Joni was the only on the list of 100, but what about: Bonnie Raitt! Shawn Colvin! Jonatha Brooke! (the late) Emily Remler! Leni Stern! Bonnie Raitt! (she's so damn good gotta say it twice)
... and Many Moore! The whole thing with gender and music is basically a mirror of gender politics in all realms of life, which is to say, it's fucked up! And it goes way beyond "Hey, she's really good ... for a woman." I have a certain perspective because my wife is a drummer, and she's excellent, better than many male drummers in our town who work more but play less drums (perhaps the most "male" of all instruments). She wryly reflects on her lack of a penis, since this seems to be the only qualification some band leaders require. She recounts this conversation with one of these band leaders: Band leader: "Well, I've tried a woman drummer before and it just didn't work out." My wife: "Have you ever used a male drummer who didn't work out?" Band leader: "Well ... yeah." My wife: "So who do you use now?" -Fred
