Memorable Women in Music During the ’90s

The 1990’s were as much a revolution for women as they were an explosion for varied musical genres in and of themselves. From the ashes of figures in the 1970’s and 1980’s such as Pat Benatar, Madonna, Joan Jett, Reba McEntire, and countless others came a flurry of vocalists and singer-songwriters. So let’s dive head long into the ascension of the female voice with a genre notoriously known as much for its Gangsta style as anything else in the 1990’s.

Rap/Hip Hop
MC Lyte was one of the ground breaking pioneers for women in the rap game with releases in 1988 and 1989 that made her an immediate vocalist to be reckoned with in the midst of acts such as N.W.A. Despite her lack of chart topping success, her 1991 release Act Like You Know in 1991 was a bit of a departure towards more of a social political commentary on top of R&B rhythm compared to her earlier hardcore rap (which she would return to through the rest of her 1990’s albums to mild success).

As MC Lyte was making a name for herself, other women in the rap game started taking to the mic hard and fast. Yo-Yo made herself known through the label EastWest with three good albums in the early 1990s, starting with her debut Make Way For the Motherlode in 1991. Much like MC Lyte, and despite the presence of Ice Cube, she struggled to get mainstream success with her 1992 release Black Pearl or 1993’s You Better Ask Somebody and she largely faded from the scene by the late 90’s after two mediocre album releases.

Credit to http://www.musicdawn.ru

Despite two album releases in the 1980’s, Salt-N-Pepa finally broke through in 1990 with their album Blacks’ Magic and followed that up with 1993’s Very Necessary, including getting them an appearance at WWF’s WrestleMania 11 to help promote the Lawrence Taylor vs. Bam Bam Bigelow match up (in a rare crossover stunt). Their 90’s albums relied on harder R&B rhythm sections while their growing maturity from the mid 1980’s was immediately evident in their themes and lyrics. They would release one more album in 1997 but had unofficially disbanded by the early 2000’s.

Much like MC Lyte, Queen Latifah came onto the scene in the late 1980’s and made her name throughout the 1990’s and has still been releasing albums to this day. While 1991’s Nature of a Sista was moderately received, it was 1993’s Black Reign that really propelled her forward largely aided by the move to Motown and the return to her tough talking roots that she displayed on 1989’s All Hail the Queen.

Credit to http://www.zomgtalk.com

Missy Elliott was one of the rare MCs who came onto the scene later but exploded with a hammer thanks to 1997’s Supa Dupa Fly and 1999’s Da Real World. Despite a strong debut, Missy would ride a slew of videos and hits to prominence but hasn’t released an album since 2005’s The Cookbook.

Much like Missy Elliott, Faith Evans had been behind the scenes for a while before breaking out on her hip hop funk debut self-titled album in 1995 and followed that up with 1998’s Keep the Faith, an album that leaned more towards the R&B Soul genre described below. She too has continued to release albums throughout the 2000’s including 2012’s R&B Divas.

R&B, Soul, and Dance
By the mid 1990’s, Grunge had (mostly) fallen by the wayside and there was an explosion of genres ready to grab the reins and vanish just as quickly from 1996-1999. One of those genres was the mixture of R&B and dance, largely cultivated behind acts such as Ricky Martin, Marc Anthony, and Jennifer Lopez. Jennifer Lopez, possibly a borderline selection for this article in the minds of some, exploded onto the scene with 1999’s On the 6 slammed higher by the hit single, “If You Had My Love.”

Even prior to Jennifer Lopez, there were stars such as Gloria Estefan whom made her name throughout the 1990’s thanks to furious strong albums from 1991’s Into the Light, 1993’s Mi Tierra, and 1995’s Abriendo Puertas to 1996’s Destiny and 1998’s Gloria!

