{"id":1900,"date":"2021-10-03T15:14:32","date_gmt":"2021-10-03T13:14:32","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/blogs.uab.cat\/saramartinalegre\/?p=1900"},"modified":"2022-09-08T08:17:12","modified_gmt":"2022-09-08T08:17:12","slug":"a-mini-history-of-womens-singing-in-english-the-20th-century","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/webs.uab.cat\/saramartinalegre\/2021\/10\/03\/a-mini-history-of-womens-singing-in-english-the-20th-century\/","title":{"rendered":"A MINI-HISTORY OF WOMEN\u2019S SINGING (IN ENGLISH): THE 20TH CENTURY<\/strong>"},"content":{"rendered":"

This is, no doubt, the strangest post I have ever published, but pending the transformation by my students of this list into a Spotify list (as they promised), here is my selection of 20th century songs by women (in English). I am currently teaching a Cultural Studies course on women in pop, and instead of lecturing to my students on names and titles corresponding to ninety years of women\u2019s music, I produced this list and invited them to spend part of three sessions sampling the goods. In that way I managed, besides, to find an interesting use for the cellphones in class!<\/p>\n

Please, don\u2019t think that the list is ready-made and available elsewhere, or that it was easily compiled. I went through lots of websites claiming to offer the best of specific decades and came up with a selection that while surely very imperfect hopefully serves well as an introduction. As you may see, I have placed the women singers in order by date of birth. They appear in the decade when they had their first hit, with some exceptions (for instance, Tina Turner, though famous in the 1960s, appears here in the 1980s when she made her glorious comeback). The list ends in 1999 because my students are working on a collective e-book about 21st century women\u2019s songs (in English), to be published next January. Finally, all the songs can be found on YouTube, which has the advantage of having you see the women in question to better learn (or remember) what wonderful artists they all are.<\/p>\n

1920-29: Del blues al jazz<\/strong>
\nMarion Harris (1896\u20131944), \u2018I Ain\u2019t Got Nobody\u2019 (1916)
\nMamie Smith (1883\u20131946), \u2018Crazy Blues\u2019 (1920)
\nEthel Waters (1896\u20131977), \u2018Stormy Weather\u2019 (1933)
\nIda Cox (1896\u20131967), \u2018Wild Women Don’t Have The Blues\u2019 (1924)
\nGertrude Pridgett Rainey, a.k.a. Ma Rainey (1886\u20131939), \u2018Ma Rainey\u2019s Black Bottom\u2019 (1927), \u2018Deep Moaning Blues\u2019 (1928)
\nBessie Smith (1892\u20131937), \u2018Nobody Knows You When You’re Down and Out\u2019 (1929)
\nClara Smith (1894\u20131935), \u2018Troublesome Blues\u2019 (1927)
\nBertha “Chippie” Hill (1905\u20131950), \u2018Trouble in Mind\u2019 (1926)
\nAnnette Hanshaw (1901\u20131985), \u2018Am I Blue\u2019 (1929)
\nVictoria Spivey (1906\u20131976), \u2018How Do You Do It that Way?\u2019 (1929)<\/p>\n

1930-39: \u2018Big band\u2019, jazz, canciones de pel\u00edculas<\/strong>
\nSippie Wallace (1898\u20131986), \u2018I\u2019m a Mighty Tight Woman\u2019 (1937)
\nJeanette MacDonald (1903\u20131965), \u2018San Francisco\u2019 (1936)
\nBlanche Calloway and her Boys (1904\u20131978), \u2018I Need Loving\u2019 (1934)
\nThe Boswell Sisters: Martha (1905\u20131958), Connee (1907 \u20131976) y Helvetia “Vet” (1911\u20131988), \u2018Cheek to Cheek\u2019 (1934\u20135)
\nMartha Tilton (1915\u20132006), \u2018And the Angels Sing\u2019 (1939)
\nBillie Holiday (1915\u20131959), \u2018Strange Fruit\u2019 (1939)
\nElla Fitzgerald (1917\u20131996), \u2018Dream a Little Dream of Me\u2019 (1931, cover version 1956)
\nBea Wain (1917\u20132017), \u2018Heart and Soul\u2019 (1939)
\nJudy Garland (1922\u20131969), \u2018Over the Rainbow\u2019 (1939)<\/p>\n

