WHM: 10 Black Female Music Pioneers You Should Know

Regardless of the genre, women have played a monumental role in crafting the music we know and love today. From the earliest years of folk to the current soul divas on the Billboard charts, the melodies that make up our culture just wouldn’t sound the same if not heard from the feminine perspective.

As you can see from the generations of Black female music icons below, it goes without saying that your favorite song of all time is probably by one of these queens:

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However, the superstar sisters we just mentioned wouldn’t have a path to follow without the pioneers who came before them. While some have received their flowers in the form of accolades, tributes and simple shout-outs, others don’t often get the credit they so much deserve.

That’s why we figured the occasion of International Women’s Day (March 8) would be a perfect time to highlight a handful or two that truly paved the way for modern pop music. Lyrically, vocally and, yes, even spiritually, these 10 women changed the game in their respective genres for others after them to have equal or much greater success. Even if just a contemporary that added something to the musical melting pot, the most important aspect is their presence mattered with a lasting imprint on our culture.

From gospel to girl groups, rock to rap, do yourself a favor and learn something this Women’s History Month from a melodic point of view. Be sure to thank us later.

Celebrate International Women’s Day and the entire Women’s History Month in general with us by taking a look at 10 Black female music pioneers who you should know about if you don’t already:

Janie Hunter
FOLK SPIRITUAL

Folk is one of the earliest forms of song, and Janie Hunter’s singing alongside the Moving Star Hall praise house of Johns Island, South Carolina gave many some of their earliest connections to soul music.

Arizona Dranes
RURAL GOSPEL

Even blindness couldn’t keep Arizona Dranes from singing His word in the holiest of manners. In addition to being a gospel pioneer, she also stands as an icon for the disabled.

Bertha “Chippie” Hill
VAUDEVILLE/CLASSIC BLUES

If you love the sounds of Louis Armstrong, his frequent collaborator also deserves some love as well. Motherhood, The Great Depression and a planned comeback thwarted by a fatal car accident would all be catalysts in preventing Chippie from reaching her full potential.

Sister Clara Hudmon aka “The Georgia Peach”
GOSPEL-HYMN

Although Sister Clara Hudmon never truly saw the heights of contemporaries like Rosetta Tharpe and Mahalia Jackson, her unsung story still helped to influence the rise of gospel music overall.

Carmen McRae
BEBOP

Creating the platform for modern day jazz, the bebop movement led in part by Carmen McRae is a timeless period in music history. Her melodies are effortlessly relatable and hit your heart strings at the core.

The Bobbettes
GIRL GROUP R&B

The switch-up from lamenting over “Mr. Lee” to the hilariously scathing “I Shot Mr. Lee” is iconic in itself. We see where TLC and Destiny’s Child got that innate sassiness from.

Merry Clayton
ROCK N’ ROLL

Many believe The Rolling Stones’ signature hit, “Gimme Shelter,” wouldn’t be what it is without Merry’s hard-to-miss vocals on the chorus. Forever stamped in rock n’ roll history.

Carol Douglas
DISCO

The title of Black disco queen may bring to mind Donna Summer or Gloria Gaynor at first thought, but Carol Douglas had a handful of bangers of her own to bring any and all to the dance floor. We’re sure Sex And The City fans remember this one:

Toshi Reagon
ROCK

Even with being inspired by the likes of Led Zeppelin and Black Sabbath, Toshi Reagon never strayed away from her upbringing under the guise of musical parents at the helm of the civil rights movement. The message translates so powerfully in her music, and helped spearhead the success of later contemporaries Ani DiFranco and Meshell Ndegeocello.

Tanya “Sweet Tee” Winley
HIP-HOP/RAP

As we watch the likes of Megan Thee Stallion and Cardi B dominate stages across the world with their lyricism, it’s wild to think there was a time when that simply was a pipe dream for women in the world of hip-hop. Still, that didn’t stop Sweet Tee from stepping to the mic and dropping some of the earliest (and rawest!) rhymes on wax by a female emcee. We just wish her time in the game wasn’t so short-lived.