Radio play is still important in the digital age, esp. in rural areas where cell and internet service can be poor. From my occasional tuning-in to country stations, I'd say female voices are decreasing in numbers. Men are still mostly singing crudely about getting a woman out in their pickup truck. I used to think country radio was better than rock-n-roll in playing women, which probably wasn't saying much. (Rock radio is all but dead now, it's mostly nostalgia for oldies.) As ever, there are plenty of fine musicians out there in all genres, so why do so few make it onto mainstream radio? What version of payola makes that happen today?
6
Just knowing this group is out there makes me happier. What a fantastic group of musicians!
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This is pure marketing to non-country fans. There have always been talented women in country music who have been controversial and even banned fo singing about women's issues like birth control and domestic abuse. So while I applaud them, they are far from the first or the only.
4
Go for it, ladies!!
2
Breast implants isn't the way to do it.
~
I am not totally convinced that we understand what a "supergroup" entails anymore.
[yes... that is how you use anymore]
2
This is the County Music Group you get with a Happy Meal at Mcdonalds.. I saw Dolly on the Grammys and she sang original songs from present to pass .. which not one of these women could ever compose or perform in a lifetime.. more like “The Highway Derivatives”
1
Dixie Chicks! Look what happened to them! Definitely gender bias in reaction to them expressing their views!
9
you might want to reconsider that wardrobe.
3
I get that identity politics makes for some tasty clickbait -- and I appreciate full well a diversity artistic voices -- but your headline belies the decades-long success of country artists ranging from Patsy Cline and Loretta Lynn to Dolly Parton and Tammy Wynette. Each is an inexorable pillar of the genre. And, while those women artists of more recent vintages are too numerous to shoehorn into this post, they include the Dixie Chicks, Alison Krauss, the Judds, Patty Loveless.
Please, enough of the errant generalizations in your headlines.
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When men have to wear short-shorts, peek-a-boo belly tops and uncomfortable high heels? Then, we'll have some equality.
7
the first thing they should change is their clothes
2
At some point, they will be assaulted by the same backwards looking yutzes that went after the Dixie Chicks. And it will be for the very same reason: They dare to speak truth about their male counterparts.
I hope they weather the storm better.
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I'm rooting for ugly musicians who can play really good music.
4
“Mama wants to change that Nashville sound.”
—Jason Isbell (Mr. Amanda Shires)
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Good luck to these talented singers and songwriters, and it seems that one of them plats guitar on stage.
But I couldn't help but notice that the second line: bass, keyboards, drums and guitars are handled by men.
There ae multitudes of women who can handle the second line that assists the front line musicians (singers). The "mission" makes me wonder.
4
The stuff that passes for country music today is totally forgettable. It’s country lite. You want to hear real country music? Listen to Patsy Cline, Loretta Lynn, George Jones and Lefty Frizzell.
4
Keep it up Highway women! Keep speaking out. A few votes here, a few votes there and y'all could be game changers in 2020.
3
They are fabulous.
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What I love about these women is that they are really throwing themselves out there; If people like their music, they will buy it and if they don't they won't.
Just like everybody else... Men included.
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Great music and great stories here, keep lifting up all women making music! And add some diversity to the women in your beautiful music videos, wonderful Highwomen! This is music for everyone, and it will be great to see that point made in the videos.
5
The eternal question no one has figured out? To anyone who grew up outside of the american south and spends more than a few years there it becomes pretty obvious: women are raised in the south to be subservient/dependent on men and earning their own living is frowned upon. It comes from the bible and the bible permeates the culture. (Peter 3:1 Wives in the same way be submissive to your husbands; 1 Corinthians 11:3 ...the head of every man is Christ, and the head of the woman is man. To give just a few examples out of many.)
The result of this? Very little room for shirking your baby-making responsibilities, learning music, playing in bands, and touring incessantly. The more conservative the place the more rigid the gender roles become. If a women happens to play music, having children is deemed more socially acceptable than earning a living by herself from making music. In contrast, with men, earning a living by making music is a socially acceptable means of providing. It is literally as simple as that.
2
They'll be fine, as long as they don't say anything even slightly negative about the president...
Now if you'll excuse me, I have a CD to buy.
4
You donat follow country music very closely if you think that it's all men.
1
These women are gonna rock the world. Emmylou Harris and Linda Ronstadt were also pioneers along with Patsy Cline, Dolly Parton, Loretta Lynn and the Carter Family. Can't wait to hear the HighWomen album. If you need to get a lesson just watch this weeks debut of Ken Burn's "Country Music" series on PBS!
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One of the reasons I used to love listening to country music stations was the number of female voices I would hear. Alas, times change.
4
This is a good article, and I'm excited about the band, and the album however, it feels odd to me that there is absolutely zero mention of the Pistol Annies, another all-female country super group. It seems at least appropriate to acknowledge they tread the same path, even if they somehow did not provide direct inspiration for The Highwomen.
