Some Great Women Songwriters

Since I live in Nashville and have had at least somewhat of a career as a songwriter, I want to talk about an area where women truly excel and that is in the area of singer/songwriters.

I have long been amazed at the plethora of talent among new female songwriters.  Going back to Joni Mitchell, each succeeding generation of new songwriters produces a remarkable body of work, much of it uniquely feminist in its expression.  I am sure Sheryl Crow, Shawn Colvin, Lucinda Williams, Cat Power and Jonatha Brooke, are familiar names, but these represent the best known, tip of the iceberg.

If you haven’t already discovered the next few women artists, I think it well worth the investment in time to do so.  Here’s some information about these talented women from the All Music Guide:

Carrie Newcomer: Carrie Newcomer first gained attention singing and writing in the folk band Stone Soup . She uses styles other than folk, such as jazz, blues and rock. Her solo career consists of albums like Visions and Dreams (1991), An Angel at My Shoulder (1994), The Bird or the Wing (1995) and 2000’s The Age Of Possibility . Hoping to be an inspiration for young songwriters, she became an artist in residence at several colleges. She learned a lot from working with students, and when she stepped back into the studio for 2002’s The Gathering of Spirits , she displayed a maturity not seen in her work up to that point.

Mindy Smith: Smith was born in Long Island, NY, and with the encouragement of her parents developed a passionate interest in music at an early age, taking up singing as a hobby. In 1994, Smith’s mother lost a long battle with cancer, and after her passing Smith and her father moved to Knoxville, TN. Once they settled in their new home, Smith began exploring the musical heritage of the South and became enamored with folk, bluegrass, and the blues, developing a special enthusiasm for Alison Krauss , Shawn Colvin , and the Cox Family .

Before long, Smith was writing songs and playing local shows, and in 1998 she decided to move to Nashville in hopes of making music her career. With a mere $300 in her pocket, Smith wasted little time in making a name for herself in Music City, and after winning the Tin Pan South Open Mike Competition in 2000 and becoming a finalist in the prestigious Kerrville Folk Festival’s New Folk Competition, Smith earned a publishing deal with Big Yellow Dog Music. Smith’s big break came in 2003, when she was tapped to appear on Just Because I’m a Woman: The Songs of Dolly Parton , a high-profile tribute album to the long-reigning country superstar that found her performing alongside Emmylou Harris , Norah Jones , Alison Krauss , and Parton herself, who was by all accounts quite impressed with the young performer’s interpretation of “Jolene.”

Rosie Thomas: Singer/songwriter Rosie Thomas has been shaping her sweet, delicate song stylings since her early childhood, but she made a name for herself when she joined Motor City dream pop band Velour 100 . Thomas sang and toured with the band during the late ’90s before jumping ship for a solo career. Mixing up the folk-pop of Joni Mitchell with indie sensibilities, Thomas found herself surrounded by a new scene. She and Damien Jurado dueted on “Wages of Sin” for Sub-Pop’s 2001 compilation Badlands: A Tribute to Bruce Springsteen’s Nebraska as well as guested on "Parking Lot" on Jurado’s Ghost of David. Thomas, however, introduced something more reflective, humorous, and intriguing on her solo debut, When We Were Small (Sub-Pop), in early 2002. When she’s not making music, Thomas’ comedic alter ego, a bespectacled pizza delivery girl who she’s named Sheila, may also appear. Her winning streak continued in late 2003 with the release of her second full-length release, Only with Laughter Can You Win. If Songs Could Be Held followed in 2005.

Carrie Rodriguez Reared in Austin, TX, and schooled at Berklee, fiddler/singer Carrie Rodriguez made her recording debut in 2002 alongside country-folk legend Chip Taylor on the Let’s Leave This Town album. Taylor first heard her at the 2001 South by Southwest Music Festival and invited her to tour with him, which she did for years. She released her debut album, Seven Angels on a Bicycle , in 2006.

Keren Ann: Singer/songwriter Keren Ann Zeidel, who records under the name Keren Ann, was born in Israel in 1974 to a Dutch-Javanese mother and a Russian-Israeli father. She was nine when her parents bought her a guitar, on which she learned to play songs by Joni Mitchell and Serge Gainsbourg . In the years to come, she would also learn to play the harmonica and the clarinet. Zeidel and her family, including a brother and sister, lived in Israel and Holland before settling in Paris, France, when she was 11.

In the 1990s Zeidel met musician/arranger Benjamin Biolay , with whom she would form a fruitful partnership. In 1997 she had a small part (as Judith) in Alexandre Arcady’s K, and in 1998 she released a couple of singles (including “I+I+I”) as a member of Shelby, but they attracted little attention.

<i>Zeidel released her full-length debut, La Biographie de Luka Philipsen , in 2000. On it, she combined trip-hop, folk, and French pop to sublime effect. Lyrically and thematically, she was inspired by her family history; the name Philipsen, for example, comes from her maternal grandmother. Biolay assisted with the writing and arranging. As influences on her unique sound, Zeidel has cited Russian literature, Jewish folk music, French poetry, Bob Dylan , and Suzanne Vega , whose "Luka" is also referenced in the title (in 2001, Zeidel would open for Vega in France). La Biographie was enthusiastically received in Europe, garnering favorable comparisons to Francoise Hardy , Portishead , Beth Orton , and Dido . In addition, it earned several nominations for the French equivalent of the Grammy, the Victoires: Best New Discovery (Artist and Album) and Best Song of the Year. The song “Jardin d’Hiver” (“Wintergarden”) was co-written by Biolay and became a hit for Henri Salvador . Zeidel and Biolay contributed a total of five songs to his best-selling Chambre Avec Vue. A version of “Jardin d’Hiver” also appears on La Biographie .

In 2001 Zeidel assisted with the writing of Biolay’s Rose Kennedy . Her follow-up to La Biographie , La Disparition ("The Disappearance"), came out the following year. She recorded a version in English at the same time. While preparing the album, Zeidel listened to a lot of Beatles , Chet Baker , and Tom Waits recordings, resulting in a bluesier, jazzier sound. As with La Biographie , much of the material was written with Biolay, who has also claimed the Beatles as an influence. Late in 2003 the English-language Not Going Anywhere arrived and was distributed by Blue Note in the U.S. the following summer. After relocating to New York, Keren Ann released the half-French, half-English Nolita in 2004, which marked the first time she worked without Biolay, producing and writing most of the tracks on the album herself. In 2007 her self-titled full-length hit shelves.

There are countless more, and these only represent one stylistic genre, folk-country, which is a fave of mine. And, it would great if commenters would tell me who they love so I could discover even more great new artists.