Celebrating women in music during Women's History Month.
By 1939 opera singer Marian Anderson was lauded worldwide, but a concert planned for Washington's Constitution Hall was blocked by the Daughters of the American Revolution, because of her race. With Eleanor Roosevelt's support the concert took place instead on the steps of the Lincoln Memorial. This restored live recording features this amazing musical achievement and important piece of history, as well as a full live performance in Copenhagen, where she was held in especially high regard. The album is acclaimed for restoring the "power and timbre" of Anderson's voice and preserving a crucial moment in American social history.
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Fetch the Bolt Cutters is the fifth studio album by American singer-songwriter Fiona Apple. The album was recorded from 2015 to 2020, largely at Apple's home in Venice Beach. Rooted in experimentation, the album largely features unconventional percussion. While conventional instruments, such as pianos and drum sets, do appear, the album also features prominent use of non-musical found objects as percussion. Apple described the result as "percussion orchestras". These industrial-like rhythms are contrasted against traditional melodies, and the upbeat songs often subvert traditional pop structures.
Florence is at the peak of her powers, coming into a fully realized self-knowledge, poking fun at her own self-created persona, playing with ideas of identity, masculine and feminine, celebratory, stepping into her place in the iconic pantheon.
Three-time Blues Foundation Traditional Female Artist award winner, Sue Foley's new album One Guitar Woman is a heartfelt tribute to the female pioneers of the guitar including Memphis Minnie, Lydia Mendoza, Maybelle Carter, Ida Presti, and Sister Rosetta Tharpe. The album showcases the dexterity of Foley's acoustic nylon string guitar skills as she expands on her blues playing into other genres like Piedmont fingerpicking, traditional country, flamenco, and classical.
Aretha features 20 highlights from the Queen of Soul's 4CD set including previously unreleased tracks "Call Me" (Alternate Version), "Until You Come Back To Me" (Work Tape), "You Light Up My Life," and "(You Make Me Feel Like) A Natural Woman" (Live), which was originally broadcast on The 38th Annual Kennedy Center Honors on 12/19/2015.
Aretha also features artwork by celebrated artist Makeba KEEBS Rainey, who provides her signature style to a photo of the Queen Of Soul taken by the legendary photographer, Neal Preston.
Melody Gardot is an American jazz singer, songwriter, composer, and musician who blends jazz, Latin, and Brazilian sounds. This 2 disc set contains 25 tracks she selected herself. The cuts span her six studio albums, from Worrisome Heart in 2007 to Entre eux deux in 2022, and include remixes, live recordings, and two previously unreleased tracks. This collection gathers not just the best of the best, but also the best of the rest.
One of the most important vocalists in the history of Peruvian music, Chabuca Granda continued to make her presence felt a decade after her death in 1983. Caetano Veloso used her song, "Fina Estampa," as the title track of an album released in 1994, while her song, "Maria Lando," written with Cesar Calvo, provided the North American breakthrough for Peruvian vocalist Susana Baca the following year. Granda's song "La Flor De La Canela" has become an anthem for the city of Lima. Granda worked with a lengthy list of influential guitarists including Oscar Aviles, Martin Torres, Lucho Gonzalez, Alvaro Lagos, and Felix Casaverde. The Platinum Collection contains some of her most memorable songs.
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The Highwomen is an American country music supergroup composed of Brandi Carlile, Natalie Hemby, Maren Morris, and Amanda Shires. Naming the ensemble after 1980s outlaw country supergroup, The Highwaymen, Shires and Carlile leveraged their recent successes and recruited top female country artist Morris and gifted songwriter Hemby to join them, mirroring the earlier group's star power. The Highwomen is their debut studio album.
Making her solo debut, Lauryn Hill, a member of the Fugees, produces much of the record, ranging from hip-hop to smooth R&B.
The timeless artistry of Billie Holiday is something that every generation gets to discover for themselves. The iconic songs on this collection showcase Holiday's unique ability to infuse every lyric with unparalleled emotion and depth. With her distinctive voice and incomparable phrasing, Holiday remains an enduring performer and a powerful influence on generations of musicians. Great Women Of Song is a testament to Holiday’s profound legacy and an essential addition to any music collection.
