These four female-fronted bands are not only the definition of female rock, but the biggest statement in female independence. They are not afraid to be themselves or sing about the issues they live through. All four lead singers deserve every ounce of respect that they receive and should be held to a high standard as any other band. They are talented and appreciate their fan base as if they are a part of the band themselves. Some of the girls’ lives were not all peaches and crème though, but the hardships created some of the excellent tunes that we listen to today.

The Cranberries

Linger

This particular band’s lead singer is Dolores O’Riordan. She grew up in a poor farming based family in Ireland with five brothers and one sister. She always preferred playing with her elder brothers and was labeled as a ‘tomboy’. As she got older she began to observe just how much better men had it in the world. Life seemed easier for them so she began cutting her hair, wearing baggy clothes, and acting like one of the guys. She even mentioned setting her Barbie dolls on fire. Soon she was labeled as a rebel and stated, “I thought everything was unfair, I thought boys had an easier time. Girls were useless because they’d get pregnant so it was bad to be a girl.” Once she realized that what she was doing contradicted her family’s strict Patriarchal Catholicism she seemed to want to press the matters more, allowing her rebellious side to take over. O’Riordan first starting writing songs at eleven years old about an older boy that she liked, yet she still didn’t seem to appeal too many since her attire was as masculine as theirs. She did not mind though, because she could not care less about the ridiculous thoughts that filled the hormonal boy’s heads. Yet, to her dismay, she evoked some boy’s interest. Her voice also took many off guard when she played Dorothy in her school performance of “Wizard of Oz”. She also started studying piano and joined the church choir. The hymns brought her closer to music and her religion. The rebellious teen still never got out much until age seventeen; here she bought her first guitar and she fell in love for the very first time. She moved in with him into the city against her parents protest and unending arguing of how she needed to go to college. She moved out of her boyfriend’s apartment soon after to start her music career.  She joined the band in 1989 while living in Ireland. The two founders were actually the Hogan brothers and drummer Fergal Lawyer. The bands first songs were focused around O’Riordan’s relationship at the time with her boyfriend who not only abused her physically, but also mentally. Yet, she didn’t let his ongoing torment bring her down; she allowed it to flow through her and into beautifully written songs. Soon she found her place on the stage and the band’s first single “Linger” became a hit in America during 1993. O’Riordan is truly an inspiration with her stubborn individuality and strong heart in the music business.

Joan Jett and the Blackhearts

I Hate Myself for Loving You

Joan Jett laid out the guidelines to being a female rocker. At fourteen she received her first guitar for Christmas and continued learning songs from her favorite artists such as David Bowie and Slade. She always spoke about preferring the early-seventies glitter-pop than the mainstream pop genre. At fifteen she joined her first band, The Runaways.  Sadly, in 1978, their last show was on New Year’s Eve. That next year Jett tried to start a solo career in England. The attempt was a bust so she joined up with some other bands like The Germs and Laguna to write a few songs trying to create a solo debut. Jett hit another bump in her career when she fell ill and was hospitalized for six weeks because of pneumonia and a heart-valve infection. After recovering from that she finally finished her solo debut only to find it published in Europe. Thankfully, the band Laguna helped their friend out by putting out the LP themselves. Though she overcame that obstacle laid in front of her. The album, though eventually became a pop-punk anthem, didn’t sell out. She created another album in 1981 with her new band the Blackhearts and it boosted her publicity up big time. The cover of “I Love Rock and Roll” really helped her in this case. Now she is known as the strongest female punk-rocker ever since.

The Pretty Reckless

Just Tonight

Taylor Momsen, a girl whom most are familiar with. She first debuted on How the Grinch Stole Christmas in 2000 as Cindy Lou. She was always a star from the very day she was born. At two years old she was already modeling and became famous rather quickly. But what two year old wants to wake up every day to have people dress them up and put makeup on their face. Where is the fun? Why aren’t they watching the latest SpongeBob episode? According to Momsen her parents pushed her too hard and she never really understood why, but she state that the reason she acts the way she does now resulted from her miserable childhood. Which, just looking at Momsen during the past to now there has been a drastic change. Before she was a cute young smiling girl helping a fuzzy green man with his heart and now she stands on a stage singing rock songs trying to fix her own heart. The only good things that her parents offered were the music in which she was forced to listen to. Led Zeppelin and The Beatles served as her favorite out of the hundreds of bands her father listened to and had a huge impact on her own music taste. In 2007 she began her career with her band The Pretty Reckless and became known as the “Rock Queen.” She lived up to the name too, by raising money for multiple charities during her concerts.

In This Moment

The Fighter

Maria Brink is the rock queen in my book. Not only is she the most talented female “screamer” in heavy metal but she retains her individuality throughout her career. She always gets bad rep for her outfits and way of grasping the idea of heavy metal but she is quite talented. The band almost broke up while making their first album “Blood” because everyone was new to the whole band being a family and working together. The band did not and continues to make great music today ranging from heavy metal to soft rock. Not only is she amazing onstage but even offstage her personality is absolutely wonderful. Brink holds herself to a high standard, though she does dress a bit provocative on stage, and she cares for her fans. Her life was hard and she didn’t have a father figure in her life and mentioned that she wanted to give up everything. Her fans are very glad she didn’t and truly appreciate all the hard work she places in her songs.