The Forgotten

I’m ashamed to say I forgot no less than 12 very cool women when I made this list. None of them would have made it to top 10. But they should definitely be on the list of the Top 100 Coolest Women in Music. In no specific order, here they are, the 12 forgotten:



Suzi Quatro – The first woman in rock playing an instrument, how could I forget?




Grace Slick – Made a memorable performance with her band Jefferson Airplane at Woodstock, how could I forget to put her on the list?




Mahalia Jackson – With her strong principles and moral, plus that voice, how could I forget?




Sister Rosetta Tharpe – A woman her age playing electric guitar to gospel music at that time, how could I forget? (make sure you watch the whole clip so you don't miss her solo)




Shirley Bassey – This woman sings no less than four James Bond theme songs, how could I forget her?

Maria Callas – The woman is a legend and an icon for the entire music business, how I could I forget her?




Gladys Knight – With a voice like that, how could I forget to put her on the list? (and also, she is the one that really discovered Jackson 5. Not Diana Ross)

Dinah Washington – A role model and big influence for many soul and jazz singers with her unique style, how could I forget?




Kate Bush – With her unmistakable voice and dramatic image, how could I forget?

Josephine Baker – Controversial dancer and singer, sometimes mentioned as the first black superstar, how could I forget her?




Patsy Cline – She has influenced many artists in many different genres with her rich voice, how could I forget to put her on the list?




Nina Simone – She has written so many good songs and gives each and every one of them new life every time she plays them. How could I forget her?

Nr. 1 – Sheila E

The coolest woman in music is Sheila E!! Since she is the coolest of them all, she gets a lot more clips to show off her coolness. Of course I recommend all clips, but I understand if you don’t watch them all. In that case, choose wisely, Sheila E is an interesting artist. You don’t want to miss too much of her.


For many years she played, recorded and performed with Prince as his drummer, percussionist and back-up vocalist.

(Note Rhonda Smith, nr.18, playing the bass in the first clip)





Let’s not dwell in the years she played with Prince when this is an active musician who has played with many other stars. (In her early twenties she had played with Herbie Hancock, Lionel Richie, Diana Ross and Marvin Gaye.) When she was interviewed by Jay Leno in 1987 she was asked what she did when she wasn’t doing this (playing the drums), she answered “Doing this.”



In the mid ‘80s she started a solo career and had big hits with the songs The Glamorous Life and A Love Bizarre.





Here’s another drum solo clip where she plays in heals (the first being the clip from The Tonight Show with Jay Leno). Drum solo in heals!



Since Sheila E grew up in a family of Latino drummers, (She  is the daughter of acclaimed Latino percussionist Pete Escovedo and in fact her brother too is an acclaimed Latino percussionist), a lot of clips you find of her on YouTube are of her playing and singing Latin music.





I have no clips to show of her playing other instruments, though I do know she also plays guitar and violin. But just for fun I'll show you she was a part of the all-star choir singing We Are the World in 1985. She has no solo and she doesn't play the drums, but you can see her standing in the front row, next to the Jacksons, wearing sunglasses.

Nr. 2 – Miriam Makeba

Miriam Makeba sang about her beloved South Africa. For many years she lived in exile from her home country just for singing. She sang songs about the real South Africa. She described the injustice, she sang about fear, about oppression, about poverty and this certainly was not approved by the ruling government. She was a strong woman who fought the injustice she had seen with her voice as a weapon. This makes her cool. But she did not just sing songs about misery. She was a proud South African who sang songs of joy, of different African dances (Such as Pata Pata), traditions, her own people and stories of her home country. This also makes her cool. She managed to portray the injustice at the same time as she painted a beautiful picture of the South African culture.

Nr. 3 – PJ Harvey

When I started doing this list I knew from the start that British rock singer Polly Jean Harvey would reach a high ranking. She is one of the coolest (obviously) artists I know. Also, she is one of those I can’t put my finger on why exactly she is cool. She just is.

