When you think about the history of women in rock, the song that comes to mind is James Brown’s 1966 recording, “It’s a Man’s, Man’s, Man’s World.” Dig a little deeper, though, and you may be singing a different tune. The fact is, from rock’s southern roots to girl groups, songwriters of New York’s famous Brill Building, studio musicians, musical trailblazers, MTV vixens and legendary artists – behind the scenes or rocking onstage - the music industry has always been fueled by girl power. We can’t capture all the achievements of women in rock and roll here. Or offer tips on how women can navigate their way through the sometimes trecherous waters of the music business. There are excellent books on the subject, as well as publications like ROCKRGRL, that give this subject the attention it deserves. Instead, we offer a timeline – sort of a cheat sheet - on some of the highlights from the last half-century.

Not Courtney Love. Not Madonna. Not Janis Joplin. Then or now, there’s never been anyone who defined raw energy quite like Ronnie Spector. She led the Ronettes through a string of hits,

pole-vaulted the Wall of Sound and, like Tina Turner, escaped a turbulent marriage, then fashioned her own brand of success. Performer, writer … still kickin’ it in Connecticut of all places, we asked her who her roles models were back in the day.

“I didn't have role models. I spent a lot of time looking out the window down on the street to see what the girls were wearing. When I was a little girl I had but one inspiration when it came to singing and that was Frankie Lymon.”

“Big Mama” Willie Mae Thornton records “Hound Dog”. Mae Boren Axton writes the music for “Heartbreak Hotel”. Guitar-player Peggy Jones (later a writer and producer) tours with Bo Diddley. Bonnie Guitar, session player, produces the Fleetwood’s chartbuster “Come Softly to Me”.

Check out Ronnie’s website at www.ronniespector.com

Felice Bryant is one-half of the songwriting team responsible for just about every early Everly Brothers classics you can name. Sheboygan’s own Chordettes, an all-girl vocal group, hit the charts with “Mr. Sandman” and “Lollipop”. One-hit wonders “The Bobettes” are in junior high and high school when they chart with “Mr. Lee”.

Shirelles are the first all-female group to top the singles chart with Carole King's composition “Will You Still Love Me Tomorrow”. Hit songwriters at Brill Building include Carole King, Ellie Greenwood and Cynthia Weil. Leslie Gore scores a hit with a prescient feminist perspective “You Don’t Own Me”. Civil rights era ushers in passion for “soul music” and launches the careers of “Hitsville USA” Motown Records recording artists The Supremes. Joan Baez gives up her studies at Boston University to perform at Newport and become one of the first real female folk icons. Marianne Faithfull attends a party where she meets the Stones’ producer. She records “As Tears Go By”, then goes back to college. Grace Slick and Janis Joplin ‘join the band‘ in San Francisco.

A New Hampshire father encourages his daughters to form The Shaggs. They are largely unheralded until discovered by Frank Zappa many years later. Call this “outsider art”. Alison Steel becomes FM’s groundbreaking “Nightbird” in New York after a stint as a weather girl. Maureen Tucker provides the beat for The Velvet Underground.

Janis Joplin joins Jim Morrison and Jimi Hendrix in Rock & Roll Heaven. Helen Reddy records “I Am Woman”, a hit song banned from many radio stations. Olivia Records and Redwood Records, labels owned and operated by women are formed. Woman Sound, a pro sound company, is formed, handling live events and national tours.

Singer/songwriters emerge: Laura Nyro, Joni Mitchell, Joan Armatrading, Carole King. They play instruments, too. Suzi Quatro, in motorcycle leathers, strikes a new chord in the way female rockers look. Joan Jett follows. Yoko Ono fails to reach the acceptance of punk and new wave artists Patti Smith, X-Ray Spex, Lena Lovich, Kate Bush and others.

Women become frontmen. Think The Pretenders. Think Blondie. MTV is born in 1981. Lucky for The Go-Gos, The Bangles, Cyndi Lauper and Madonna. Laurie Anderson mixes performance art and music. And it works. Playing for the camera: No one has seen or heard anything quite like Annie Lennox (The Eurythmics). Jazz percussionist Sheila E is Prince’s drummer. Tina Turner breaks on though with “What’s Love Got to Do With it? Bonnie Raitt joins the Board of Trustees of the Rhythm & Blues Foundation.