One of the biggest R&B soul benefactors in the 1990’s, however, was Mary J. Blige whom has consistently been a dominant focal point in music since her 1992 album What’s the 411?. She’d really break out with 1994’s My Life, produced by Sean “Puffy” Combs, that started Mary’s shift from teasing hip hop to more of a pure soul sound. She continued to produce standout albums in 1997’s Share My World and 1999’s Mary cementing herself as the black soul voice of the 1990’s generation of kids.

Prior to her passing, Aaliyah was also a rising star in the R&B genre, however, she released just two albums in the 1990’s: 1994’s Age Ain’t Nothing But a Number and 1996’s One In a Million along with 2001’s self-titled album prior to her death.

TLC, following in the footsteps of Salt-N-Pepa, rode a blend of hip hop and soul with their hit albums in the 1990’s. Despite their debut in 1992 receiving mixed reviews, they exploded in 1994 with CrazySexyCool and kept the pace going in 1999 with FanMail. Unfortunately, the death of Lisa “Left Eye” Lopes curtailed what could’ve been one of the defining bands of the 1990’s through present day.

Out of the ashes of The Fugees came Lauryn Hill, as much known for her sudden (and tragic) fall off after releasing just one album: 1998’s The Miseducation of Lauryn Hill which featured multiple hits in “Doo Wop (That Thing” and “Everything is Everything.” Her single album, not including the MTV Unplugged performance released in 2002, remains cited as one of the best albums of the 1990’s and one of the best female hip hop albums of all-time.

Singer-Songwriters/Adult Alternative Rock
The founder of Lillith Fair, Sarah McLachlan is up there as one of the faces of the adult alternative pop rock that used mellower tempos, sometimes with acoustic guitars, and emphasis on the vocal attributes of the singer. Sarah has been releasing albums right up to 2014’s Shine On but made her name in 1990’s thanks to 1991’s Solace, 1993’s Fumbling Towards Ecstacy (with the memorably haunting hit “Possession”), and 1997’s Surfacing (which featured hits such as “Building A Mystery”).

Paula Cole also made a name for herself in the 1990’s with 1994’s Harbinger proceeding 1996’s This Fire, which included the Dawson’s Creek song, “I Don’t Want to Wait,” itself becoming a massive commercial hit song. She released Amen in 1999 and has continued to release albums in the 2000’s including 2013’s Raven.

Much like the proceeding artists, Jewel debuted with hit songs in 1995’s Pieces of You and followed that up with 1998’s Spirit. She has continued to release albums throughout the 2000’s despite never quite reaching the commercial heights that she landed with her debut album.

Despite sporadic releases (and unfortunate public meltdowns) since, Fiona Apple came onto the scene in 1996 with Tidal hefted by the hit, “Criminal,” and followed that up with 1999’s When the Pawn Hits…, which also had several moderate hits including, “To Your Love,” and “Fast As You Can.”

Yet another female to rise the ranks was Sheryl Crow. She soon became a consistent hit machine starting with 1993’s Tuesday Night Music Club (Strong Enough), 1996’s self-titled album (If It Makes You Happy), and 1998’s The Globe Sessions (There Goes the Neighborhood).

Credit to http://www.popentertainment.com

Finally Tori Amos continued the contemporary focus with her 1992 release, Little Earthquakes and 1994’s Under the Pink. Despite not being as mainstream successful, the solid overall output of her albums extending into 1996’s Boys for Pele and 1998’s From the Choirgirl Hotel made her as synonymous with the 90’s as some of the artists mentioned prior. She’s continued to make albums in the 2000’s and released Unrepentant Geraldines in 2014.

Country
The current crossover Country Pop appeal can largely be rooted down to Shania Twain and her explosion throughout the 1990’s to be one of Country’s biggest female stars, ever. Her debut self-titled album in 1993 was mostly met with mediocre reviews but 1995’s The Woman In Me, largely aided by being produced by Mutt Lange (the man behind AC/DC’s Back In Black and Def Leppard’s Hysteria). Although the album was a success, her crossover smash came with 1997’s Come On Over with several hit tracks. Unfortunately 1999’s On the Way was a bust and she’d release just one more album in 2002.