Nr. 4 – Etta James

I don’t know if I have a good explanation for ranking Etta James this high on the list. But I do know I wouldn’t change it. Maybe it’s her voice, maybe it’s her attitude or maybe it’s something I just can’t put my finger on. But it’s certainly not the movie Cadillac Records where she is portrayed by Beyoncé Knowles, which to me seems to give the character of Etta James an air of Disney. Almost like casting Kelly Clarkson as Janis Joplin, Will Smith as Jimi Hendrix, Zac Efron as Curt Cobian or Jessica Simpson as Marilyn Monroe. If you’ve read my blog you know I’ve got nothing against Beyoncé, but she seems too sweet to play Etta. Etta James has a rough attitude and she was known to be like “one of the boys”. (I thought to myself who I’d like to see play Etta James instead but I couldn’t come up with someone else. So if you have any suggestions, do tell me.) Etta herself has described she felt she had some kind of rage inside of her wanting to come out throughout her life. She used her voice to let out her emotions. When she sings you can hear she sings with her heart.

Nr. 5 – Debbie Harry

I think my first fashion icon was Stephanie Zinone, a character played by Michelle Pfieffer, in (don’t laugh now) Grease 2. But if you look at that character you see it seems to be influenced by the style of Debbie Harry herself. This woman is so cool. She invented cool. She’s been a major influence on female lead singers to this day. Think about it. How many Debbie-copies haven’t you seen through the years? She still sets trends with the look she had in the late ‘70s. (I really like her hairdo in the Sunday Girl clip.)

Nr. 6 – Joni Mitchell

“What now? Only on nr.6”, you might think… “Then who’s nr.1?” The plot thickens… I think my brother guessed Joni to be in the top and a friend of mine guessed her to be number one on the list. Knowing me, it’s a pretty good speculation. I have this thing that I don’t always want to discuss Joni Mitchell and her music with people because I don’t like when people don’t get it. I know it’s really silly, and perhaps even childish. To me her songs – lyrics and melodies – goes straight to the heart. She is one of the best song writers I know. I think I’ll leave it at that. And don’t come discussing Joni with me unless you have listened and got the beauty of The Gallery, Conversation, My Old Man, Little Green, Cactus Tree, That Song About the Midway, Down To You and Refuge of the Roads (to name a few).

Nr. 7 – Judy Garland

Judy Garland, born Frances Ethel Gumm, started her career at a very early age. She made her first appearance on stage at the age of two when she sang together with her elder sisters at her father’s theatre. Since then she’s been singing, acting and dancing in many shows, plays and movies. I saw an interview where her daughter said that Judy Garland had made 39 movies at the age of 30. The more I see of her, the more impressed I get. Sure, she was brought up in a theatre, and I’m sure she was encouraged (to use a nice word) a lot by her parents. Still, you can’t deny that this woman was a natural in show business. In A Couple of Swells she totally outclasses Fred Astaire. She’s got an incredible presence and charisma and completely steals the attention when she’s on stage. That is why she is cool. I recommend everyone to se her movies. She’s excellent. And funny. And cool.

(You might have figured out that it is Judy Garland to the right, the youngest of the Gumm sisters.)

Nr. 8 – Billie Holiday

It’s hard to explain why Billie Holiday is cooler than Ella Fitzgerald, certainly after my passionate description of Ella’s voice. There are a lot of things about Ella that makes me want to switch places of these two. But I always end up watching Billie singing Strange Fruit which always reminds me of Billie’s fantastic talent for singing with her entire appearance, expressing every vibe, every feeling, every word, leaving every listener moved by the lyrics. I guess that makes her cooler, at least on this version of the list.

Nr. 9 – Ella Fitzgerald

As a young woman Ella Fitzgerald won a singing contest where the prize was to sing with an orchestra, although she was denied her performance since she was too ugly according to the promoters. But since then Ella has proved again and again she is the queen of jazz. She was a rare talent and no one could or can scat like her. I never get tired of her versatile voice. While writing this blog I’ve been frustrated many times of why I chose to write in English, with my limited vocabulary, but this is by far the most frustrated I’ve been writing in a second language – when describing Ella’s voice. This might give you an idea of what I think of her talent. Look at her, or rather listen to her! If this was a list of the coolest or best voices, she might very well end up as number 1.

Nr. 10 – Aretha Franklin

What would this list be without The Queen of Soul? I can’t remember exactly how I got a hold of her music but I guess my brother had something to do with it, though I do know I was hooked from the start. I think I have tortured my family more than once by howling, screaming, “singing” (or whatever one might call it) her songs Respect, Since You’ve Been Gone, Rock Steady, Baby I Love You etc, up in my room while cleaning, doing homework or just singing for fun. I can not recall being one of those who sang much in front of the mirror with a brush in my hand as a microphone. But I danced around a lot and sang while doing other stuff, and mainly to the powerful voice of Aretha Franklin. And man, how I whished I was a black woman with a voice like that when I was a teenager…and I still do sometimes. Why is she cool? I should not have to describe why. She is The Queen of Soul. If you have the time you should look up more clips of her singing live. Her facial expression and body language clarifies why she’s cool. She embodies the black mama-attitude with gestures and all.

