Essays by leading music critics look at the most important female rock musicians, singers, and groups, with profiles of Bonnie Raitt, Carol King, Tina Turner, Janis Joplin, Madonna, and many others.

A stellar and unprecedented celebration of 104 musical artists, Women Who Rock is the most complete, up-to-date history of the evolution, influence, and importance of women in music. A gorgeous gift book, it includes a stunning, specially commissioned, full-color illustrated portrait of every musician and group. From Bessie Smith and The Supremes to Joan Baez, Madonna, BeyoncéAmy Winehouse, Dolly Parton, Sleater-Kinney, Taylor Swift, and scores more, women have played an essential and undeniable role in the evolution of popular music including blues, rock and roll, country, folk, glam rock, punk, and hip hop. Today, in a world traditionally dominated by male artists, women have a stronger influence on popular music than ever before. Yet, not since the late nineteen-nineties has there been a major work that acknowledges and pays tribute to the female artists who have contributed to, defined, and continue to make inroads in music. In Women Who Rock, writer and professor of journalism Evelyn McDonnell leads a team of women rock writers and pundits in an all-out celebration of 104 of the greatest female musicians. Organized chronologically, the book profiles each artist and places her in the context of both her genre and the musical world at large. Sidebars throughout recall key moments that shaped both the trajectory of music and how those moments influenced or were influenced by women artists. With full-color illustrated portraits by women artists, Women Who Rock will be THE long-awaited gift book for every music fan, feminist, and female rocker, young and old musicians.

Jessica Hopper's music criticism has earned her a reputation as a firebrand, a keen observer and fearless critic not just of music but the culture around it. With this volume spanning from her punk fanzine roots to her landmark piece on R. Kelly's past, The First Collection leaves no doubt why The New York Times has called Hopper's work "influential." Not merely a selection of two decades of Hopper's most engaging, thoughtful, and humorous writing, this book documents the last 20 years of American music making and the shifting landscape of music consumption. The book journeys through the truths of Riot Grrrl's empowering insurgence, decamps to Gary, IN, on the eve of Michael Jackson's death, explodes the grunge-era mythologies of Nirvana and Courtney Love, and examines emo's rise. Through this vast range of album reviews, essays, columns, interviews, and oral histories, Hopper chronicles what it is to be truly obsessed with music. The pieces in The First Collection send us digging deep into our record collections, searching to re-hear what we loved and hated, makes us reconsider the art, trash, and politics Hopper illuminates, helping us to make sense of what matters to us most.

A wronged woman’s voice is reclaimed in this gripping tale of revenge and romance—a medieval Gone Girl. Highland Scotland was no place for a woman in the early 1500s. Life was turbulent and short, battles were waged, and sisters and daughters were traded as pawns in marriage. Catherine Campbell was one such young bride, betrothed to Lachlan Maclean and sent from her fine home to join him on the Isle of Mull, to bear his sons and heirs. But Lachlan proved to be nothing like the man of Catherine’s dreams, and she was forced to resign herself to enduring life with him for the sake of duty. Until the day when he threatened to take away the one thing she couldn’t sacrifice: her daughter. Casting a fascinating light on the ruthless Highlands, this sweeping drama by one of Scotland's best-loved novelists explores love, ambition and betrayal and highlights the precarious position of 16th-century women

This “crisp, absorbing” fully illustrated tribute to fifty iconic female musicians and bands is “a must for rock and roll and women's studies enthusiasts.” (Library Journal) Award-winning radio personality Meredith Ochs takes an insightful look at fifty rock icons who indelibly shook up the music scene, whether solo or in a band. Profiling women from the 1950s to today, and from multiple genres, Ochs tells the dramatic stories behind their journeys to success, their music, and their enduring impact. More than 100 photographs make this a rich volume, and the idols include Aretha Franklin, Tina Turner, Grace Slick, Janis Joplin, Stevie Nicks, Heart, Chrissie Hynde, Patti Smith, Joan Jett and the Runaways, the Go-Go’s, Karen O, Sleater-Kinney, Grace Potter, and more.

Brings together music criticism, fan experience, and performers' first person accounts from more that 60 women writers for 1960s to the 1990s.