She Bop: The Definitive History of Women in Popular Music

Lucy O'Brien's most recent release, [b:Lead Sister: The Story of Karen Carpenter 80505740 Lead Sister The Story of Karen Carpenter Lucy O'Brien https://i.gr-assets.com/images/S/compressed.photo.goodreads.com/books/1674135278l/80505740.SX50.jpg 105439642], was an incisive and heartbreaking biography of the 1970s soft-rock superstar who died too young in part because of a sexist music industry. So I thought She Bop would be another hit. And it was, but in a very different way.Instead of the intimate portrait of one woman, O'Brien takes us through 100 years, five continents, and scores of female musicians. And not just the singers/band members, but also the producers, songwriters and DJs. There are definite through lines about the creative ways women found to combat sexism, racism, homophobia, etc., and many of the interviews are fascinating. But I could only read a couple of chapters at a time to avoid overwhelming myself. I'd recommend this book as a helpful reference tool, but it may not appeal to casual readers.