Aretha started her musical path by singing Gospel Music, so I had to show a gospel clip even though this is just a sound recording.

Nr. 11 – Stevie Nicks

The other woman contributing to putting Fleetwood Mac on the big musical map was Stevie Nicks. This short little woman had long hair, long skirts and big blouses and she also put ribbons on her tambourine. In conclusion, there was a lot of fabric floating around when she moved around on stage. This made her look like a fairytale figure in some sort of magical tale. But this petite woman contradicted this fairy-like appearance with her powerful rock voice, and therefore created a very interesting image. This interesting combination is also shown in some of her songs. Best examples of this are Rihannon and Silver Springs. Why is Stevie Nicks cool? Did you read my description of her? Did you watch the video? There you go, you’ll see for yourself.

Nr. 12 – Christine McVie

In my opinion, Christine McVie wrote one of Fleetwood Mac’s most beautiful songs. Her now classic Songbird has been covered by many artists, but the best versions will always be those with McVie’s subtle voice singing this beautiful melody. I like the fact that Fleetwood Mac started off as a blues band with all male members and it was first when they brought in two talented female song writers that the band captured the eyes of the world. (I know that’s the short version of the band’s history, somewhat simplified…but it suites the list perfectly.) One of those women was Christine McVie, born I Great Britain 1943. Her maiden name is Perfect, which is a good name to make clever references to her music, but I’ll try to resist the temptation. Why is she cool? She wrote cool songs and sang them with a cool, laid-back voice.

Nr. 13 – Robyn

She’s innovative, she’s confident, she’s courageous, she’s talented and she’s independent. A few years ago this Swedish singer started her own record company Konichiwa. That’s when she started to take control of her own career in a whole new way. I have always seen Robyn as an independent artist in both music and fashion but with her own record company she had the freedom to form her career and image in a very unique way. This year she has released her musical trilogy Body Part. In interviews Robyn describes the freedom of touring and recording at the same time, at her own terms. This way she says she feels closer to the fans, being able to form new ideas, in the studio, on impulses she gets from the audience. In American newspapers she’s been compared to Lady Gaga, which to me seems strange since Robyn always seemed to have a clear vision of her image before the Gaga-hysteria. Have they really seen or heard Robyn? While Lady Gaga seems to play a role, Robyn shows real personality. Plus, to me, Robyn is the original and Gaga the one that should be compared to her. And that is not because of my pride as a Swede. Robyn released her self titled album (where I think she started to form the image she has today) in 2005 and Lady Gaga released her debut in 2008, the same year as Robyn released The Album (an album containing several of the hits from Robyn). Why is Robyn cool? She dances to the beat of her own drum. While writing this I’m starting to think maybe she should get a higher ranking. I had to contain myself from showing 6 or 7 clips of Robyn. So if you like her, or rather if you don't - watch these clips as well: When she covers Prince's When Doves Cry, when she sings With Every Heartbeat on the Nobel Peace Prize Consert in 2008, when she covers Björk's Hyperballad, the video for Handle Me and when she sings the theme song for Swedish TV program Lilla Sportspegeln, recorded when Robyn was 12, I think.

Nr. 14 – Esperanza Spalding

Yet another star born in the golden year of 1984. Esperanza Spalding started playing the bass at an early age and proved to be a natural. At the age of 20 she was hired by Berklee Collage of Music (from where she graduated a year earlier), becoming one of the youngest professors in the history of the institution. When president Obama was chosen as the winner of the Nobel Peace Prize, Esperanza Spalding was his choice for the concert. Obviously she had made an impression when playing a tribute for Stevie Wonder in the White House. On this young talent I could write pages on why she’s cool. First of all, how on earth can she sing, play the bass and smile like that at the same time??? And don’t forget the fact that she plays and sings JAZZ! (It’s not exactly as when Flea plays Pea. Not to underestimate Flea as a bass player, it was just the first song I came to think of to compare with.) Secondly, she was hired to TEACH bass at the age of 20(!?) at Berklee(!). Plus she’s just cool. She just is. Look at her.

