Another worthy new book is NOTABLE MOMENTS OF WOMEN IN MUSIC by Jay Warner, a 456-page release by Hal Leonard which looks back over the long, colorful and illustrious history of women in music--the vaudeville and minstrel headliners, the gospel shouters, blues and jazz belters, punk hellraisers, folk singers and pop stars. The list is long but Warner, a six-time Grammy-winning music publisher, writes incisively about his subject, shedding light on the lives and accomplishments of such divas as Barbra Streisand, Madonna, Bessie Smith, Patsy Cline, the Dixie Chicks and Alicia Keyes.
Warner has also coaxed those who are still with us to talk about the women artists who've influenced them. An example is Bonnie Raitt on Etta James: "She's earthy and gritty, ribald in a way that few performers have the guts to be. From the first time I heard her as a teenager, there was just something about that ache I heard that got me bad. Still does."