Girl Bands

Yesterday was Mothers Day and that got me thinking about girl bands, as you would expect, and in particular I wondered how many there were. With the dominance of female singers currently I figure there had to be tons of them. Well, guess what. Not as many as you would think.

I'm not talking about girl groups where they just sang, they had to play most of the instruments or be the front person for the band. I also wasn't looking at solo artists, although as I said the ladies are dominating the music industry right now.

So I was able to find eleven that I felt qualified for my criteria and I then ranked them from barely known to top of the heap. Maybe you have your own list, or maybe you actually have a life and can't be bothered to sit around making lists like I seem to be making all the time. If you are too busy then all I will say is, nobody likes a bragger.

Paramore - 2004 - Current. From Franklin, TN they featured pop, punk, emo, and alternative music. "Aint it Fun" was their biggest chart topper here as it made it to #10.

Haim - 2007 - Current. From Los Angeles these three sisters feature pop and soft rock. "Want you Back" reached #10 on the rock charts.

The Cranberries - 1989 - 2003; 2009 - 2018. From Limerick, Ireland they were top of the alternative and indie music scene until the death of Dolores O'Riordan in 2018. "Zombie" was their biggest hit.

Evanescence - 1995 - 2006; 2012 - 2012; 2016 - Current. The pride of Little Rock, Ark they are best known for their goth and alternative metal sounds. "Bring me to Life" and My Immortal" are their two biggest hits here.

The Eurythmics - 1980 - 1990. From London, England they ruled the pop, new wave industry for ten years in the eighties. "Sweet Dreams" was their biggest hit but they had several.

The Pretenders - 1978 - Current. Another rock, pop, new wave band from the London area. "Back on the Chain Gang" and "Brass in Pocket" were two of their bigger hits but they also had a bunch of them.

Blondie - 1974 - 1982. Another new wave, punk, and pop band from New York City had every teenage boy losing their minds for Debbie Harry. "Call Me", "The Tide is High", "Heart of Glass", Rapture" to name four of their hugs hits.

No Doubt - 1986 - 2004; 2009 - 2015. From Anaheim, CA they created ska punk, along with their pop and new wave sounds. Gwen Stefani also had teenage boys losing their minds over her. "Don't Speak" was by far their biggest hit but they had many in the 1990's.

The Go-Go's - 1978 - 1985. Another Los Angeles area band that was more pop than new wave but they had both. "Our Lips are Sealed", "We Got the Beat", "Vacation", "Head Over Heels" were a few of their enormous hits. (On a personal note: myself and Bobbie Soeder were lucky enough to be two of the judges for the battle of the bands sponsored by Musicland back in the day and The Go-Go's were the featured performers. We got to know the band before and after their show and it was huge fun for us.)

Heart - 1967 - 1998. From Seattle, WA these pop and rockers were all over the radio in the 1970's and 1980's. "Magic Man", "Crazy on You", "Barracuda", "What About Love", and on and on. One of the most successful bands of all time. (On another personal note: Back in 1977 they played in Dekalb, IL and the radio station I was working for at the time was one of the shows sponsors. I was lucky enough to be asked to MC their show and to get to spend many hours with them before and after. One of the highlights of my life.)

The Bangles - 1981 - 1989; 1998 - Current. From Los Angeles, CA they defined female pop and rock in the 1980's. "Manic Monday", "Walk Like an Egyptian", "Eternal Flame," and the greatest cover of a song of all time, "Hazy Shade of Winter", and like Heart they had plenty more hit songs over the years.

So there is the surprising short list of "girl" bands. Please take the time to go to YouTube and check out their songs, especially if you aren't familiar with them.