Nr. 15 – Chavela Vargas

Mexican singer Chavela Vargas is known for her rendition of a Mexican genre in music called rancheras. She is also known for her beautiful lyrics and her powerful voice. At the age of 91 she is surprisingly still active as a singer (releasing her latest album this year). I don’t know how active she is as a performer. But I do know that she re-recorded some of her songs and also appeared in the movie Frida about painter Frida Kahlo in 2002, at the age of 83. The first clip I’ve chosen shows her debut at Carnegie Hall, at the age of 84, where she is introduced by film director Pedro Almodóvar. I don’t speak Spanish but I heard him mentioning “passion”, which I think is a key word in her music. Do I have to clarify why she’s cool? She is 91 years old and still an active musician.

Nr. 16 – Cindy Blackman

The first time I saw the video for Lenny Kravitz’ Are You Gonna Go My Way I thought it was one of the coolest things I had ever seen on TV. I didn’t think twice of the fact that it was a woman playing the drums. Not that she was overshadowed and disappeared in all the coolness but rather that she belonged there. Cool woman playing the drums to a cool song in a cool video. That might have been what I was thinking subconsciously. I don’t know. But I DO know that her name is Cindy Blackman and has served as a drummer for Lenny Kravitz for several years. On YouTube you can find clips of Kravitz playing on MTV unplugged and Blackman totally sets the mood with her cool appearance and her big afro (and Kajsa-Stina, if you read this, there is something about her in that clip that reminds me of you. Don’t ask me why, she just does). She’s cool.

Nr. 17 – Chrissie Hynde

Chrissie Hynde, born in Ohio, is best known as the leader of the band The Pretenders. It’s been years since The Pretenders had their peak but Hynde still works her cool attitude on stage. In one of the clips I found of the Pretenders, KT Tunstall (Scottish singer-songwriter) introduces Chrissie Hynde as “one of the best women in rock” and I’m prepared to agree with her. Obviously. Why is she cool? This is starting to get old but... she just is.

Nr. 18 – Rhonda Smith

Rhonda Smith is bass player in her own band called Karma Deuce. But she might be even more known for serving as bass player for Prince. I don’t know… that might depend on who you ask. If someone would ask you now, you would have two examples of her success as a musician. But why is she cool? I know I said this wouldn’t be a cool-by-association-list, so I’ll try to phrase this right, but she has played with Prince. That alone is cool. Not just because it’s Prince, but rather the fact that if you get to play with Prince you’ve got to be a really good musician. At least that’s what my prejudices tell me. Not only is she a good musician, she looks cool in that hat and suite.

Nr. 19 – Tina Weymouth

Tina Weymouth is the founding member and bass player of New Wave band Talking Heads and side project, one hit wonder Tom Tom Club. Together with Talking Heads she was a pioneer in the new genre New Wave during the late '70s and the ‘80s. They have been a huge influence for other musicians and their hits (such as Burning Down the House, This Must Be the Place and Warning Sign, to take a few examples) have been covered by artists such as Arcade Fire, Tom Jones and the Cardigans, MGMT, Local Natives, Peter Gabriel, Dave Matthews and The Gossip. But enough about the band and back to Tina Weymouth. Why is she cool? Besides being a part of a band that made way for a new generation of musicians and music listeners, she’s just naturally cool. Skipping around, dancing with her bass she looks really cool. You could teleport her from that stage directly in to today and she would be just as cool.

Nr. 20 – Alanis Morissette

I had almost forgotten how much I like Alanis Morissette. Since I was 11 years old she has been one of the most played artists on my stereo. Her music was such a huge part of my teen years I sometimes think I would have grown apart from it but I never do. Thank You is still one of my favourite songs of all time. Growing up I admired her a lot for her natural appearance. She’s not known to be very fashionable, she often wore t-shirts on her concerts, she kept her hair long no mater what trends came and went through the years and she never had a glamorous and gracious way of moving on stage. With all this said I love her having the humour and self distance enough to do a cover of Black Eyed Peas’ My Humps. Why is she cool? She is cool for all the reasons I wrote above, plus she’s a really good song writer. If you haven’t listened to her lyrics’ that much (except for the classics Hand in My Pocket or Ironic), I recommend That Particular Time, These Are the Thoughts (where she plays with the classical form of writing song lyrics, letting sentences overlap through the melody) and Front Row (where she ends a verse in the middle of a sentence and takes it up again after the chorus).

