Women Who Rock

Aretha. Carole. Tina. Janis. Whitney.

I can’t imagine having written enough great songs and had an interesting enough life to create a musical about myself, but Carole King has. If you had a chance to see “Beautiful” when it was in Knoxville last spring, you know the amazing talent of Carole King and the difficult life that she lived in the 50’s and 60’s.  Four of her songs are featured in the symphony’s upcoming “Women Rock” concert, including “You Make Me Feel Like a Natural Woman.” King wrote and recorded the song, but most people know it from Aretha Franklin’s version. If you haven’t seen Aretha perform it at the Kennedy Center Honors for Carole King, here’s a link. Tina Turner gets three of her songs performed, including “Proud Mary.” If you haven’t heard Leonard Nimoy’s interpretation of “Proud Mary”, it’s worth a listen.

The name Minnie Riperton may not be familiar to you, but you may know her song, “Lovin’ You”, which features super-high notes known as whistle tones. If you don’t know Ms. Riperton, you may be familiar with her daughter, Maya Rudolph from movies and “Saturday Night Live.” She was recently profiled in the New York Times.

Heart, Pat Benatar, Joan Jett, Janis Joplin, Martha Reeves, and Irene Cara complete the program in the tribute to women in rock and roll. Hope you enjoy it! Friday, Oct. 5, 8 p.m. at the Tennessee Theatre. Tickets here.