For Women Musicians, Maybelle Carter Set The Standard And Broke The Mold
When Rolling Stone surveyed the 100 greatest guitar players of all time in 2015, two women made the list: Bonnie Raitt at No. 89, Joni Mitchell at No. 75. Most guitar player lists fare worse for women; Joni makes it in around No. 50 maybe, but not always. Spin's 2012 list is slightly brighter: Nine spots out of 100 go to women, with Carrie Brownstein at No. 39 and PJ Harvey cresting at No. 27. But no other women break even the top 50, and not a single woman makes the top 25. Guitarworld's list of the Most Badass Guitar Players contains not a single female. No Sister Rosetta Tharpe. No Elizabeth Cotten. No Bobbie Gentry. No Maybelle Carter.
As a woman making music for nearly two decades, most of my working life has been spent in a van with a group of men or in studio with a group of men, or on a stage with a group of men. And for the most part, those men have been my brothers, friends and supporters. I can play and drink beer
