The music of the '90's was great. It seems to me that the decade was like a petri dish, full of experimental organisms. Some that grew quickly and thrived, only to suddenly weaken and die, i.e. the meteoric rise of Grunge, and then its sudden demise. Others, like the Rap and Hip-Hop movement, which grew and never faltered. Then, there was, of course, some old standards and new arrivals. One thing rang true throughout the '90's though. The female artists of the time, many new, came to the forefront like never before. Unlike the teenage 'girl groups' of the late '50's and early to mid '60's, who had almost no say over their own careers. Or the female rockers of the '70's like the 'Runaways' and the '80's, girl groups and artist such as former 'The Runaways' members, Joan Jett,(who smoked with hit "I Love Rock 'n' Roll), and later, Lita Ford's hit with, "Kiss Me Deadly". Then the west coast, 'Go-Go's' and the 'Bangles' who yes, played their own instruments, but went just as quickly as they came.
Sure, there was Janis Joplin in the '60's, the early to mid '70's had singer songwriters, Carly Simon, Carole King, and Helen Reddy, who was spreading the message of 'girl power', 20 years before the term was coined. Also, the group 'Heart', with sisters' Ann and Nancy Wilson, (Ann at the mic and Nancy at lead guitar), more than proved they could rock like the boys, then snubbed the seedy side of the music biz to take control of their band's direction. Despite these honorable mentions, the '90's was the decade where a host of female artist came into the spotlight more consistently than ever before.
Since I have not said her name yet, first mention goes to the reigning 'Queen of Pop' at that time, Madonna. Her 1990 single, 'Vogue', was a smash hit, both on the pop and dance charts. However, that same year, a newcomer was tugging at the queen's robes. An Irish import with a lovely face and a bald head, yeah, I know, sounds like a punchline to a joke. But Sinead O'Connor was anything but that. Her performance of "Nothing Compares to You", a song written by Prince was a chart topping monster. The music video for the tune was just as popular.With only that lovely face showing, O'Connor delivered an emotional performance, never seen before in a music video. The sensation behind the song did fizzle of course, and would be O'Connor's only U.S. hit.
Another female artist tugging at those robes had the octave range of an opera star and the beauty and sensuality of a top model. Of course I'm talking about Mariah Carey. Between 1990 and 1996 Carey had 7 top 10 hits, including 3 number one songs with "Hero", "Fantasy", and the monster hit, "One Sweet Day" she recorded with the R&B group 'Boyz to Men'. In '93, female R&B group, 'En Vogue' and female rappers, 'Salt 'n' Pepper', teamed up with their chart topper, "Whatta Man". That same year, another new gal, Sheryl Crow, bolted onto the music scene with the very popular sing-a-along hit, "All I Wanna Do".
Female leads in mostly all male bands were making their mark also. Irish band, 'The Cranberries lead', Dolores O'Riordan, could go from sweet and soft-voiced ballad, like in the song, "Linger", to serious rocking whaler, as she did in "Zombie". R&B group 'The Fugees', had a huge hit with their cover of Roberta Flack's classic, "Killing Me Softly", and at the lead was sweet, soul-voiced, Lauryn Hill. Angelic-faced Gwen Stefani, lead for the band 'No Doubt', had big success with hit, "Don't Speak". Country music had its queens also. The always beautiful Faith Hill had been a country music fan favorite since 1993, but later scored big crossover hits with "This Kiss" and "Breathe" from her 1998 hit album, Faith. 13 year-old LeAnn Rimes came from what seemed like nowhere with her country smash, "Blue". Despite her youthful age, because of her powerful voice, she was immediately compared to legendary country star, Patsy Cline. In '97 Rimes struck big again with crossover hit, "How Do I Live". The song broke a Billboard record with a 69 week chart run.
The major 'Crossover Queen' of the '90's however, was Shania Twain. From 1993, when her self-titled debut album was released, to her 3rd album, The Woman in Me, released in '97, Twain had a string of chart topping country and pop hits. One hit wonders, Meredith Brooks and Australian soap star, Natalie Imbruglia had their moments in the sun as well. Brooks, with her salute to womanhood despite the tune's title, "Bitch", and Imbruglia with her hit single, "Torn". In 1997 the country was stuck by 'girl power' when British import, The Spice Girls hit the music scene. With hits like "Wannabe" and "2 Become 1", the 5 beauties were the toast of the music world for a short time.
From living in her van to pop superstar, Jewel Kilcher, better known as just Jewel, arrived on the charts in 1995 with her debut album, Pieces of You. The multi-platinum album produced three major hits, "Who Will Save Your Soul", "You Were Meant for Me", and the haunting ballad, "Foolish Games". The 21 year-old singer/songwriter and poet was a bit of a modern-day throwback to female artist of the '70's, such as, Carole King and Carly Simon. Her melodic voice and soul-full lyrics made Pieces of You one of the best-selling debut albums of all time. Cut from the same talented cloth was another marvelous singer/songwriter, the red-headed and beautiful Sarah McLaughlin. After three successful albums in her home country of Canada, McLaughlin set her sights south of the border to the states and in 1997, released Surfacing. The album was a critical and commercial success. The most the 29 year-old artist had experienced thus far. Hits like "Building a Mystery", and the heart touching, "Angel", inspired by the fatal overdose of Smashing Pumpkins keyboardist, Jonathon Melvoin, helped Surfacing to sell over 11 million copies in the U.S..
Now, for the woman I believe took the crown for 'Queen of Pop', (if just for a little while), Alanis Morrisette. From Canada, her first American album, Jagged Little Pill, released in 1995, was no problem for pop audiences to swallow. The album produced six chart hitters, including "You Outta Know", "Hand in My Pocket", "You Learn", and the mega hit, "Ironic". Morrisette, along with Pill, was a juggernaut. With 16 million copies sold in the U.S. and 33 million sold worldwide, Pill became the best-selling debut album by a female artist in U.S. history and the third best-selling worldwide. With a host of awards under her belt and adoring fans all over the world, Morrisette was atop the music industry mountain. She has never attained the popularity and success that Jagged Little Pill brought her in the '90's. It's true....fame is fleeting, but the music is forever. And so are the artists who performed it. Go Ladies.
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