The theme for this year’s International Women’s Day was “Make It Happen.” The theme encourages the celebration of women’s achievements and calls for greater equality amongst the genders. In recent weeks, calls for greater equality have been in the forefront of pop culture. The Grammys aired a video of President Obama speaking about violence against women and Brooke Axtell, an anti-violence activist, spoke honestly about her experience as a survivor of domestic abuse. At the Oscars a couple of weeks later, Patricia Arquette made reference to gender inequality in America when she said, “It’s our time to have wage equality once and for all, and equal rights for women in the United States of America.” These public displays have gathered both support and criticism but more importantly, they have increased the dialogue around issues of gender inequality.
Our blog post today does not centre on what women can achieve but instead on what women have achieved in popular culture. For your listening pleasure, below is a playlist taken out of the Higher Education Division’s newest publication, Rock’n America: A Social and Cultural History by Deena Weinstein. The playlist features notable songs by girl groups of the 1960s:
Suggested Listening: Girl Groups
1) The Chantels, “Maybe” (1958)
2) Rosie and the Originals, “Angel Baby” (1960)
3) The Shirelles, “Will You Love Me Tomorrow” (1960)
4) The Marvelettes, “Please Mr. Postman” (1961)
5) The Shirelles, “Dedicated to the One I Love” (a hit in 1959 and when re-released in 1961)
6) The Crystals, “Da Doo Ron Ron” (1963)
7) The Chiffons, “He’s So Fine” (1963)
8) The Angels, “My Boyfriend’s Back” (1963)
9) The Ronettes, “Be My Baby” (1963)
10) The Shangri-Las, “Leader of the Pack” (1964)
To download all of the playlists from Rock’n America, visit our blog post from last month.