The 1940s: More blues, swing and vocal melody<\/strong>
\nAlberta Hunter (1895\u20131984), \u2018The Love I Have for You\u2019 (1940)
\nMahalia Jackson (1911\u20131972), \u2018Move On Up A Little Higher\u2019 (1947)
\nThe Andrews Sisters: LaVerne Sophia (1911\u20131967), Maxene Anglyn (1916\u20131995), and Patricia Marie “Patty” (1918\u20132013), \u2018Rum and Coca\u2013Cola\u2019 (1944)
\nLena Horne (1917\u20132010), \u2018Mad about the Boy\u2019 (1941)
\nHelen Forrest (1918\u20131999), big band singer, \u2018Skylark\u2019 (1942)
\nVera Lynn (1917\u20132020), \u2018We\u2019ll Meet Again\u2019 (1943)
\nAnita O\u2019Day (1919\u20132006), \u2018Let Me Off Uptown\u2019 (1941)
\nJune Christy (1925\u20131990), \u2018Tampico\u2019 (1945)<\/p>\n

The 1950s: Beginnings of pop<\/strong>
\nDinah Shore (1916\u20131994), \u2018Love and Marriage\u2019 (1955)
\nGeorgia Gibbs (1918\u20132006), \u2018Kiss of Fire\u2019 (1952)
\nPeggy Lee (1920\u20132002), \u2018Fever\u2019 (1958)
\nSarah Lois Vaughan (1924\u20131990), \u2018Misty\u2019 (1959)
\nDoris Day (1922\u20132019), \u2018Que Sera, Sera (Whatever Will Be Will Be)\u2019 (1956)
\nDinah Washington (1924\u20131963) [O\u2019Brien: \u2018the missing link between the blues and the swing of the 1940s and the glorious technicolor of 60s R&B\u2019], \u2018What a Diff’rence a Day Makes!\u2019 (1959)
\nLita Roza (1926\u20132008), \u2018Secret Love\u2019 (1954)
\nJulie London (1926\u20132000), \u2018Cry Me a River\u2019 (1953, 1955)
\nEartha Kitt (1927\u20132008), \u2018Santa Baby\u2019 (1953)
\nPatti Page (1927\u20132013), \u2018How much is that doggie in the window?\u2019 (1952)
\nRosemary Clooney (1928\u20132002), \u2018Tenderly\u2019 (1952)
\nConnie Francis (1937 \u2013) [O\u2019Brien: \u2018America\u2019s biggest 1950s star\u2019], \u2018Lipstick on your collar\u2019 (1959)
\nPatsy Cline (1932\u20131963), \u2018Walking after Midnight\u2019 (1957)
\nDebbie Reynolds (1932\u20132016), \u2018Tammy\u2019 (1957)<\/p>\n

1950s to 1960s: Motown and the girl group<\/strong>
\nThe Supremes 1959\u20131977 (Diana Ross, Mary Wilson, Florence Ballard), \u2018Where Did your Love Go?\u2019 (1964)
\nThe Ronettes 1950\u20131966 (Veronica Bennett (Ronnie Spector), Estelle Bennett, Nedra Talley), \u2018Be My Baby\u2019
\nMary Wells (1943\u20131999), \u2018My Guy\u2019 (1964)<\/p>\n

The 1960s: Pop, rock, folk and beyond<\/strong>
\nPetula Clark (1932\u2013), \u2018Downtown\u2019 (1965)
\nShirley Bassey (UK, 1937\u2013), \u2018Goldfinger\u2019 (1965)
\nEtta James (1938\u20132012), \u2018I\u2019d Rather Go Blind\u2019 (1965)
\nNico (1938\u20131988), with the Velvet Underground, \u2018Sunday Morning\u2019 (1967)
\nDusty Springfield (1939\u20131999), \u2018I Only Wanna Be with You\u2019 (1964)
\nGrace Slick (1939\u2013) (with Jefferson Starplane), \u2018White Rabbit\u2019 (1967)
\nDionne Warwick (1940 \u2013), \u2018Do You Know the Way to San Jose?\u2019 (1968)
\nCass Elliot (1941\u20131974), with The Mamas & the Papas, \u2018California Dreaming\u2019 (1966)
\nAretha Franklin (1942\u20132018), \u2018Respect\u2019 (1967)
\nJanis Joplin (1943\u20131970), \u2018Me and Bobby Mc Gee\u2019 (1970)
\nBrenda Lee (1944\u2013), \u2018I\u2019m Sorry\u2019 (1960)
\nCher (1946\u2013), with Sonny \u2018I Got You Baby\u2019 (1965)
\nBrenda Holloway (1946\u2013), \u2018Every Little Bit Hurts\u2019 (1962)
\nLesley Gore (1946\u20132015), \u2018It\u2019s My Party\u2019 (1963)
\nNina Simone (1933\u20132003), \u2018Mississippi Goddam\u2019 (1964)
\nCilla Black (1943\u20132015), \u2018You\u2019re my World\u2019 (1965)
\nSandie Shaw (1947\u2013), \u2018Girl Don\u2019t Come\u2019 (1969)
\nLulu (1948\u2013), \u2018To Sir with Love\u2019 (1967)<\/p>\n

