34 Comments

My contribution has to be Mary Chapin Carpenter. My girlfriends and I would drink and sing all night to her music. She was in my key, so I grabbed a wooden spoon for a microphone. 😂😂 These four I have memorized!

"I Feel Lucky" https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=eLMkMfYJe4w

"He Thinks He'll Keep Her" https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=r0ajB0lkKZM

"This Shirt" https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=AbL1LptZ8Vc

"I Take My Chances" https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=DOYq1002-Z0

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Girl on Fire," by Alicia Keyshttps://youtu.be/J91ti_MpdHA?si=ZuIjjhesbqJ07IjI

Respect," by Aretha Franklinhttps://youtu.be/A134hShx_gw?si=zT8iS9H-EnA8gXEA

"I Am Woman" Helen Reddy

https://youtu.be/ZrVLL7soS1U?si=I-VX5ICE4Vvv8WbT

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SO good!

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My list:

Nina Simone "Pirate Jenny": https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=7DIzjEVhca0

Roberta Flack "Go Up Moses" https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=hZ3yfsDfvGM

Kirsty MacColl "Miss Otis Regrets" (Cole Porter) (an impressive performance on Jools Holland performing with the 1st Battalion of Irish Guards): https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=N4sZUfQ97po

Janis Ian "Play Like a Girl" https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=XmooQq7bH8I

Chaka Kahn "Tell Me Something Good": https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=cm_cFzVAoo8

Kathy Mattea "Listen To The Radio" (Nanci Griffith): https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Ni0WuqFFhnc

Ferron: "Shadows On A Dime" https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=hMvnfBwv_l4

Eilen Jewell "Satisfied Mind" (Red Hayes & Jack Rhodes): https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=dJMZ1bi5g8c

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OMG Nina Simone! This is amazing.

I'll be back as I listen to the others.

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I just thought I'd check in to see if you listened to any of the others. I understand if anything else pales in comparison to Nina Simone but . . . I was still curious.

Also, I picked that Kirsty MacColl because it's such a great production of the song, but perhaps I should have picked "Free World" https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=jIA48s9h4NQ (BBC) or https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=3LyU07-iI-k (live)

"And I'll see you baby when the clans rise again

Women and men united by a struggle

Going down

You've got to walk into the water

With your sister and your daughter

In this free world"

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There are several Nina Simone songs that could qualify, but her version of "Pirate Jenny" is a showstopper.

I hope you enjoy them!

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There is so much righteous rage and pure "spit in you face" pride in that song. I am gobsmacked. Can't wait to hear the rest. Thank you.

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None of the other songs have _that_ level of intensity, and I intentionally picked a range of moods, but I think you will find multiple songs to like on that list.

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Do you mind if I add that song to my list in the post?

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Not at all. I think of that performance as well known, but everyone _should_ know it.

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I also love You Learn by Alanis Morissette from her Jagged Little Pill album.

https://youtu.be/GFW-WfuX2Dk?si=zVmWtp6Gj7i1AAQ-

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"Recommend walking round naked in your living room."

I'd never heard this, Kim. AMAZING!

You live you learn!

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Lyrically, this song is about living your life to its fullest potential and realizing that things in life happen for a reason. It’s how we learn from those experiences that help us mold into the person we are today.

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Ohhhhh how could I have forgotten Carole King?! Great song and a wonderful soul. Thank you Kim!

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You’re welcome, Jena. And I still listen to the songs on that album.

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Me too. I think my fav is “You’re So Far Away.”

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These are all so powerful! Wonderfully curated Jena!

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My favorite is Commander in Chief. I can't stop listening to it.

And of course Susan Osborn is a personal friend. She was my singing instructor for a workshop I took in Japan. Amazing voice.

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Wow! Her voice is incredible!

I love Commander in Chief too, gospel is my fave genre.

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it is SO powerful. She sings TRUTH!

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Do they have to be young women? I can think of so many women who have moved mountains.

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Heck no! Post anyone alive or who has passed away who has helped make the world a better place :-)

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OK! I have a list of women who I believe qualify. I'll pull up some songs of theirs and send my list to you.

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Can't wait. Go ahead and post links in this thread.

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Oh thank you for the music recommendations! I never know where to start!

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My pleasure! Feel free to add other inspirational names even if they are not musicians :-)

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I'll give it some thought🥰

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Cynthia Erivo “Stand Up” (Harriet) is a powerful singer for equality and activism for all races, not just black or brown. https://youtu.be/sn19xvfoXvk?si=5N4nxSGEi3WnOrr3

https://youtu.be/g3HICKj-4Zs?si=fbI0kO_jGsMhh5Ok

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Please share a link to your favorite piece by her so we can all enjoy.

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Musically, anything by Joan Jett & the Blackhearts, and Chrissie Hynde of the Pretenders, two women who continue to lead hard rocking bands after more than 40 years. And in other fields, my three daughters: Sasha and Liz, both lawyers; and Jackie, the youngest, 29 year old scientist, leader of a vaccine development team at major pharma company.

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Please share links to your favorite pieces so we can all enjoy.

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You mean links to Pretenders and/or Joan Jett? Think they would be well-known enough. Or my writing about powerful women? I did review the most recent Pretenders album. There's also a Forth Worth, Texas, singer-songwriter named Karyn Oliver (https://www.karynoliver.com/) whose latest album, "Cherchez la Femme" is entirely produced, engineered, mixed, and played by women, all areas of the recording industry that have been underrepresented by women.

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