The journey to find all-girl and female fronted early Heavy Metal bands continues! Right off the bat, I'd like to introduce three bands to all of you. The first is one that some of you may already know... Fanny!
Fanny was an all-girl Rock band from the early seventies, and though they gravitated more towards Funk, Soul, and Prog Rock, some of their songs (especially when performed live) had a splash of that late '60s and early '70s heavy fuzz to them. Plus, they always knew how to nail a guitar solo! I think that they're definitely worth mentioning, even if they aren't super heavy. The next band is one that I just recently found out about... Birtha!
Another all-girl group, Birtha was definitely more heavy and "metallic" than Fanny, though they do have some stylistic similarities. So far, Birtha is one of the earliest and heaviest all-girl bands with a metallic sound that I've run across, (the song above is from 1972) and they definitely had the skill to contend with any of the guys of their time! Finishing off this triple attack is a band that was led by the sister of one of the members of Fanny... Suzi Quatro and her rowdy gang of guys in tank tops (I apologize for the audio of the first video being out of sync, but the live footage is too fun to pass up
! The second video is a television performance on a "Top of the Pops" style show, so I hope you all like miming!)...
Similar to Slade, T Rex, and Mott the Hoople, Suzi Quatro was a Glam Rocker that had no problem occasionally flirting with the metallic sound. Glam Rock bands always did have a special knack for making both heavy rockers and light styled pop songs, and Suzi is no exception. I think it would be wrong to completely classify her as "Metal", as she's really more Hard Rock than anything, but at the same time she fits the sound and image often enough that it's not an unreasonable leap in logic. After all, she
was decked out in leather years before Halford and the boys in Judas Priest. Just as tough as Birtha, and from the same time period (the songs she plays above, "Glycerine Queen" and "Daytona Demon", were both released in 1973), she was a huge influence on many of the female rockers that came after her (apparently, Joan Jett was a big fan).
Suzi, Birtha, and Fanny!
Now, before we go any further, I'd like to thank a few people. When I started searching high and low for these painfully elusive bands, I asked a few people for help, and they were all very helpful and amazing! So here's a big thanks to Psy-Fi, Chula Vista, Ladyislingering, and Unknown Soldier! Chula pointed me towards a certain list of female metal bands, and if you haven't already seen it before than I highly recommend that you check it out (
Female Fronted Heavy Metal: 1976 - 1989)! It's a huge, and I do mean
huge, list that highlights many female metal bands! Unfortunately, it focuses almost exclusively on bands from the 1980's, during the New Wave of British Heavy Metal, and the bands that
are from the seventies are a bit late to the metal game. But they're still awesome, and there are a few bands worth mentioning, like Desira and The Dead End 5, who both have some pretty great songs from 1976!
Psy-Fi, the master of retro music, pointed me towards some groovy all-girl Progressive Rock bands. Specifically, he recommended Mother Superior and Isis as some solid female outfits from the early 1970s! While neither is super "metallic", both bands have their occasional moments of Progressive-style heaviness, especially during the guitar breaks and solos. Here are some songs by them!
Well, that's all for now. The next time around, I'll bring even more awesome Progressive bands, tough rockers, and crazy lady metalheads!