The 1970s: Folk, pop, rock, disco\u2026<\/strong>
\nJoan Baez (1941\u2013), \u2018Diamond and Rust\u2019 (1975)
\nCarole King (1942\u2013), \u2018You\u2019ve Got a Friend\u2019 (1971)
\nBarbra Streisand (1942\u2013), \u2018The Way We Were\u2019 (1974)
\nJoni Mitchell (1943\u2013), \u2018Big Yellow Taxi\u2019 (1971)
\nDebbie Harry (frontwoman Blondie) (1945\u2013), \u2018Heart of Glass\u2019 (1978)
\nAnni\u2013Frid Lyngstad (1945\u2013) and Agnetha F\u00e4ltskog (1950\u2013) (with ABBA), \u2018Waterloo\u2019 (1974)
\nCarly Simon (1945\u2013), \u2018You\u2019re So Vain\u2019 (1971)
\nLinda Rondstadt (1945\u2013), \u2018Blue Bayou\u2019 (1977)
\nPatti Smith (1946), \u2018Because the Night\u2019 (1978)
\nDolly Parton (1946\u2013), \u2018I Will Always Love You\u2019 (1974)
\nEmmylou Harris (1947\u2013), \u2018If I Could Only Win Your Love\u2019 (1975)
\nOlivia Newton\u2013John (1948\u2013), \u2018Hoplessly Devoted to You`(1979)
\nDonna Summer (1948\u20132012), \u2018I Feel Love\u2019 (1977)
\nStevie Nicks (1948\u2013) (with Fleetwood Mac), \u2018Dreams\u2019 (1977)
\nBonnie Tyler (1951\u2013), \u2018It\u2019s a Heartache\u2019 (1977)
\nKate Bush (1958\u2013), \u2018Wuthering Heights\u2019 (1978)<\/p>\n

The 1980s: the MTV age begins<\/strong>
\nTina Turner (1939\u2013), \u2018The Best\u2019 (1988)
\nGrace Jones (1948\u2013), \u2018Slave to the Rhythm\u2019 (1985)
\nPat Benatar (1953\u2013), \u2018Love is a Battlefield\u2019 (1984)
\nCyndi Lauper (1953\u2013), \u2018Girls Just Wanna Have Fun\u2019 (1979, 1983)
\nAnnie Lennox (1954\u2013), (with Eurythmics), \u2018Sweet Dreams (Are Made of This)\u2019 (1983)
\nChaka Khan (1954\u2013), \u2018Through the Fire\u2019 (1984)
\nGloria Stefan (1957\u2013), \u2018Conga\u2019 (1988)
\nSiouxie Sioux (1957\u2013) (frontwoman Siouxie and the Banshees), \u2018Happy House\u2019 (1980)
\nMadonna (1958\u2013), \u2018Like a Virgin\u2019 (1984)
\nBelinda Carlyle (1958\u2013) (lead singer The Go\u2013Gos), \u2018Heaven is a Place on Earth\u2019 (1987)
\nSade Adu (1959\u2013), \u2018Smooth Operator\u2019 (1984)
\nSuzanne Vega (1959\u2013), \u2018Luka\u2019 (1987)
\nAlison Moyet (1961\u2013) (with Yazoo), \u2018Only You\u2019 (1982)
\nWhitney Houston (1963\u20132012), \u2018I Wanna Dance with Somebody\u2019 (1987)
\nTracy Chapman (1964\u2013), \u2018Fast Car\u2019 (1988)
\nJanet Jackson (1966\u2013), \u2018Rhythm Nation\u2019 (1989)
\nKylie Minogue (1968\u2013), \u2018I Should Be So Lucky\u2019 (1987)<\/p>\n

