancestry, who currently resides in Montreal, Quebec. ... Sara Lee is an English bassist and singer-songwriter, possibly best known for replacing Dave Allen in the Gang of Four. ... The Gang of Four was an English post-punk group from Leeds. ... Tina Weymouth A founding member of the influential New Wave group Talking Heads, was born Martina Michéle Weymouth on November 22, 1950 in Coronado, California. ... Talking Heads was an American rock band existing between 1974 and 1991, composed of David Byrne, Chris Frantz, Tina Weymouth, and Jerry Harrison. ... Tom Tom Club was a New Wave band, a side project set up by Tina Weymouth and Chris Frantz who were also members of the Talking Heads. ... Meshell Ndegeocello (b. ... Darcy Wretzky Darcy Wretzky (born May 1, 1968 in South Haven, Michigan), also known simply as Darcy, is a rock musician best known for her work as a bass player with the highly successful alternative rock band The Smashing Pumpkins. ... The Smashing Pumpkins[1] are a popular American alternative rock band which formed in Chicago in 1988. ... Kim Deal (born Kimberly Ann Deal on June 10, 1961) is an American musician known for her work in the seminal alternative rock bands Pixies and The Breeders. ... The Pixies are an American alternative rock music group formed in Boston, Massachusetts in 1986. ... The Breeders are an American rock band, formed in 1988 as a side project for Kim Deal of Pixies and Tanya Donelly of Throwing Muses. ... Jawbox was a punk rock/indie rock/post-hardcore band from Washington, D.C.. Its members were J. Robbins (vocals/guitar), Bill Barbot (guitar), Kim Coletta (bass guitar), and Adam Wade & Zach Barocas (drums). ... Jo Bench Jo-Anne Bench is a death metal bass player from Birmingham, England. ... Bolt Thrower are a death metal band from Coventry, England. ... Sean Yseult (real name, Shauna Reynolds) is a rock musician. ... White Zombie was an American band named after the 1932 film White Zombie, which starred Bela Lugosi. ... Rayna Foss-Rose was the first bassist for Coal Chamber. ... Nadja Peulen (Born January 10th, 1975) is a recording artist from Germany who replaced Coal Chambers Rayna Foss-Rose for live performances. ... Coal Chamber was a nu metal band from Los Angeles, CA, USA formed in 1994. ... Gordon in 2005 Kim Gordon (born April 28, 1953, in Rochester, New York) plays bass and guitar in the alternative rock band Sonic Youth. ... Sonic Youth is a rock group formed in New York City in 1981. ... Paz Lenchantin performing with A Perfect Circle Paz Lenchantin (born December 12, 1973 in Mar del Plata, Argentina) is an Argentine-American musician who came to Los Angeles, California with her family at the age of four. ... A Perfect Circle (often referred to as APC) is an alternative rock band, formed by guitarist Billy Howerdel. ... The Germs were a punk rock band from Los Angeles in the late 1970s. ...

All-women bands are not restricted to the mainstream genres. The successful British/Australian string quartet Bond, who play classical crossover, is another example where the women play all the instruments (first and second violin, viola and cello) and sing the occasional vocals that accompany some of their tracks. bond is an Australian/British classical crossover string quartet. ... This does not cite its references or sources. ... The viola (in French, alto; in German Bratsche) is a string instrument played with a bow which serves as the middle voice of the violin family, between the upper lines played by the violin and the lower lines played by the cello and double bass. ... The violoncello, almost always abbreviated to cello, or cello (the c is pronounced as the ch in cheese), is a stringed instrument and a member of the violin family. ...

Bibliography

• Bayton, Mavis (1998) Frock Rock: Women Performing Popular Music. Oxford and New York: Oxford University Press. ISBN 0-19-816615-X
• Carson, Mina Julia (ed.) (2004) Girls rock!: Fifty Years of Women Making Music. Lexington, Ky.: University Press of Kentucky. ISBN 0-8131-2310-0
• Gaar, Gillian G. (1992) She's a Rebel: the History of Women in Rock & Roll. Seattle, Wash.: Seal Press. ISBN 1-878067-08-7
• O'Dair, Barbara (ed.) (1997) Trouble Girls: the Rolling Stone Book of Women in Rock. New York: Random House. ISBN 0-679-76874-2
• Raphael, Amy (1995) Never Mind the Bollocks: Women Rewrite Rock. London: Virago. ISBN 1-85381-887-9
• Savage, Ann M. (2003) They're Playing Our Songs: Women Talk About Feminist Rock Music. Westport, Conn.: Praeger. ISBN 0-275-97356-5

See also

• List of all-women bands
• List of girl groups

This is a list of all-women bands of any musical genre. ... This is a list of girl groups of any musical genre. ...

External links

• GirlBand.org
• Jenny Woolworth Women in Punk Archive
• Blood Sisters: Women in metal, hardcore, grind and noise
• Girl Muso list
• Noisy Rock Women tribute
• Endemoniada WebZine
• Girl Punk bands
• Metal Maidens fanzine