The Blog of Awesome Women/ MELISSA ETHERIDGE: THE MOUTH THAT ROARED

Melissa is beloved for the great music she makes, but she achieved eternal sheroism with her album “Yes I Am,” a public coming-out and celebration of her lesbianism. An ebullient spirit who can sing, play killer guitar, and write hit songs by the droves, Melissa Etheridge hails from Kansas; and at thirty-six, she embraced shared motherhood of her child with her partner of ten years, film maker Julie Cypher. Melissa’s personal shero is Janis Joplin, and she hopes to portray the Texas rock legend on film one day. Etheridge, who has enjoyed the changing tide for women in the music industry, delights in the success of musicians she respects: Edie Brickell, Tracy Chapman, Toni Childs, Natalie Merchant, Michelle Shocked, and the Indigo Girls, all who sell records by the millions. Even a few years ago, Etheridge remembers that rock radio jocks claimed they could only play one woman a day or risk losing their male listeners. “All of a sudden the whole lid was blown off…people were coming to our concerts, and they were requesting our songs on the radio, and radio changed. That’s the way America works. The public ultimately says, ‘This what we want.’ The world was ready for strong women’s inspired music.” And Melissa Etheridge was at the forefront of the revolution!

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