Unleash the rebel within with the electrifying Joan Jett & the Blackhearts: Greatest Hits, a compilation album that brings together the fiercest and most beloved tracks from rock 'n' roll's eternal queen. Perfect for both casual and devoted fans alike, this album is a journey through the career of a woman who smashed through the glass ceilings of the music industry with her guitar, charisma, and unwavering determination. This 2019 collection showcases the band's career-spanning hits like "I Love Rock 'n' Roll," "Bad Reputation," "Crimson and Clover," and "I Hate Myself for Loving You."
More Joan Jett and the Blackhearts streaming on Freegal Music+
She's So Unusual is the debut solo studio album by American pop singer Cyndi Lauper, released on October 13, 1983. It contains the singles, "Girls Just Want to Have Fun," "Time After Time," "She Bop," and "All Through the Night;" making Lauper the first female singer to have four top-five singles on the Hot 100 from one album. In 2019, the album was selected by the Library of Congress for preservation in the United States National Recording Registry for being "culturally, historically, or aesthetically significant."
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Princess of Power is the sixth studio album by the Welsh singer and songwriter Marina. It consists of being a maximalist-influenced, emotional dance and revamped synth-pop record that explores themes such as empowerment, feminism, sexual freedom, and tragedy.
Song for Our Daughter is the seventh studio album by British singer-songwriter Laura Marling. The album's title is figurative, with songs written to an fictional daughter. Marling states that it allowed her to offer her "all the confidences and affirmations I found so difficult to provide myself." Marling was inspired by Maya Angelou's book Letter to My Daughter (2009), which she read a few years before the album's release. Marling did, however, later gave birth to a daughter in 2023.
Joni 75: A Birthday Celebration is a live tribute album to Canadian singer-songwriter Joni Mitchell by various artists performing cover versions of her songs. The album, was recorded in Los Angeles on November 7, 2018, to commemorate Mitchell's 75th birthday. A DVD of the concert was also released in 2019.
Janelle Monáe is a retro-futuristic American singer, rapper, songwriter, arranger, producer, actor, and author. On the Grammy-nominated album Dirty Computer they fuse soul, funk, hip-hop, R&B, new wave, pop, and other genres into conceptual, entertaining art. Featuring appearances by Brian Wilson, Zoë Kravitz, Grimes, and Pharrell Williams. It was chosen as the best album of 2018 by the Associated Press, New York Times, and NPR.
Diamonds & Rhinestones: The Greatest Hits Collection is a compilation album by American country music sensation Dolly Parton. The album includes Parton's collaborations with Kenny Rogers, Loretta Lynn and Tammy Wynette, and Swedish dance duo Galantis. The album also includes songs featured in Parton's films, including "9 to 5" from the 1980 film of the same name, "Tennessee Homesick Blues" from Rhinestone, and "Red Shoes" from Dumplin'.
Haydée Mercedes Sosa was an Argentine singer who was popular throughout Latin America and many countries outside the region. With her roots in Argentine folk music, Sosa became one of the preeminent exponents of El nuevo cancionero. She gave voice to songs written by many Latin American songwriters. Deja la Vida Volar - En Gira (En Vivo) is a live album which won the Best Folk Album at the 12th Annual Latin Grammy Awards. This acclaimed release captures the essence of her touring performances, featuring her iconic voice and interpretations of Latin American music, highlighting her role as "La Voz de América."
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Mavis Staples I’ll Take You There: An All-Star Concert Celebration was a once in a lifetime event created, filmed, and recorded at Chicago’s Auditorium Theatre. The historic night brought some of the biggest names in music together to honor the Rock & Roll Hall of Famer and American icon. Throughout an unparalleled career that spans over six decades, Staples’ soulful songs of justice and equality have become a soundtrack for the Civil Rights Movement and inspired countless other artists and activists. The two-and-a-half-hour concert film and available audio recordings feature over 20 once-in-a-lifetime performances. Both the album and the film shine a light on performers who do not often share the same stage in order to honor Mavis Staples by singing her classic, iconic songs.
American singer and songwriter Donna Summer gained prominence during the disco era of the 1970s and became known as the "Queen of Disco," as her music gained a global following. Love to Love You Donna is the 2012, a posthumous remix album of some of her biggest hits.
Sister Rosetta Tharpe paved the way for the likes of Aretha Franklin, Mahalia Jackson, Sam Cooke and the whole of the Soul movement, whilst influencing many a Rock 'n' Roller along the way, Elvis included. The Authorized Sister Rosetta Tharpe Collection presents 27 of her best sides showcasing her vocal talents as well as her fabulous guitar playing.
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