‘Women Who Rock’ Episode 2 Recap: ‘70s Hard Rock And Punk Finds Women Strapping On Guitars And Taking The Stage

Epix’s 4-part Women Who Rock documentary series shines a light on the ladies that helped make music history. Though they’ve been there from the start, female artists have battled sexism and industry indifference, despite creating timeless music and inspiring generations of listeners. This is the story of women as told by women, featuring an impressive array of female musicians and writers and covers all eras of popular music, from the roots of American popular music through the advent of rock n’ roll and its numerous offshoots. Produced by the same team behind 2019’s Punk series, it premiered last Sunday with additional episodes airing through the end of the month.   

Where Episode 1 covered the women present at the birth of rock n’ roll, Episode 2, titled “Defiance,” finds women strapping on electric guitars and storming the stage. While the term “rock” is often meaninglessly thrown around these days, the artists profiled are actual rock musicians, from ‘70s proto-metal band Heart to the many women who played a vital role in the punk scene over the next decade.   

If the Staple Singers’ Mavis Staples was last episode’s spirit guide, Heart guitarist Nancy Wilson serves the same purpose here. Founded by Nancy and her sister, lead singer Ann Wilson, the group blended Zeppelin-esque musical muscle with pop-smart songcraft to become one of the foremost hard rock bands of their time. Like many of their generation, they were inspired to pick up instruments after seeing the Beatles on television, Wilson saying, “We just wanted to be the Beatles, we didn’t want to be girls trying to be the Beatles.” Perhaps lost on many is the fact that their classic rock radio mainstay “Barracuda” is an actual broadside against the sexist music industry executives.  

Heart wasn’t the only popular ‘70s rock band to feature women in a prominent role. Stevie Nicks and Christine McVie were two of three hit-writing singers that helped make Fleetwood Mac multi-platinum superstars. While a chorus of artists sing their praises, it’s unfortunate neither was interviewed for the series given their musical insights and artistry. Slipping through the cracks at the time were the all-female Fanny, who have been rediscovered in recent years thanks to their live performances circulating on YouTube.  

It wasn’t all rock bands with Marshall stacks, however. Singer-songwriters like Joni Mitchell and Carole King explored the emotional lives of women. Their nuanced and three-dimensional musical tapestries appealed to broad swaths of the record buying public and were hugely popular. Not only did their lyrics speak to the times, both were accomplished musicians whose pop-hooks sat atop complex chord structures and inventive arrangements of their own construction. 

Though female artists made strides through the first half of the decade, earning both commercial success and critical respect, a new musical movement was bubbling up that would blow open the doors of possibility. The late ‘70s punk explosion signaled a changing of the rock guard and provided an artistic outlet to amateurs, outcasts and iconoclasts. Among the many rules punkers took delight in breaking were those of gender norms and sexuality. 

Women had been part of the punk scene since its inception, with Patti Smith and Blondie’s Debbie Harry providing the yin and yang of female archetypes. If Smith was a poetic firebrand unconcerned with the male gaze, Harry was conventionally beautiful but her street-smart cool made it clear she was nobody’s pawn. X-Ray Spex was led by Poly Styrene, who decried sexism in songs like “Oh Bondage Up Yours!” and was a role model for women of color in a mostly white punk scene while Chrissie Hynde was the songwriter and undisputed bandleader of her group The Pretenders.

Punk and new wave was also the first time an abundance of women were seen playing instruments on stage. They ran the gamut from multi-instrumentalist Kate Pierson in quirky dance-pop band The B-52s to Kira Roessler wrangling the bass for hardcore heroes Black Flag. Meanwhile, all-girl bands such as The Slits and The Runaways would inspire legions in their wake. The Go-Go’s were the most successful group to emerge from the era, starting as scrappy punks before rising to the top of the pop charts. 

The freedom of punk and new wave made room for unconventional artists, such as ‘80s icon of the moment Kate Bush. Described as a “tech nerd” by music journalist Ann Powers, Bush made use of cutting edge synthesizer and recording technology. As technology made recording more accessible, many women used it as an opportunity to take control of their music.    

Episode 2 ends with Chaka Khan looking towards the future. Her 1978 single “I’m Every Woman” blended disco with themes of female empowerment. Female vocals powered the majority of disco hits and provided a soundtrack for men and women to cast off the confines of orthodox gender roles on the dancefloor. As the ’80s dawned, MTV was waiting in the wings, ready to usher in a new generation of female stars, its emphasis on visuals ultimately a blessing and a curse. 

Benjamin H. Smith is a New York based writer, producer and musician. Follow him on Twitter:@BHSmithNYC.