POWERFUL WOMEN

THEME:           POWERFUL WOMEN

#          Good Vibrations...

This is Patsy Wynne inviting you to share the next hour with me... enjoying my choice of music... which sometimes surprises me... and always delights... HELLO to whoever’s listening in hospital... and to those who may be listening online... WELCOME to you too!

Today I’m thinking about POWERFUL WOMEN... just in the last 100 years... so not counting all the strong women throughout history.... so we won’t mention Boudicca or Elizabeth 1^st... Empress Catherine of Russia or Queen Victoria!  Well, I’ll be contributing my thoughts on that... in between the records... which I hope will make you smile... or simply lift your spirits... and here’s a request for one small woman with a powerful voice... for Rachel...

#1        9 to 5... Dolly Parton

POWERFUL WOMEN... I’m thinking of the suffragettes of 100 years ago... The first Suffragists believed in constitutional campaigning, like issuing leaflets, organising meetings and presenting petitions.  However this campaigning did not have much effect. So in 1903 Emmeline Pankhurst founded a new organisation, the Women's Social and Political Union. Pankhurst thought that the movement would have to become radical and militant if it were going to work. The Daily Mail later gave them the name 'Suffragettes'.  A few historians feel that some of the suffragettes' actions actually damaged their cause. The argument was that the suffragettes should not get the vote because they were too emotional and could not think as logically as men; their violent and aggressive actions were used as evidence in support of this argument. 1912 was a turning point for the Suffragettes in the UK as they turned to using more militant tactics such as chaining themselves to railings, setting fire to mailbox contents, smashing windows and occasionally detonating bombs.

#2        Don’t Rain on My Parade... Barbra Streisand

One famous woman singer/ actress who was around at that time, was Marlene Dietrich... born in Germany 27 December 1901... Dietrich remained popular throughout her long career by continually re-inventing herself. In 1920s Berlin, she acted on the stage and in silent films which brought her international fame a contract with Paramount Pictures in the US. Hollywood films capitalised on her glamour and exotic looks, cementing her stardom and making her one of the highest paid actresses of the era. Dietrich became a US citizen in 1937; during World War II she was a high-profile frontline entertainer. Although she still made occasional films in the post-war years, Dietrich spent most of the 1950s to the 1970s touring the world as a successful show performer... and she died on 6 May 1992.    So let’s hear from her now...

#3        Falling in Love Again... Marlene Dietrich

I’d like to mention Doctor Marie Stopes... who pioneered the use of birth control... and opened the UK's first family planning clinic, in North London on 17 March 1921.  At that time the idea of birth control was shocking and immoral to most people... hardly creditable to young people today!

In the 60’s the ‘feminists’ marched for women’s equality and burned their bras... evidently seen as a restraint rather than support! Foremost among these was Germaine Greer... still going strong. But what do you think of feminists? Do they demean the feminine by taking on aggressive masculine attitudes? Do you think men and women are really just the same... or are there basic differences to the sexes?   In other words... what does it mean to be a woman in the modern world?  Are women still playing out their ‘roles’?  I wonder how many women today are really living out their potential... rather than fulfilling someone else’s expectations? Or is it a tiny minority who are doing what they want... while the rest just carry on as before?

#4        The Lady is a Tramp... Peggy Lee

A delicate blonde, Peggy Lee was born Norma Deloris Egstrom in Jamestown, North Dakota, the seventh of eight children. Her father was Swedish American and her mother Norwegian American.  As a young woman Peggy Lee had her own series on a radio show sponsored by a local restaurant that paid her a "salary" in food... so she literally ‘sang for her supper’. Both during and after her high school years Lee sang for paltry sums on local radio stations. 

One thing I notice about these powerful women... they certainly don’t fall into the ‘normal’ women’s role of housewife...

#5        I Am Woman... Helen Reddy

Thanks to these singers and musicians they sang with... the pop music scene was transformed from what it had been. They laid down the standard for today’s music scene.

 Billie Holiday (born Eleanora Fagan, April 7, 1915 – July 17, 1959) was an American jazz singer and songwriter. Nicknamed "Lady Day" Holiday had a seminal influence on jazz and pop singing. Her vocal style, strongly inspired by jazz instrumentalists, pioneered a new way of manipulating phrasing and tempo. She co-wrote only a few songs, but several of them have become jazz standards, notably "God Bless the Child", "Don't Explain", "Fine and Mellow", and "Lady Sings the Blues".... if you ever saw the movie of her life by that name. She also became famous for singing "Strange Fruit", a protest song which became one of her standards and was made famous with her 1939 recording.

#6        That Old Devil Called Love...  Billie Holiday

Many of these women had to fight their way to success. The history of the oppression of women is long and tragic. So many young women and girls are still being forced into prostitution... and how many... or how few... manage to escape that life through their talents... singing being one way... if the talent is great... and if they have the determination to succeed. Their voice is their salvation... but they also have the resolve to change their lives. Here’s another amazing voice of one who changed her life... the ‘little sparrow’ of Paris... 

