Dear Rebels INTRODUCTION I must have been 10 or 11 when I started noticing rock and roll being played on the radio Pop stars of the time like Donny Osmond weren't doing it anymore for my young ears I was transfixed on rhythm guitar centered songs like All Right Now by Free or Bang a Gong by T. Rex I wanted to make those sounds For Christmas a year or two later I asked for an electric guitar I thought there was no way my parents would buy it for me But they did Can you imagine This was the early 70s and little girls were not jamming on electric guitars You might see a woman with an acoustic guitar sing folk music That wasn't what I wanted I wanted to form an all girl band and make rock and roll I wanted to play guitar loud and express everything I was thinking and feeling through the music I wasn't going to hold back just because people thought girls shouldn't play guitar So when I was a teenager I formed a band with drummer Sandy West We figured if we wanted to form an all girl rock band there had to be other girls who wanted the same thing We set out to find them and formed The Runaways Some people weren't supportive but we loved playing and were not going to let anyone tell us what we could and could not do After the band broke up I was heartbroken but I formed a new band and we were Joan Jett and the Blackhearts I couldn't get a record deal and received more than 20 rejection letters I started selling records at my shows from the trunk of my producer's Cadillac and my indie label Blackheart was born Blackheart is one of the longest running indie labels and one of the first female artist owned labels Over the years things have changed but there are still people out there who believe girls shouldn't do everything that boys can do
We need to change that by teaching kids not to treat one another differently based on gender and making sure there are plenty of women in positions of power It's one of the reasons I love this book the stories show many of the ways women can shape the music business as performers instrumentalists songwriters producers DJs and on the business side too As you flip through these pages you will read about Joni Mitchell whose honest heartfelt lyrics were game changing There's Lizzo who spreads a message of pride and empowerment for girls and brought the flute into pop music and there's Fea a Chicana riot grrrl punk band so fun and fearless I signed them to my own label All the women featured in this book have made an impact beyond the music industry they've inspired people from all walks of life When I was five years old my parents told me I could be anything I wanted to be and I believed them I hope you have someone in your life who is telling you that too And if not let me be that person for you right now you can be who and what you want to be in this world Dream big always You want to be an astronaut or a chef or an archaeologist Go for it You want to make jazz or hip hop or rock and roll Go for it Pick up the guitar or the flute or the cello or whatever helps you to express yourself and feel alive and go for it Play your heart out Joan Jett
6 On BIG MAMA THORNTON BLUES SINGER a chilly day in Alabama while families decorated Christmas trees and sang carols a big present to the world named Willie Mae was born As they grew up Willie and her brothers and sisters would sit in church pews every Sunday and listen to their father preach Willie's favorite part was the music Her mother's singing voice soothed her As she watched the choir ladies sway to the songs Willie tried to listen for only her mother's voice When Willie was just 14 her mother died But the inspiration Willie found in her sweet voice never left her Willie decided to chase her dream of becoming a blues singer She joined a music group in Georgia and traveled all around the South in the 1940s She met new people and saw how Black folks were treated in different towns some towns were welcoming and some were not No matter where she was and who was in the audience she felt larger than life So she renamed herself Big Mama Thornton After years on the road Willie moved to Houston Texas to record music she hoped would play on the radio Her first big break came in 1953. Willie's voice came through the speakers on radios everywhere You ain't nothin but a hound dog she sang loud and proud The record blew up Elvis Presley liked it so much that he rerecorded a rock version of the song But Willie would always be the first to have sung such an iconic hit Willie went on to make several albums including a gospel album inspired by her days listening to her dad preach and her mom sing in a small-town church DECEMBER 11 1926 JULY 25 1984 UNITED STATES OF AMERICA
ILLUSTRATION BY RAFAELA RIJO NÚÑEZ HOUND DOG JUST TOOK OFF LIKE A JET BIG MAMA THORNTON