Faith Hill came onto the Country scene in 1994 with Take Me as I Am and immediately was a starlet on the genre following that with 1995’s It Matters To Me and 1998’s Faith. It was 1999 that really pushed her over thanks to the hit title track, Breathe that crossed over from Country to the pop rock charts and was inescapable.

Despite being unsigned, Lisa Loeb mustered a hit single in “Stay” released in 1994. Lisa would sign with Geffen and produce several solid albums right off the bat in 1995’s Tails and 1997’s Firecracker. Despite lacking critical acclaim early on, Lisa has settled into a critical groove with her releases in the mid 2000’s that has continued with her 2013 release No Fairy Tale.

Hard Rock and Alternative Rock
Riot Grrrl was touched upon in my Grunge/Post Grunge article so I won’t touch on it here.

Fusing their Irish roots with rock, The Cranberries exploded onto the scene with massive hits from their first two albums, Everybody Else Is Doing It, So Why Can’t We? in 1993 and 1994’s No Need to Argue but struggled to receive the same critical acclaim for their next two albums released in 1996 and 1999. Dolores O’Riordan, the lead vocalist, would eventually release a couple of solo albums in 2007 and 2009.

PJ Harvey and producer/engineer Steve Albini rocketed up the rock pantheon during the early 1990’s thanks to 1992’s Dry, 1993’s Rid of Me, and 1995’s To Bring You My Love. Much like contemporary artist Liz Phair (1993’s Exit to Guyville and 1994’s Whip-Smart), she hasn’t quite seen the same commercial success of her early 90’s albums despite continuing to release albums throughout the 2000’s.

Led by former guitarist Jennifer Turner, whom had backed Natalie Merchant, Furslide released just two albums but had moderate success with 1998’s Adventure, which was also produced by Nellee Hooper.

Prior to the rise of Gwen Stefani in the 2000’s, No Doubt was a hit making machine largely riding Stefani’s vocals in the 1990’s mostly thanks to their release of Tragic Kingdom in 1995 and the hit single, “Don’t Speak.” Although their self-titled debut in 1992 hinted at their future success with the moderate single, “Trapped In a Box.”

Jagged Little Pill launched Alanis Morissette in 1996 with a slew of hit songs. Much like Jewel, Alanis has released several albums since (most recently 2013’s Live at Montreaux 2012) but has not quite reached the commercial heights she sustained on her debut album.

Lacking critical acclaim for most of her works, Meredith Brooks is most remembered for her debut album Blurring the Edges from 1997 and it’s hit single, “Bitch.”

Other Noteworthy Artists
The 1990’s were known as much for the sparkled flash of the sudden pop hit ascent and subsequent mysterious vanishing of said acts and that was no stranger to female vocalists or their bands. Sixpence None the Richer rocketed to the top with the hit, “Kiss Me,” off their 1997 self-titled album despite prior releases in 1994 and 1995 that received very little acclaim from critics or fans. The Corrs were another band from Ireland, similar to The Cranberries, whom made a splash in the 1990’s thanks to two albums in 1996’s Forgiven, Not Forgotten (featuring the hit, “Runaway”) and 1998’s Talk on Corners. Their last albums came in the mid 2000’s with 2005’s Home receiving critical acclaim as arguably their best album.

Credit to http://www.eil.com

Other moderate to mega pop bands included B*Witched (with the hit, “Rollercoaster,” off 1998’s self-titled album) and The Spice Girls (releasing just two albums but were massively successful with “Wannabe” off 1996’s Spice).

Natalie Imbruglia followed contemporary acts but explored more of an electronic sound on her debut album, 1998’s Left of the Middle featuring the hit single, “Torn.” Afterwards, Imbruglia would release albums sporadically and not quite catch the same commercial success with her last album being 2009’s Come to Life.

So there you have it, just a small collection of the many female artists whom proliferated the various genres of the 1990’s. Got anybody I missed? Any fond memories of the bands/vocalists mentioned? Share below in the comments section!