The 100 most important women in pop – ranks 79 to 75

Music knows no gender: the struck string, the stepped foot drum or the loop in the audio software – everything is completely gender-neutral. Nice thought, right?

But beyond the tone and beat, the charged theme certainly plays a role. Music, once it has left the instruments, is always context. Music depicts realities and also influences them.

There is no need to tell anyone today that pop and society have become more diverse over the decades. But anyone who likes to scratch their beard with all the movement and prefers to turn around again is a tradition-conscious pop culture canon. Countless lists are still topped by Dylan and the Beatles – Radiohead are still seen as young challengers here. This view may also have an appeal for some, but when it comes down to the argument that there are so few influential female musicians, then the lights dim.

We dedicate ourselves in the current MUSIKEXRESS hence all the influential women in the music business. As obvious as all of this may be, the impulses that female acts have given us in addition to their hits are still valuable. Keep it up, we’ve only just begun.

Here is a sixth teaser of the list of the 100 most important women in pop – places 84 to 80

79th place: Gwen Stefani

Made ska-punk a million-dollar business in the mid-90s with No Doubt, then shone with crisp electropop on her solo albums. Her minimalist, stomping “Hollaback Girl” was a biting response to Courtney Love, who had called Gwen Stefani a “cheerleader.”

Without her: no Paramore, no Best Coast.

(Stephan Rehm Rozanes)

78th place: Annie Lennox

“I would have been perfect as a man,” she once said. With androgynous charisma and a distinctive voice, Annie Lennox was the ultimate feminist icon of 80s pop music. With her looks she challenged the audience: What is a woman, what is a man if not a single great performance on the theater stage of life?

Without her: no gender bending in the pop mainstream.

(Annett Scheffel)

Place 77: Olivia Rodrigo

Olivia Rodrigo sings unvarnishedly about heartbreak and the hurdles of growing up. In her lyrics she reflects on young people’s self-discovery and the complexity of relationships. In a rocking pop sound, she explains that heartbreak can sometimes bring out hidden dark sides in you.

Without her mainstream kitsch wouldn’t have received an authentic look at emotions when it came to love songs.

(Christin Rodrigues)

Place 76: ESG (the Scroggins Sisters)

At the Utrecht Le Guess Who Festival in November 2023, Renee Scroggins, the last remaining musician from the original sibling group ESG, set the tone while sitting down – what a strange picture. Her South Bronx band had produced a high-energy, percussive, minimally instrumented no-wave dance-funk sound in the late 1970s.

Without her: Women would have spent a few more ages breaking into bass-heavy male domains.

(Frank Sawatzki)

75th place: Wanda Jackson

She was already so popular when she was at school that she had her own radio show, a TV show and, from 1954, a record deal. She defied her label’s demands and released rock and country records simultaneously because she didn’t want to withhold her artistic range from fans.

Without her rough voice that fits perfectly with her signature song “Let’s Have A Party”, millions of shoes wouldn’t have died the dancing death.

(Stephan Rehm Rozanes)

+++ Our current issue has been in stores since February 9th. There is the complete list of the 100 most important women in pop. Here we often share excerpts from the rankings. +++