Leading ladies — kick off Women’s History Month with this playlist of songs from female-fronted bands

Welcome to This Week’s Playlist, where we look to current events for some melodic curation inspiration. Tune in every Monday for a mix of news, commentary, and of course, music.

Bust out your Leslie Knope-esque shrines to female figures throughout the centuries — March is Women’s History Month and oh, we’re celebrating. Even though we here at HelloGiggles are of the opinion that every day is a day to herald women’s achievements and milestones, This Week’s Playlist is kicking off the month with a very special playlist.

In honor of the countless women who have blazed their mark in music history, we’re featuring just some of the boldest, brightest female voices from rock bands throughout the decades. Though we’re taught to recognize men like Elvis Presley and Little Richard as the earliest pioneers of rock’n’roll, Sister Rosetta Tharpe preceded both of them; even now, we’re learning about the cultural contributions of overlooked or overshadowed female musicians. The women featured all know a thing or two about standing out, both in their unflinching commitments to rock’s rough edges and their positions in rock’s still relatively small sisterhood. If pop is the realm of queens and princesses, rock is the realm of goddesses and muses — instead of monarchy, there is mythology, and armed with guitars, drums, and feminist fervor, these women have carved their mark in listeners’ ears for decades now, and decades to come.

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