Nr. 21 – Dolly Parton

I’m going to start with the question this time – why is Dolly Parton cool? Who else but her could or would play guitar with nails like that. Another thing that’s cool about her is her vibrato light as a feather, it’s beautiful. And finally - her song writing. It’s cool to see how many good and classic songs she has written. For one, she is the woman behind I Will Always Love You.

Nr. 22 – Lauryn Hill

With Lauryn, it’s the same as with Whitney; people who know me should not be surprised to see her on this list. When I was in 8^th grade I remember one day sitting in the school library reading an article about Lauryn Hill releasing her debut album. This became an important step for me forming my own taste in music. When I was 12, 13 or so, I saw Sister Act 2 for the first time and I was so impressed by the character Rita when she sang His Eye Is on the Sparrow. I had no idea at the time that it was the same woman rapping on a CD I had found in my brother’s room. I don’t know when I connected the dots and understood it was the one and the same woman who mastered three genres I really liked – hip hop, gospel and neo soul, but ever since I’ve been a big fan. I could write a long explanation to why Lauryn is cool but I think I have written enough about her and I think you get the picture. Just watch the clips. Someone has written a comment on the Fugees clip “Lauryn Hill = best female MC ever...scratch that, one of the best MCs ever”. Watch the reaction from the audience when Lauryn starts free styling at 1:25.

Nr. 23 – Janelle Monáe

I have my cousin and her husband to thank for this tip. When I started doing the list I hadn’t even heard of Janelle Monáe and yet she ended up on nr.23. As you can guess I was completely blown away by her. This young singer from Kansas has got it all. She’s a talented singer, skilled performer and she has created a completely unique image. She’s an amazing entertainer with her James Brown-like dance moves. Some artists just got it. She’s one of those. I expect or at least hope to see a lot more of her in the future; an artist like this can not fade away. It looks like she’s got, or should have the entire audience spellbound. Why is she cool? I can’t seem to find any flaws in her as an artist. As I said, she’s got it all. Watch her closely, the way she moves on stage.

Nr. 24 – Tina Turner

When I looked at my list and saw I had Tina Turner on nr.24 I thought to myself “how did she end up there?” while playing When the Heartache Is Over in the back of my head. Then I started looking at clips and I remembered exactly why she’s so cool. Turner started her career with her then husband Ike. She completely owned the stage with her unique and powerful voice and energetic moves. Tina Turner is now 71 years old and still active as a performer. She still runs around on stage singing with a voice that is still quite powerful. So forget When the Heartache Is Over (those of you who share my bad memory of her singing that song on Ally McBeal) and watch these clips! I also recommend you to take a look at when she sings Proud Mary and when she performed with Beyoncé last year.

Nr. 25 – Feist

Canadian artist Leslie Feist, known to the world by her last name, was one of the 107 women who were asked to interpret a break-up letter sent to visual artist Sophie Calle. All the interpretations formed an exhibition under the name Take Care of Yourself. When I went to see the exhibition I was thrilled to see Feist among all these other women since she is a personal favourite of mine. Her albums contain songs that make you smile, make you want to dance, songs with fragile lyrics and melodies and songs of dream-like character. All in all, her music holds all sorts of emotions. Why is she cool? She just is. I know I have used that phrase before and you might think I have a lack of imagination. But I think I have ruined your impression of her music enough just by trying to describe it, so I’ll spare you a description of her as an artist. She’s cool. Look her up if you haven’t heard her before!

Nr. 26 – M.I.A.

M.I.A, born Mathangi “Maya” Arulpragasam in London, is a controversial artist who experiments with a lot of different genres, such as hip hop, dance, world music, electronic and alternative music. She was recently ranked as one of the world’s 100 most influential people. Both of her parents have Sri Lankan Tamil descent and for a few years of M.I.A.’s childhood the family lived in Sri Lanka where her father was a political activist. Because of her father’s commitment to a political Tamil group the family was endangered and eventually M.I.A.’s mother moved back to London with the children as refugees of the Sri Lankan Civil War. M.I.A.’s upbringing in Sri Lanka during the civil war is probably one of the main reasons of her political commitment and urge to speak up for injustice in the world. She is constantly challenging our views and raising debates with her songs and videos. One of her latest videos, the video to the song Born Free was banned from YouTube and MTV because of violent scenes, and therefore raised an even bigger debate than the political statement behind it. Why is she cool? She stays true to her commitments and fights for those whose voices rarely get heard.