4
I appreciate their artistry and the message of "Redesigning Women," but are there ANY women of color in that video?
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@alangr46 Maybe because black female country music legends is one of the shortest books ever written.
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@alangr46 No women of color! No gays, Romanians, men, puppies or interesting cinematography either. Isn't it enough to hear overly produced singing and accompaniment while watching women tossing obviously empty boxes to each other from atop a firetruck? Sheesh!
3
I had the honor of seeing these ladies perform in Newport, they were MAGIC. There is truly something special going on here. I love that they intend to bring other women into the fold, Sheryl Crow and Dolly Parton were incredible alongside them on stage. I look forward to watching their evolution as a group. Bravo, Ladies!
5
The Country Music Industry is a man's world, I'm sure.
Women musicians have made great country music from its beginnings while, of course, struggling against hidebound,
baked-in, institutionalized discrimination and exploitation.
Right now women are legion in the country music being made outside the Industrial "Country Music" establishment: forget about Nashville. Look to Clifftop, Galax, and Mt. Airy.
Beware any male or female industrial musical product.
Eschew concocted anthems.
Look to the stringbands and the fiddle & steel.
6
I’m sure that these women have plenty of awful stories about being treated as second-class citizens in the music business. That said, I have two issues.
One is, that if you are basing success on radio play, that’s a strategic error. Radio is clearly a dead end. There’s too many ways to access music that offer so much more choice that putting up with ads on a radio station seems uselessly retro. I’m not sure how you make a living doing music in the digital age, but I’m betting that radio isn’t a long term play.
Second, popular success in music should not be the main goal. For all of the musicians I’ve known personally, success was of interest, but not nearly as critical as making music they could be proud of. Plenty of good musicians never make it to big success and they just get by. Some very average musicians make it big, but those never make great music. Shaping your music to the market is a reality, but to make great music, the decider should be the audience inside the musician’s head.
So, to satisfy your soul, it works the other way around: great musicians make great music and sometimes it becomes popular.
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@Marshall Doris the issue here is Country Music radio has become more and more the bastion of only playing young white guys in hats. The lyrics are numbing, but this is foisted on listeners who then indenty it as country music. What happened to the rich tradition of kitty Wells, Charley Pride, Loretta Lynn and yes the Dixie Chicks. If one doesn’t get access to the media channels because of a music producers believe that that’s not the audience wants you end up with what Country Music is today. it was, it can be and should be so much more which is these talented artists point. You go ladies!!!
5
I grow tired of reading how women feel they're one step lower in importance than they should be in achievements. Contrary, to the remarks from The Highwomen in this story, country music does not have an "eternal" gender imbalance. As a male musician, I have never thought that for a minute. For every woman who thinks it does, there's one of the female legends of country music to prove them wrong: Dolly Parton, Loretta Lynn and Patsy Cline to name a few. The list is endless with women who paved their own way in country music. These woman are legends and more women can be too if they give it all they have and quite worrying about a gender imbalance. And, as this article states even The Highwomen's first performance went off well at the Newport Folk Festival. That alone means they do not need to worry about taking a backseat to men in this genre.
14
@J. Franklin It's usually someone in the dominant group -- in this case you're a man in a male/ female issue -- who always has to dismiss the concerns of the minority group and point to a few exceptions.
I've read interviews of Dolly Parton and Loretta Lynn where they've talked about their careers and the difficulties of being a woman in country music. If you asked them, I doubt they would say there are no issues. In fact, this article mentions Dolly Parton being present at Newport and encouraging these women.
I'm a fairly successful female scientist in a field dominated by men. Although I personally haven't been the subjected to any egregious behavior or discrimination, it doesn't mean that other women aren't or weren't. I've seen other women suffer from it ranging from minor things like getting cut off during a discussion regularly to not getting full credit for their work to being sexually assaulted. I also sometimes think about how much MORE successful I could or might be if the barriers were even lower. Maybe I or these women you mention would have gone even further, faster without systemic barriers or prejudices in place. Having one successful concert in nothing compared to say, owning and running a successful record label.
I'm not sure why people feel the constant need to deny other people's experiences when in the end we all benefit when everyone gets a reasonable shot, so the cream can rise to the top, whether it's music or finding cures for diseases.
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@jfrankinfor those who did not have the privilege of attending Newport Folk 2019 the lineup by design featured the greatest number of female acts in its history. Those attending didn’t realize until we were told - we just knew this festival was magical start to finish. The reality is many musical venues and festivals in the last 5 years have been male dominated - when all the male performers were removed from roster only a few women remained. promoters claim that’s what the audience wants when in reality it’s been what the audience has been spoon fed through radio and commercial venues. The Highwomen have lived this despite being talented exceptional performers and songwriters. This album is wonderful and a showcase of their exceptional talents - thank you Highwomen!
5
I grow tired of comments from men who think that their perspective is the only legitimate one.
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