#7        No Regrets...   Edith Piaf

I started off thinking about powerful women who’ve contributed to the way women are regarded and treated... such as in Politics... with the first women Prime Ministers... Golda Meir of Israel and Mrs Ghandi of India... not forgetting our own Maggie Thatcher... and who could forget her! But then I began to wonder if they were only powerful because they were conforming to the masculine way of doing things. Were they repressing their feminine side to show they could also wear the trousers?  And as I began to look for suitable music... I realised the effect these women singers have had on music and attitudes... these black American singers who had to fight against prejudice in hotels and restaurants... where they could sing with the band but not be served as a guest!

Those women who’ve had to swim upstream... against the current... striving every inch of the way... to achieve what they want... they become powerful through that striving... getting up again and again when beaten down. They pay dearly in pain, loss and despair... but what an example they leave for others to follow.

#8        Somewhere over the Rainbow...  Judy Garland

Another amazing woman who had to battle addiction and depression... Judy Garland is mostly identified with her role of Dorothy in The Wizard of Oz... but sang her heart out in many movies and personal appearances until she died at the age of only 47 in 1969.  In 1999, the American Film Institute placed her among the ten greatest female stars in the history of American cinema.

From those women who escaped from sordid beginnings... Sarah Vaughan was brought up in a religious family. She learned to play piano and sang in the church choir... until, as a teenager, she was drawn to popular music and Jazz... and with her stunning voice soon joined a big band... and what a voice!

#9        Summertime...  Sarah Vaughan

Don’t forget that we always welcome your requests for a particular record, or a mention of someone or something special... and if you have an interesting or funny story to tell, connected to a special song... we’d love to hear from you.   You can contact Radio Glan Clwyd by phone on 01745-584229... or, if you’re here in hospital, on Extension 4360 or ask one of the volunteers going around the wards. You can also listen online at... http://www.rygc.co.uk. And here’s a request for Alex...

#10      Bad Romance... Lady GaGa

Here’s another powerful lady that escaped from a difficult childhood...  Ella Jane Fitzgerald (April 25, 1917 – June 15, 1996), also known as the "First Lady of Song" and "Lady Ella," was an American jazz and song vocalist. With a vocal range spanning three octaves (Db3 to Db6), she was noted for her purity of tone, impeccable diction, phrasing and intonation, and a "horn-like" improvisational ability, particularly in her scat singing.  She is considered to be a notable interpreter of the Great American Songbook.

#11      Mack the Knife...  Ella Fitzgerald                  

I usually introduce EFT at some point... and Emotional Freedom Techniques can certainly help you find your own power... which may have been locked away somewhere... but is really there inside you. You can find out all about it online if you Google EFT... and learn how  process any emotional issues yourself... although you could find an EFT practitioner to help you go through the process.

Many powerful women could be accused of losing their femininity and becoming just as hard, ruthless and calculating as men... and maybe that’s because they’ve had to succeed in a man’s world.  But I believe women can be powerful in their own right... and I believe the root of a woman’s Real Power is LOVE. I think that Pure Love... unconditional love... like snow... is cold and clear... not to be confused with slushy snow... that’s contaminated by watery emotion... and not hot passion that can burn out so quickly. Like snow, love covers over everything... and doesn’t see faults and imperfections. Pure Love... what the Greeks called Agape... principled love reflects awareness... like snow, which reflects the brilliance of the sun’s light from its crystalline essence. Like a blanket, snow insulates the vegetation below... protecting shoots preparing for spring from extreme frost... and love envelops and nurtures through the harsh times.   What I like about a thick snowfall is the way it slows life down... everything grinds to a halt... cars... trains and planes... and although this can be so frustrating to those who have schedules to keep and journeys to make...  when we awaken to a freshly covered landscape... and snow laden trees... on a bright sunny morning... as so often happens after a snowstorm... it really does make us stop and wonder in awe... at the beauty of a snowflake or icicle. And anything that can make us stop and wonder at the beauty of life... is Love... and that’s powerful.

#12      Lady Be Good...  Cleo Laine

After so many American singers... Cleo Laine is British...although her father was Jamaican and her mother English... she was sent to singing and dancing lessons at an early age... but did not take up singing professionally until her mid-twenties. She auditioned successfully for a band led by musician John Dankworth, (who died last year), and married him in 1958. Their careers both together and individually were very successful... and their two children: Alec Dankworth and Jacqui Dankworth, are both internationally successful musicians.

I’d like to thank you all for accompanying me on this journey today and I trust you’ve enjoyed my take on Life, the Universe and Everything... and this is Patsy Wynne signing off for today... from Radio Glan Clwyd...  and remember... Always look on the bright side...

Always look on the Bright side of Life... Monty Python...