When you think of your favorite songs or genres of music, most likely there was a powerful woman behind it. The list of women who have broken the boundaries of the music industry could go on forever. From Cher to Dolly Parton and Kesha to Adele, there are so many influential women in music that changed the game forever.
Any list you lookup of the most influential women in music, Ella Fitzgerald is going to be on it. For good reason, as she is called “The First Lady Of Song.” She was known for having impeccable diction, phrasing, timing, perfect pitch, and amazing improvisational ability in her scat singing. For this, she was the first black woman to win a Grammy award and went on to win 13 in total. In her lifetime she had sold over 40 million albums, which just shows how good she was.
Carole King started out as a songwriter and made her career kick-off with the song “Will You Love Me Tomorrow” for The Shirelles and it became a No. 1 and was the first No. 1 in history for an all-black girl group in the U.S. King started writing songs for other artists, even the song “(You Make Me Feel Like) A Natural Woman” for Aretha Franklin. She eventually came out with her own. Album, “Tapestry.” Then in 2013, she became the first woman to win the Library of Congress Gershwin Prize for Popular Song. Songwriters now can thank Carole King for paving a little bit of the way.
“The Godmother of Punk” Patti Smith paved the way for genres like punk, grunge, alternative rock, and indie to come about. She made her debut in 1975 with the album “Horses” and made music with absolutely no room for apologies. Artists like Bikini Kill, Kurt Cobain, The Smiths, and a bunch more all cite Smith as one of their influences. 
There are also more modern artists that are breaking the walls of the music industry right now, like Beyonce. The only woman to have all of her debut albums released at No. 1. There’s also Lizzo, who spreads body positivity with her music that has won her multiple awards. Dua Lipa and Taylor Swift are in the top five most-streamed artists on Spotify, and both have crazy talent and music careers that are still reaching new highs. All of these women are extremely gifted and have several awards to prove it.
Beyonce said it first, girls really do run the world. This is just a small example of all the women who have crashed head first into the music world to pave the way for artists to come. This Women’s History Month be thankful for all the women who have worked to bring the industry to what it is today.