Nr. 27 – Duffy

I have switched Duffy and Amy Winehouse between nr. 28 and 27 so many times before deciding Duffy is cooler. Both of them are part of the new generation of real soul singers, both of them got feeling, both of them got soul (I shouldn’t write this here, but Amy might actually have a bit more soul in her voice and appearance) but Duffy beats Amy ‘cause she’s got class. Class is cooler than headlines. I’ll leave it at that. (If you want to compare for yourself, I’ll show two clips of each of these young soul ladies.)

Nr. 28 – Amy Winehouse

As I wrote about Erykah Badu, this is a singer with potential to reach higher on this list, but she wastes her natural coolness, throwing her career and fantastic voice away. When I first heard Amy Winehouse I thought it was about time we got some real good soul singers in Europe. She’s got an exceptional voice and every time I hear her live recordings I’m reminded of her fantastic talent and every time I get irritated of her wasting that talent. Why is she cool? She has the potential to be one of the world’s best artists with that amazing voice, and I don’t think I’m exaggerating.

Nr. 29 – Emmylou Harris

Emmylou Harris has had a long career in music and she is a popular backing vocalist and duet partner among other musicians. I won’t make a list of all artists she has worked with. You’ll have to look it up for yourself, but I’ll tell you right away it’s quite an impressive list of people. One of my favourites by her is when she sings Green Pastures with Gillian Welch, David Rawlings and Jerry Douglas on the Down from the Mountain concert but that clip is enabled to embed so instead I’ll show you a clip of her covering a song by Townes Van Zandt. Why is she cool? There’s a reason why other stars line up to sing with her. She’s a good musician and a singer with a characteristic voice.

Nr. 30 – Scarlett Johansson

Actress Scarlett Johansson may not be a singer first and foremost, but with her solo album Anywhere I Lay My Head and collaboration with Pete Yorn, Breakup, she can add “singer” to her list of titles. A friend of mine told me that it was not a good idea to write a list of people succeeding in life before turning 25 on the upcoming of your own 25^th birthday. If I had issues with aging in that sense and decided to write such a list, Scarlett Johansson would be one of the first persons I’d come to think of. Being the same age as her I can easily compare our different paths in life. But I’m far from jealous. I’ll gladly sit back, relax and watch her movies and listening to her music. Why is she cool? This New Yorker is cool in everything she does. And that’s just the way it is. She’s naturally cool.

Nr. 31 – Björk

My brother asked me if there were any placements on the list I regretted. First of all, I think the list would look very different if I re-did it after Christmas, after looking at all the clips, reading and writing about all these artists. I decided not to change the list once I started to put it on the blog, but there is one artist that makes me regret that rule more than others and that is Björk. Looking at clips of her I don’t really know why I didn’t rank her higher. I think she didn’t get higher because I don’t like that it feels like I SHOULD think she is cool. As if my expectations of her being cool held her back on the list… I don’t know. But she is cool. She, more than most artists on this list has a completely unique style. You can’t really compare her to anyone else. That’s cool!

Nr. 32 – Édith Piaf

Édith Piaf is one of the biggest French singers, known for her characteristic R’s. Few people can sing with such emotion. She sings as if she’s wearing her heart on her sleeve, yet she’s got a very strong expression and pride in her tone. And all that transcends through the speakers. I can’t imagine what it would be like to see her live. Édith Piaf has brought the world several classics. If you haven’t heard Non, Je Ne Regret Rien or La Vie En Rose, it’s a must. Why is she cool? I don’t think I need to explain myself here. It’s Édith Piaf! “La Môme Piaf” (“The Little Sparrow”)

Nr. 33 – Fiona Apple

Fiona Apple was born in New York in a musical family. Everyone seems to be working in show business in one way or another. She had her big breakthrough in 1996 with her album Tidal. Since then she has released two more albums but none of them got the same attention as Tidal. I discovered her music by chance in the good ole days when downloading music from the internet was new and legal. I thought it was an amazing way to find new music. I used to type in random words and see what songs came up. Then I downloaded the songs with the most interesting titles. That’s how I found Fiona Apple’s Sleep To Dream and ever since it’s been one of my favourites by her. She tends to write melancholic songs that suite her deep voice perfectly. Why is she cool? In my opinion she’s quite underrated. Her music holds a lot of emotion. She sings with character and a lot of feeling.

