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Courtney Love Says Women Are Marginalized Despite Inventing Rock And Roll

March 30, 20233 mins read

Courtney Love recently shared two video clips where she discussed the origins of rock and roll, the prominent role Big Mama Thornton played while the genre shaped up, and how women were denied even the most basic honors.

Love had previously discussed the Rock Hall controversy, noting how women made only the 8% of the entire inductions. The Pretenders frontwoman Chrissie Hynde also supported her claims, as she called out the officials for the lack of representation of female rockers in the Hall.

So, Courtney wanted to point out the inequality once again and pay homage to a particular rocker while doing it. The singer discussed how underrated Big Mama Thornton was, who played the iconic rock anthem, ‘Hound Dog,’ in the early 50s before Elvis Presley did. However, she never received any prestigious recognition during her lifetime.

Hole frontwoman then pointed out how the Rock Hall induction was more than an essential honor; it was about musical heritage and culture and showing aspiring young women rockers that they could make it to the scene. However, people loved disregarding the problem, overlooking and listing Thornton only as an early influence, while Courtney noted how the rocker invented rock and roll with her 50s hits.

The singer’s words on Thornton’s underrated reputation and how women were marginalized:

“Big Mama Thornton, she did ‘Hound Dog,’ first and better before Elvis, died in 1957, penniless, inventing rock and roll. Okay, I have many more things to say, but here’s one. I’m a wealthy woman, I’m a rock star, and there are way worse problems in the world, but here’s the thing about the Rock Hall, it’s your culture.

It is your culture, and we’re doing this as a collective of us women, and we’re doing this for you. You’re born a girl child, you’re really musical, and you want to be a musician, and your parents are like, ‘ [You are] better off being an English teacher,’ cause they’re not wrong. We are of cautionary f*cking tales; it’s a valley of bones.

Paraphrasing Edgar Allan Poe but [he once said] ‘there’s nothing more poetic than a dying woman.’ Cross that f*cking thing out in red cause that’s bullsh*t. They don’t support us, we’re endlessly uttered, ‘It doesn’t matter,’ and again, Big Mama Thornton invented rock and roll, and no one’s arguing that… and yet she’s listed as an early influence. F*ck you, guys.”

So, love or hate Courtney; one cannot deny that her arguments prove how while a legend like Elvis is popular worldwide, only avid rock fans are familiar with Big Mama Thornton. Although Love got Thornton’s year of death wrong since the rocker died in the mid-80s, she still wanted to point out how the Rock Hall inductions weren’t a matter of receiving honors but of respecting history, culture, and heritage.

Hello, I’m Melisa and I love to write about my passions, one of which is rock music. melisak@rockcelebrities.net

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