The 10 best ever female vocal tracks

It's Saturday so here's the first in a series of posts detailing some of my most and least favourite things. I thought I'd start with a list of my fave girlie tracks.

1. I Love Rock N Roll - Joan Jett and the Blackhearts

2. Can The Can - Suzi Quattro


3. These Boots were made for Walking - Nancy Sinatra



4. Africa Morning - The False Dots


5. The Day the World Turned Dayglo - X-Ray Specs



6. Cold Blue Steel and Sweet Fire - Joni Mitchell
7. Save Me - Aretha Franklyn
8. Rip Her to Shreds - Blondie
9. Grafitti Limbo - Michelle Shocked
10. After the Goldrush - Prelude

Criteria for selection - These tracks all a changed the way I looked at music or were so good I couldn't stop listening to them or they had a deep impact on me.


Joan Jett - The best ever rock chick track. I always sing along to the chorus. It doesnt get any better.

Suzi - When I saw her do this on Top of the Pops, it was just like "Wow". I bought the single the next day and played it 100 times without interruption. My sister Caroline was driven nuts.

Nancy - I was about 4 when I first heard this. It must have deeply affected me because when I dug the clip out on YouTube it was like finding a gold nugget you'd buried. She was probably my first crush

Venessa Sagoe - She sung this on a demo we did. It still makes the hairs stand up on the back of my neck. Venessa was so good. It's not narcisism, she made the song

Poly Styrene - She was the Anti Star. It's a great song, really different. She was the first girl singer I admired solely for what she was and what she stood for. She's still great.

Joni - I love Joni & this is her best track. She is a brilliant singer, songwriter and person. Big Yellow Taxi was the first environmental anthem I ever listened to.

Aretha - The Saints (Aussie punk band) did this. We covered it with the Dots when we had the horn section. I'd never heard the original and then I saw it on a jukebox & thought "Should check this out". It blew my mind. I put it on 10 times in a row, until a skinhead came up and told me he'd kill me if I played it again.

Debbie Harry - My biggest crush ever. This song is so New York. It's great.

Michelle Shocked - Short, Sharp Shocked was my fave album the year it came out. This was the best track. She lost her way after it, but this song is just raw emotion.

Prelude - I just loved this track when it came out. I found the original 45 again of it a couple of weeks ago. Ended up playing it 6 times on the trot. I've no idea what it's about, but it sort of sounds like I imagine the angels in heaven sound as they sing while you climb the pearly stairway (I sincerely hope so anyway !!!!)