Nr. 34 – Bonnie Raitt

American blues singer Bonnie Raitt was born in California in a home where both parents were musicians. She began playing guitar at an early age and her parents always encouraged her to perform for the family, yet she has said that she never meant to make music for a living. Being a white woman she never expected that the opportunities for playing blues would come, but while in collage she got to know Dick Waterman (an important figure in the development and recording of blues) after he did an interview on the collage radio station. Through Waterman, Raitt got even more connections among blues artists and musicians and eventually she herself became an acclaimed blues artist. Why is she cool? In a genre dominated by black men Raitt, being a young white girl, managed to make herself a name in the business. That’s cool.

Nr. 35 – Theresa Andersson

Theresa Andersson was introduced with the words “multi-talented artist from New Orleans” by Conan O’Brien and I was thinking “hm-hrm! She’s Swedish.” But he was right though, since 1990 she lives in New Orleans, where she moved to play the violin in a band. In 2008 she released Hummingbird, Go!, a well acclaimed album that got a lot of attention on the internet since Andersson put up videos on YouTube when recording the songs in her kitchen. (The videos does not show the versions featured on the record, though it’s recorded in the same spirit.) Why is she cool? I like the fact that the whole album is recorded in her kitchen. And when watching her videos it shows she has fun while creating her music. Plus she’s really talented.


 

Nr. 36 – Adele

And now for one of my favourite voices at the time… (Check out her cover of Sam Sparro’s Black and Gold and also her cover of That’s It I Quit I’m Movin’ On) Adele Laurie Blue Adkins, famous under the name Adele, is a British singer-songwriter born in 1988. From her debut album 19 she had a hit with Chasing Pavement and was predicted to be the number one breakthrough act in 2008. In 2011 she releases her second album 21, and being a fan of her easy-listened yet soulful first album, I’m very curious to hear it. But here we go again… Why is she cool? Because of her voice. She’s got a fantastic laid-back, natural and confident soul voice with a nice tone.

Nr. 37 – Lykke Li

Young Swedish singer Lykke Li creates music with a unique touch. Right from the start she did things her way and it worked like a charm. She caught the attention of the world and after releasing her debut album she seemed to be on everyone’s lips. Kings of Leon asked her to cover whatever song she liked best of theirs, she was asked to write a song for the soundtrack of New Moon and in September this year she was announced as one of the official faces of the Levis Curve ID Collection. For a young Swedish indie pop singer she had a very successful start to her career. Why is she cool? With a charismatic, dramatic and innovative expression she charms her listeners with a mellow feeling, playful tunes and catchy rhythms mixed with melancholic melodies. Sounds like contradictions but that’s how I would describe it.

Nr. 38 – Betty Davis

There are absolutely no clips on YouTube of Betty Davis performing live. Only videos like this one. That’s too bad, especially since I have never seen a live clip of her. The way she sings I imagine it would be pretty interesting. She sings funk music with passion and a fierce attitude. She started off as a model, moving to New York where she met a lot of influential people in the music industry (one of whom she married). Later on she decided to record her own album and with her musical connections, the list of musicians appearing on her self titled album is pretty impressive for a debut. Why is she cool? She sounds cool and looks cool. She’s got to be cool!

Nr. 39 – Cat Power

Chan Marshall, known singer under the name Cat Power, started performing in her home town Atlanta after dropping out of high school. She later moved to New York where her career as an artist started to take off. Suffering from stage fright and alcohol abuse her shows have been known to be a bit uneven and unpolished. But with the release of her album The Greatest, Cat Power seemed to have cleaned up her act. She claims that sobriety and newfound musical collaborators gives her increased confident on stage. I really like the way she sings with that breathy voice and her weird and a bit awkward moves. It might be explained with stage fright but it gives her a unique expression as a performer. That’s cool.

Nr. 40 – Gillian Welch

American singer-songwriter Gillian Welch was born in New York City. As in this clip, Welch is often seen with musical partner David Rawlings. They co-write songs and play on each others records. She appears on several songs on the soundtrack to O’ Brother Where Art Thou? Also she and David Rawlings collaborate a lot with American singer Ryan Adams (she appears as guitarist and back-up singer on Heartbreaker and Demolition). I realise now I could make this list of collaboration partners longer. She appears on a lot of artist’s records (a friend of my gave me a tip that she’ll be on The Decemberist’s upcoming album). It was only when I started to listen to her music for real that I started hearing her voice on other albums as well (such as Heartbreaker and Demolition for example). That is one of the reasons she’s cool. She stays in the background setting the mood of the songs with her soft voice. Another reason she’s cool is the fact that she seems very cool and down to earth.

