10 women of music who Rocked our world.

1) Mimi Fox

Down Beat said “She’s The Woman is everything jazz guitar is supposed to be.” And boy, is she the woman.  Her unchained solos, her ability to enchant the guitar into doing her bidding, the melodic collection and the stylish twists make her the Queen of Jazz.



2) Ella Fitzgerald

Known as “Lady Ella” and the “First Lady of Song” with a vocal range spanning three octaves, she is revered for her intonation, phrasing purity of tone and supreme improvisational ability. Her journey from her tough childhood to singing in The White House for President Reagan is an inspiration by itself. The jazz queen worked with giants Louis Armstrong and Duke Ellington amongst countless others. One listen to her should provide enough reason why.



3) Asha Bhosle

Considered as one of India’s most versatile singers, with a career spanning over four decades with her range of songs from film pop to qawwalis, Rabindra Sangeets and Nazrul Geetis. Having sung over 12,000 songs in over 14 languages including Hindi, Urdu, English, Russian, Czech, Nepali and Malay, she has etched her name into the history of music. Her music from Naya Daur, Teesri Manzil and Umrao Jaan have held a timeless spell over nation of movie lovers.



4) Grace Slick

She is credited with being the most important figure in the 1960s psychedelic rock genre, and is famous for her witty, often acid-tongued, thought provoking lyrics. During her musical career, Slick was a member of several rock bands: The Great Society, Jefferson Airplane, and Jefferson Airplane’s successor bands, Jefferson Starship and Starship. Her famous solo albums include Manhole, Software and Dream which was nominated for a Grammy Award.



5) Aretha Franklin

She  is a singer, songwriter, and pianist, also known in the music world as “The Queen of Soul”. She is renowned for her soul recordings but is also adept at jazz, rock, blues, pop, gospel, and even opera. Her first Atlantic single, “I Never Loved A Man”, in 1967, a blues ballad that introduced listeners to her gospel style ended up being Franklin’s breakthrough single reaching the Top 10 on the Hot 100, and holding the #1 spot for 7 weeks on Billboard’s R&B Singles chart. On February 10, 2008, at the 50th Annual Grammy Awards, she was awarded her 20th Grammy.



6) Farida Khanum

Farida Khanum is a renowned Pakistani Ghazal singer from Punjab who has been given the title “Malika-e-Ghazal” (Queen of Ghazal) in tribute to her singing talents. The ghazal she is most famously associated with is “Aaj Jaane Ki Zidd Naa Karo”. In 2005, she was awarded the Hilal-e-Imtiaz, Pakistan’s highest civilian honour by President Pervez Musharraf. She has been exemplary in demonstrating how music can cross borders to bring India and Pakistan together.



7) Janis Joplin

The lead singer of the famed Big Brother and the Holding Company in the 1960s in ranked #46 on their list of 100 Great Artists of all time. Time magazine called Joplin “probably the most powerful singer to emerge from the white rock movement”, and Richard Goldstein, in Vogue magazine, wrote that Joplin was “the most staggering leading woman in rock…she slinks like tar, scowls like war…clutching the knees of a final stanza, begging it not to leave…Janis Joplin can sing the chic off any listener.”



8 ) Shubha Mudgal

She is considered India’s finest. And rightly so. With Abke Saawan being an evergreen number, to her revival of texts from Vaishnava Pushti poets, as well as the Nirguna poerty of Kabir and Amir Khusrau. Her versatile abilities have led to her composing for dancers, ballets, documentaries, as well as for soaps and movies. She is as dedicated as they come.



9) Joni Mitchell

Mitchell could be labelled a “musician’s musician”; her work has had an enormous influence on artists as disparate as Annie Lennox, Jeff Buckley, Dan Fogelberg, Elvis Costello, Tori Amos, Juice Newton, Maynard James Keenan, Clannad, Madonna, Prince, Björk, George Michael, Conor Oberst, Morrissey, The Roots, The Sundays, KT Tunstall, Meg & Dia and Marie Fredriksson. As a teenager, she taught herself ukulele and, later, guitar and began performing at parties, which eventually led to busking and gigs playing in coffeehouses and other venues in Saskatoon, Canada. Her unique guitar style led the All Music Guide to going as far as stating that, “When the dust settles, Joni Mitchell may stand as the most important and influential female recording artist of the late 20th century”.



10) Norah Jones

Her debut album in 2002 received 5 Grammy Awards, including “Best New Artist”. The daughter of musical maestro Ravi Shankar and half-sister of sitarist Anoushka Shankar is regarded as the most successful recording artist of the decade having sold in excess of 40 million records worldwide. Her blend of of mellow, acoustic pop with soul and jazz as well as the occasional dark lyrics have captured the hearts of a thirsty audience.