August 10, 2010

Who Is the Queen of Rock?

A few posts ago Dan asked us all what our favorite rock magazine is, then yesterday I heard of this new one that sounds interesting and worth checking out: Venus Zine is a "Chicago-based national magazine Venus Zine, the leading source for emerging talent in music, art, film, fashion, and culture"


They recently polled their readers and asked industry insiders to answer this question:


Who is the Queen of Rock?


I was thrilled to learn that my top choice was the winner, Chrissie Hynde.




Patti Smith has been called the Godmother of Punk. Joan Jett is often termed the Original Riot. Michael Jackson will always be known as the Prince of Pop. Aretha Franklin will forever be the Queen of Soul. The big question is“Who is the Queen of Rock?”
There are so many brilliant women in the history of Rock – this decision is a tough one, but it is time to name the the girl to hold the crown along with Elvis... , along with input from polled online readers and industry insiders decided upon this rocker chick, and the winner is...Chrissie Hynde.


"Long before it was widely accepted for women to front Rock ‘n’ Roll bands. Chrissie Hynde had no problem stepping up to the mic and into the spotlight. Best known for leading the Pretenders since its inception in the late ‘70s. Hynde has been a one-woman wrecking ball and also a magnetic force field of rock music for the past 35-plus years.
Chrissie Hynde will always be the “talk of the town,” and for that Venus Zine proudly crowns her the Queen of Rock."
There next issue hits the stands on August 17, be sure to check out their article on Chrissie.

Now the Big Question Is:

Who do you think should be crowned "Queen of Rock"?

I love Chrissie and have written about her Here, Here and on several other posts that can be found if you click on her name in the sidebar under "labels".

10 comments:

Dan said...

Hey there,
I will have to check out the new Zine but as far as the Queen of Rock tag I would have to say that Janis Joplin would have to be right at the top. She opened future doors for women in rock big time. I also think very highly of Grace Slick and her ability to work in a man's world and also the quality of her voice. Then there was The Runaways who set the standard for all girl groups, but I guess for her sheer determination to lead a rock and roll band Chrissie Hynde was all that and more. I would have to agree with your and the Zine's assessment. If you Google it you will come up with a woman named Wanda Jackson. Go to her website and listen to her music. A bit of a cross between country and rock and roll. Sort of Eddie Cochranish.
Thanks for the post!

Perplexio said...

This is a toughie as there are multiple women I feel are worthy of the title: Joan Jett, Cherie Currie, Lita Ford (all from The Runaways), the aforementioned Chrissie Hynde, Janis Joplin, and even Pat Benatar. Strong arguments could be made for just about any of them. I'd give the nod to Pat Benatar over Chrissie Hynde. As for the lasses from The Runaways-- the trouble there is that they were all so talented to recognize any one of them over the others would do the others a huge disservice.

If you were to ask Queen of Pop on the other hand-- even though I don't care for her at all-- I'd have to give the nod to Madonna. She's the master at reinventing herself every few years to remain relevant/current. Her record sales and repeated sold out tours speak volumes. I find her a bit too self important, posturing, and overall pretentious but I can't deny that I actually enjoy some of her music despite my general distaste of her as a person.

Bar L. said...

Dan, I think Janis opened the door for all other female rockers and she has a special place in my heart that can't be replaced by anyone else. Sadly, she just wasn't around very long :(

Perplex, I don't consider Pat Benatar real rock and roll. I would file her under "pop rock". Chrissie was all about the music, the grit of rock, not the cute outfits and sexy clothes, etc. I think when I heard the line in one of their songs that says "not me, baby, I'm too precious, so fuck off" I knew she was not the typical female lead vocalist. She's a rocker that happens to be female, not a female rocker. You know what I mean?

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iStores said...

It's either Chrissie or Debbie Harry - what a battle that would be!

kc bob said...

I am still voting fro Grace Slick.. but I am clueless.

Jeff said...

I don't know who the Queen is, but my personal favorite female rocker is Patti Smith. I think Horses may be the best female fronted rock album. Her cover of "Hey Joe" is absolutely phenomenal and is easily one of my favorite cover songs. Her music was smart and passionate and she definitely deserves the title of "Godmother of Punk." I'm not sure if I would say she is the Queen of rock, but she is my favorite female artist.

Perplexio said...

With Benatar, the clothes/the look all that were a construct of her label, Chrysalis, which she first had a love then a hate relationship with due to their attempts to end her relationship with her eventual husband and for trying to make her feel ashamed of being pregnant.

Once she was able to do the music she wanted to do the way she wanted to do it and wasn't pushed into doing things by record execs that rocker in her came out a bit more.

Maxi said...

Is Tina Turner, The Acid Queen !!!

because Janis died too young..

kc bob said...

Tina Turner? It does not get any better than Tina!

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