Nr. 41 – Joan Jett

Joan Jett got her first electric guitar at the age of 13. When she was 17 she formed the band The Runaways where she played rhythm guitar and sang back-up. The Runaways were one of the first all-female rock bands. When lead singer Cherie Currie left the band Jett stepped in as lead singer. Shortly after that the band dissolved and Jett started a solo career under the name Joan Jett & the Blackhearts. She had several hits in the 80’s, for example Bad Reputation and Crimson And Clover. Why is she cool? Watch the video.

Nr. 42 – Sheryl Crow

Sheryl Crow has followed me since her hit All I Wanna Do was played constantly on the radio in 1995. The year after, she released her self titled album which I loved even more. I recorded from the radio and sang Hard To Make a Stand to my ability and it gave me a good reason to practice my English. I actually think it must be one of the first complete songs I learnt in English. So, why is she cool? One often forgets that she’s got a great voice, plus she’s a fantastic song writer.

Nr. 43 – Carole King

I couldn’t resist choosing a clip that almost proves her to be the opposite of cool. That handclap in the beginning, what is that about? But this is no mistake, Carole King has rightfully earned herself a place on this list. This is a woman who wrote and co-wrote a lot of classics. She has written You’ve Got a Friend, (You Make Me Feel Like) A Natural Woman, Will You Love Me Tomorrow?, The Locomotion and One Fine Day etc. All this makes her cool, I think. But the main reason I put her on the list is the fact that she is THE Carole mentioned in Neil Sedaka’s Oh Carole, AND she recorded a song as an answer back to him. That shows humour. Humour is cool.

Nr. 44 – Chaka Khan

Singing Tell Me Something Good, written by Stevie Wonder, with that voice and that smile there’s no doubt why Chaka Khan is on the list. She started off as the lead singer of funk band Rufus and later went on as a solo act in r&b/disco/pop. She is probably best known for her cover of Prince’s I Feel For You and I’m Every Woman, a song later covered by Whitney Houston in The Bodyguard.

Nr. 45 – Melody Gardot

I think the story behind me discovering Melody Gardot was that my mom and dad called me up and told me to turn on the TV. They had seen a fascinating interview with a young woman who had an amazing recovery from an accident. Also, they thought her music would be in my taste. And they were right. Melody Gardot was hit by a jeep while cycling at the age of 18 and suffered serious head and spinal injuries. As a consequence of her severe injuries she had to re-learn how to do the simplest tasks such as brush her teeth, walk and talk. During rehabilitation Gardot used musical therapy to overcome the effects of the accident. At first she couldn’t speak any words so she would hum the songs she sang. Day by day, bit by bit, she grew stronger, started singing and recording songs she had written and today, at the age of 25, she performs on stage with her songs. If you didn’t know about her accident you wouldn’t think twice of her wearing toned glasses when she performs or even notice the cane that often leans on a stool beside her or hangs on a music stand in the background. I don’t think I need to explain why she’s cool. I think no one else on this list has struggled this much for their music such as Melody Gardot.

(If you don’t mind I’m going to use this opportunity to see if my mom reads my blog. So mom, if you read this, call me up, will you?)

Nr. 46 – Melissa Auf der Maur

Canadian Melissa Auf der Maur has served as bass player for rock bands Smashing Pumpkins and Hole. Since 2004 she also made herself a solo career, releasing her second album this year. Apart from her success in music she is also a published photographer. Some of these artists answer the question “why is she cool?” by themselves. I think she’s one of them. She’s just cool. But to fill out the answer a bit I think it’s worth mentioning that she’s been a bass player for two of the biggest bands in the’90s.

Nr. 47 – Alison Mosshart

Alison Mosshart is the female half of American band The Kills and since 2009 she’s also a part of the all-star band Dead Weather together with Jack White (of The White Stripes and The Raconteurs), Dean Fertita (of the Queens of the Stone Age) and Jack Lawrence (of The Raconteurs and The Greenhorns). She’s one of those artists I couldn’t decide if I thought she was cool for just being cool or for being a part of cool bands. So I took a decision – She is cool for being cool. She makes cool music, plays in cool bands and she’s just…cool.
(The overuse of the word “cool” and particularly using the phrase “plays in cool bands” reminds me of my dilemma with the word cool – if something is said to be cool it sort of stops being cool. But anyway, I’m going to ignore that and just say she’s cool anyway. ‘Cause she is. Cool.)