I’ve been wanting to write more on this blog, but simply haven’t had the time. However, as we begin to roll out the station ever-so-slowly, I’ve decided to make that time.
Music, specifically rock n’roll, has been a big part of my life ever since I can remember. I remember listening to Elvis, Jerry Lee Lewis and Chuck Berry when I was very young because my oldest sister listened to them. My middle sister was listening to some of the same, but was more into Lesley Gore and the Shirelles. Of course, my mother and father were listening to things like Nat King Cole and Frank Sinatra. To this day, I like them all, and you will eventually be able to hear them all on #BecomeUngovernable Radio. However, the Beatles actually landed in America on the day I turned ten, and they changed my musical perspective forever. I got my own musical identity that day. However, before I wax poetic any further, let me get back to the subject at hand.
Fresh off seeing the new Linda Ronstadt documentary, The Sound of My Voice, my grasp of just how little attention is paid to the women who blazed a trail in rock music has been galvanized. (By the way, if you haven’t seen this documentary yet, you absolutely must. It puts into perspective just how important she was. The link in this paragraph above is the official trailer.)
I listen to music constantly, mostly now when I stream #BecomeUngovernable Radio music because it is, essentially, a reflection of my musical tastes. I’m not going to lie about that. What I notice when I am not on my own radio station, but listening to the commercial stations, is that the only two females classic rock stations play are Joan Jett and (less frequently) Blondie (Debbie Harry). You’d think they were the only female singers on the planet. If you’re lucky, they’ll toss in a couple of Pat Benatar songs during the week. Not even SiriusXM offers up a woman’s station in the myriad of specialty stations they offer. It’s a male-dominated world even today.
I saw Linda Ronstadt 39 times in my lifetime, even flying out to LA for this Christmas Eve concert.
One has to wonder what women have to do to achieve the level of respect men in the industry have. Linda Ronstadt is the only female in rock history to have five consecutive platinum albums — all of them multi-platinum, by the way. Her popularity in the seventies equaled that of Mick Jagger, all while blazing a trail for others like Bonnie Raitt, Emmylou Harris, and Maria Muldaur. Ronstadt was a road warrior, selling out giant concert venues night after night throughout the entire decade. Decidedly disliking the large concert venue, she also played the Universal Ampitheater, a more intimate setting. To satisfy demand there, she played 20 consecutive nights on one tour. She has won 10 Grammy Awards, three American Music Awards, two Academy of Country Music awards, an Emmy Award, and an ALMA Award.
And Ronstadt isn’t the only female singer afforded this insult. We at #BecomeUngovernable Radio would like to change that paradigm.
#BecomeUngovernable Radio 