The 1990s: Before social media<\/strong>
\nMarie Fredriksson (1958\u20132019) (with Roxette), \u2018It Must Have Been Love\u2019 (1990)
\nP.J. Harvey (1959\u2013), \u2018Down by the Water\u2019 (1995)
\nMelissa Etheridge (1961\u2013), \u2018Come to my Window\u2019 (1993)
\nBj\u00f6rk (1965\u2013), \u2018Venus as a Boy\u2019 (1993)
\nSheryl Crow (1962\u2013), \u2018All I Wanna Do\u2019 (1994)
\nShania Twain (1965\u2013), \u2018That Don\u2019t Impress me Much\u2019 (1997)
\nSinead O\u2019Connor (1966\u2013), \u2018Nothing Compares 2U\u2019 (1990)
\nLiz Phair (1967\u2013), \u2018Supernova\u2019 (1994)
\nToni Braxton (1967\u2013), \u2018Unbreak my Heart\u2019 (1966)
\nTori Amos (1967\u2013), \u2018Tear in Your Hand\u2019 (1992)
\nSarah McLachlan (1968\u2013), \u2018Angel\u2019 (1999)
\nAnastacia (1968\u2013), \u2018I\u2019m Outta Love\u2019 (1999)
\nLisa Loeb (1968\u2013), \u2018I Do\u2019 (1997)
\nCeline Dion (1968\u2013), \u2018My Heart Will Go On\u2019 (1997)
\nGwen Stefani (1969\u2013) (with No Doubt), \u2018Just a Girl\u2019 (1995)
\nMariah Carey (1969\u2013), \u2018Hero\u2019 (1993)
\nJennifer Lopez (1969\u2013), \u2018If You Had my Love\u2019 (1999)
\nMissy Elliot (1971\u2013), \u2018Sock It 2 Me\u2019 (1997)
\nAlanis Morrisette (1974\u2013), \u2018You Oughta Know\u2019 (1995)
\nAaliyah (1979\u20132001), \u2018You Are Love\u2019 (1994)
\nBrandy (1979\u2013), \u2018I Wanna Be Down\u2019 (1994)
\nChristina Aguilera (1980\u2013), \u2018Come On Over (All I Want is You\u2019) (1999)
\nBritney Spears (1981\u2013), \u2018Baby One More Time\u2019 (1998)<\/p>\n

Enjoy!<\/p>\n

\tI publish a post once a week (follow @SaraMartinUAB). Comments are very welcome! Download the yearly volumes from http:\/\/ddd.uab.cat\/record\/116328. Visit my website http:\/\/gent.uab.cat\/saramartinalegre\/. The Spanish version of the posts is available from https:\/\/blogs.uab.cat\/saramartinalegre\/es\/ <\/strong><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

This is, no doubt, the strangest post I have ever published, but pending the transformation by my students of this list into a Spotify list (as they promised), here is my selection of 20th century songs by women (in English). I am currently teaching a Cultural Studies course on women in pop, and instead of […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":98,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[11,18],"tags":[199,212,375,376,520],"class_list":["post-1900","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-cultural-studies","category-general","tag-feminism","tag-gender-studies","tag-pop-music","tag-pop-songs","tag-women-singers"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/webs.uab.cat\/saramartinalegre\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/1900","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/webs.uab.cat\/saramartinalegre\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/webs.uab.cat\/saramartinalegre\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/webs.uab.cat\/saramartinalegre\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/98"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/webs.uab.cat\/saramartinalegre\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=1900"}],"version-history":[{"count":1,"href":"https:\/\/webs.uab.cat\/saramartinalegre\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/1900\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":2129,"href":"https:\/\/webs.uab.cat\/saramartinalegre\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/1900\/revisions\/2129"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/webs.uab.cat\/saramartinalegre\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=1900"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/webs.uab.cat\/saramartinalegre\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=1900"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/webs.uab.cat\/saramartinalegre\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=1900"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}