Ladies Of The 70s Trivia Quiz

Answer: Fanny

Fanny are often cited now as the first successful mainstream female rock band, so it seems sad that they never had the longevity that many of their male counterparts achieved.
The band released a couple of very well received albums, 1971's "Charity Ball" and "Fanny Hill" from 1972, as well as a few that weren't as successful commercially, before splitting in 1974. Along the way they attracted admirers such as David Bowie, Noddy Holder and Bobby Keys and their sound would influence later acts such as the Bangles and the Go-Go's.

Answer: Barrelhouse

Barrelhouse were formed by John Laporte and Jan Willem Sligting from the ashes of Oscar Benton's Blues Band and their first recruit was vocalist Tineke Schoemaker. The band released their debut album in 1975, and although they have followed this with many more albums, it is for their live shows that the band are really known. In 2019, their box set, "45 Years On The Road" won the band a much deserved Edison Award, and, should you ever find yourself at a loose end in the Netherlands, check these guys out.

Despite their advancing years, they still have what it takes and Schoemaker's voice just seems to get better with each passing year.

Answer: Lita Ford

The Runaways had several different line ups, none of which ever brought them any success in their native USA, but Japan just couldn't get enough of them.
They had a Japanese number one single with "Cherry Bomb" (1976) and by 1977, they were the fourth most imported act in the country, behind greats such as ABBA, Kiss and Led Zeppelin.
By 1979 however, it was all over as musical differences caused the band to part ways, and the members embarked on solo careers.
Joan Jett formed The Blackhearts and found chart success with covers of "Crimson And Clover" (1982) and "I Love Rock 'n' Roll", which was a US number one in 1982 on the Billboard Hot 100.
Cherie Currie released an album with her sister Marie in 1980, the same year that she starred in the movie, "Foxes" alongside Jodie Foster, and has found great success as a chainsaw artist.
Sandy West worked with Currie and John Entwistle of The Who, before sadly dying from cancer in 2006, while Lita Ford, aside from her duet with Ozzy, released several moderately successful singles before taking an 11 year hiatus in 1996 to raise her family. After a couple of years forming a band and gigging, she released her comeback album, "Wicked Wonderland" in 2009.

Answer: Mother's Finest

Mother's Finest confused music critics everywhere by having a style that was impossible to pin down. They had success on the Billboard R&B charts in USA, yet toured as the support act to bands such as Black Sabbath, AC/DC and Aerosmith.
They were funk and R&B and rock and metal, all combined into a brilliant mix and should have had way more success than they did.
Although their 70s albums contained a heavy dose of R&B with a liberal smattering of rock, this was often at the request of their record company, who had little idea how to market an African American heavy rock band. In 1981 though, Mother's Finest released "Iron Age", their first album for Atlantic, and switched the sound to heavy rock with a smattering of funk.
Mother's Finest are still a popular live act in mainland Europe, and though well into her 70s, Joyce "Baby Jean" Kennedy had every intention of fronting the band on their 50th anniversary tour of 2020, which was ultimately cancelled due to the coronavirus pandemic.

Answer: Patti Smith

Patti Smith is surely one of the most under rated punk artists, often remembered solely for her chart success with "Because The Night".
She began her career as a performance artist and poet in Paris and while dating keyboard player Allen Lanier was considered as a vocalist for Blue Oyster Cult, before forming her own band, the Patti Smith Group.
In 1975, she released her first album, "Horses", which contained both music and poetry and opened with the now famous line, "Jesus died for someone's sins, but not mine", which is surely as punk an opening as one could wish for.
Although she has continued to release albums, with varying degrees of success, none has ever had the impact that "Horses" did, with stars such as Michael Stipe, Orville Peck, Morrissey and Courtney Love all citing it as a huge influence.
Other stars, including Johnny Marr, Madonna, Shirley Manson and Florence Welch have all mentioned Smith as influencing their work.

Answer: Kleenex

The threat by Kimberley Clark of legal action actually helped the band Kleenex in their quest for fame. Prior to this, they had managed some minor success in their native Switzerland, but the forced name change brought them to the attention of people such as DJ John Peel in UK.
As LiLiPUT, he championed them on his Radio One show and the band had a top 20 and a top 30 hit on the UK Indie Charts.
As Kleenex, their best known tracks were probably "You" (1979), "Heidi's Head" and "Nice" (both 1978), all of which still retain their raw punk energy all these years later.

Answer: Suzi Quatro

The Pleasure Seekers, who were formed by Patti Quatro and also featured Arlene Quatro as well as Suzi, released two singles before Arlene left, to be replaced by another sister, Nancy Quatro.
The band also changed their name to Cradle at this point but success still wasn't forthcoming. Suzi split from the band, left her native Detroit and moved to UK, where record producer Mickie Most was looking for the "next Janis Joplin".
Whether Quatro was the next Joplin is up for debate but what is certain is that she soon found success under the guidance of Most. Her first single, "Rolling Stone" (1972) was a number one in Portugal and the follow up, "Can The Can" (1973) hit the top spot in UK, Germany and Australia.
A string of hits followed, including "48 Crash" (1973), "Devil Gate Drive" (1974) and "If You Can't Give Me Love" (1978), before the hits dried up, but Quatro's success certainly didn't.
Between 1977 and 1979, she played the part of occasional character Leather Tuscadero on hot TV show, "Happy Days" (1974-84) and has also acted in UK TV shows, "Minder" (1982), "Dempsey And Makepeace (1985) and "Absolutely Fabulous" (1994).
As if record and TV aren't enough, she has also appeared on the big screen, providing the voice to Rio Rogers in the Bob the Builder movie, "Built To Be Wild" (2006), on radio, presenting her own shows on BBC Radio 2 and on stage starring as Annie Oakley in the 1986 production of "Annie Get Your Gun".

Answer: Girlschool

Sweet Jayne played just about every gig they could find and developed a much deserved and sizeable following in Australia, especially in the Melbourne area. They were a tight sounding rock band with a unique sound due to lead vocalist Chris Scheri also being an accomplished flute player, but unfortunately the success they deserved never came their way.
Girlschool formed in UK in 1978 and when founding member and guitarist Kelly Johnson left the band in 1984, Bonacci, who was now living in UK was asked to join.
She remained with the band for nine years before leaving to concentrate on other projects and has worked with artists as diverse as Robert Plant, Marc Almond, Blue Oyster Cult and All Saints.

Answer: The Slits

The original line up of The Slits included Palmolive on drums, but she left the band to join The Raincoats prior to the release of "Cut" (1979). Tracks from the album were heavily played by BBC Radio 1 DJ John Peel who championed the band whenever he could, as they raised their profile by touring with bands such as The Clash. From the album, "Typical Girls" (1979) was released as a single providing the band with a minor UK chart hit and influencing a young Kurt Cobain along the way.

The Slits split up in 1982, but were later reformed in 2005, with Ari Up as the only original member. Once a punk, always a punk Ari.

Answer: Janis Ian

Janis Ian was just 14 when she released her first single, "Society's Child (Baby I've Been Thinking)" in 1965, which ended up being a top 20 hit in Canada and on the Billboard Hot 100 in USA.
She remained a one hit wonder until ten years later when "At Seventeen" became a huge hit, hitting the top ten in Canada, and top five in USA on the Billboard Hot 100, as well as charting top 20 in Australia.
The track was also Grammy nominated for both Record of the Year and Song of the Year and has been covered by artists such as Carly Rae Jepsen and Jann Arden and retained its popularity for many years after its original release.
Ian has released many tracks over the decades, but "At Seventeen" remains her biggest hit and signature song.