I was sitting around with some guitar students the other day and asked them to name a female guitarist. They couldn’t think of anyone. Granted, 10-year-olds aren’t that savvy when it comes to musicians, but even my adult students are hard-pressed to come up with anyone beyond Sheryl Crow.

I thought, heck, who are the top female guitarists? I consulted with a few people plus my opinionated self and came up with this list. I included women who really know their way around a fretboard and those who were innovators of a certain style. (I left out singer-songwriters who might be good at what they do but can’t blaze their way through a complex song.)

Emily Remler was a jazz guitarist who was at home playing fusion, bebop or whatever was thrown her way. She released her first album in 1981 and in the next few years worked with veterans like Herb Ellis and Rosemary Clooney. Sadly, she was only 32 when she passed away in 1990.

Laura Chavez is a blues guitarist who can make her instrument wail, moan and make you cry mama. Hot damn, she's good.

Sister Rosetta Tharpe looked like a prim gospel performer with her print dresses and conservative hairstyle, but she could wail on an electric guitar. Popular in the '30s and '40s, her style influenced many musicians, from Aretha Franklin to the Stones.

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I spend most of my time hiding my iPod from Sarah since she tends to "borrow" it for my '70s, '80s and 90s music. But she recently found where I'd hidden it and teased me about one of my playlists, "Hot Rocker Chicks." What can I say, the women rockers in this playlist are hot!

Since I can't find a way to talk about hot rocker women on our video blog "She Made Me Watch This" (we only discuss TV shows and movies), I thought I'd share my Hot Rocker Chicks playlist here. As a pre-emptive disclaimer, I don't consider these guilty pleasure songs, but if that keeps me from looking too shallow, then they are!

"Kiss Me Deadly" by Lita Ford

Sarah and I were in Palm Springs with scribegrrrl when scribegrrrl posted "These '80s sisters are twisted" and added "Kiss Me Deadly." Sarah had to listen to scribegrrrl and me go on and on about how hot Lita Ford was in the video.

I'm not a fan of Sarah's guilty pleasure song, "Close My Eyes Forever" by Lita Ford and Ozzy Osbourne — the only Lita Ford song I play and watch is "Kiss Me Deadly." Have you seen Lita slink around at the beginning of the video? She's in black. Has long, blond hair. And she's hot! I'm a sucker for blondes with long hair dressed in black (that's how Sarah got me).

Here's the video: … continue reading

Rock 'n' roll's seminal girl group is coming to the big screen. The behind-the-music story of sex, drugs and rock 'n' roll that was the Runaways is being turned into a new movie, titled Neon Angels. The lives of former members Joan Jett, Cherie Currie and the late Sandy West will be explored in the film. Joan also serves as an executive producer.

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The band, which started as a marketing ploy, went on to become one of the founding mothers of female rock. Brought together by producer Kim Fowley, the Runaways' name was supposed to evoke "jailbait on the run."

by scribegrrrl

EW.com is featuring an '80s hair-metal band photo quiz. Trouble is, it's exclusively male. Just to prove that the urge to rock is not based solely on testosterone, here are a few '80s ladies who totally rocked their hair.

Vixen: If their perms don't hypnotize you, their stiletto boots will.

(Click "read more" for more gravity-defying follicles.) … continue reading