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By: Alex, Ebba, Natalia, Sanjana

Class: Music, Gender & Society

Influential WomanAcross Genres

Woman Innovators

Woman have alwyas been in the background aiding or supporting others while not getting recognition for their contributions. However, woman have always been profound innovators especially within the music scene. In this presentation we will discuss 4 genres and how women musicians have influneced the greats we know today!

Conductor

“ A defining moment was when I was 9 years old and I saw Leanard Berinstein conduct because that’s the day I decided I must be a conductor”

Marin Alsop

early life

  • “ My upbringing was very unusual.”
  • Family Background: intensely artistic environment
  • Began piano and violin studies at ages 2 and 5 respectively
  • Decided to become a conductor at 9

Legacy

Alsop

The first woman to serve as the head of a major orchestra in the United States, South America, Austria and Britain. A full decade after becoming the first female conductor of London’s Last Night of the Proms, As of September 2023, as both the first woman and the first American to guest conduct three Last Nights in the festival’s 128-year history.In 2021, Alsop assumed the title of Music Director Laureate and OrchKids Founder of the Baltimore Symphony Orchestra, which she continues to conduct each season..

Marin

Blues Musician

'She performed with lots blues and jazz legends all of which spoke highly of her character and musical abilities:BB KingMuddy WatersLightnin’ HopkinsBuddy GuyClarence Gatemouth Brown

Big Mama Thorton

Career Timeline
  • Her musical sound was deeply rooted in the traditional blues style of the 1960’s
  • Willie Mae Thornton’s career was quite extensive and she performed live up to her timely death at the age of 57.
Popular Songs:
  • “Ball and Chain”
  • “Hound Dog”

Big Mama Thorton

European TourThornton toured Europe in the mid 1960’s and this marked an important moment in her career The singer-songwriters soulful deliveries of the blues also greatly influenced up and coming european rock bands of the time, like the Rolling StonesShe also inspired artists such as Elvis Presley and Janis Joplin, who both made very successful covers of her songs “Hound Dog” and “Ball and Chain”While Thornton was on good terms with Janis Joplin and allowed her to cover her song, Elvis allegedly never asked for permission to record “Hound Dog” and even refused to play with her on the same bill.

Jazz Musician

Mary Lou Williams

Jazz pianist, composer and arranger1910-1981Born in Atlanta, GeorgiaChild prodigyMentor for Thelonious Monk, Dizzy Gillespie, Charlie Parker and Bud Powell Zodiac Suite

Artist

'I was always rebelling. I don't think I'll ever stop'.

Grace Jones

Appearance

  • identifed mostly with masculine side
  • Celebrate blackness but also had a butch style
  • Egyptian cyborg outfits
  • Six foot tall, dramatic makeup, wore men's clothing

Modeled for Yves San Laurent, Vogue, Kenzo and many more

The muse of Jean-Paul Goude

  • Covered famous songs but put her own spin on it at studio 54
  • Genres: Pop, Disco and Reggae Pop
  • Voice was very unique, androgynous sound
  • Triple threat: acting, singing and modeling
    • faced much backlash as black model
  • Songs:
    • La Vie En Rose (Edith Pilaf)
    • Walking in the Rain (Iggy Pop)
    • She's Lost Control (Joy Divison)
    • Private life (Pretenders)

Women are innovators

Levine, Nick. “Why Grace Jones Was the Most Pioneering Queen of Pop.” BBC News, BBC, 24 Feb. 2022, www.bbc.com/culture/article/20200619-why-grace-jones-was-the-most-pioneering-queen-of-pop. Schulman, Michael. “The Power of Grace Jones.” The New York Times, The New York Times, 18 Sept. 2015, www.nytimes.com/2015/09/20/fashion/the-power-of-grace-jones.html Encyclopædia Britannica, Encyclopædia Britannica, inc., 23 Apr. 2024, www.britannica.com/biography/Big-Mama-Thornton.Weiner, Natalie. “How Mary Lou Williams Shaped the Sound of the Big-Band Era.” NPR, NPR, 10 Sept. 2019, www.npr.org/2019/09/10/749743012/how-mary-lou-williams-shaped-the-sound-of-the-big-band-era. Rauch, Robert. “Marin Alsop.” Encyclopædia Britannica, Encyclopædia Britannica, inc., 30 Apr. 2024, www.britannica.com/biography/Marin-Alsop.

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