Judy Henske once commented that there exists five sexes in humanity: men, women, fags, dykes, and chic singers.

Indeed, in the last several years, the emergence of the female rock singer has made quite a dent on the industry, the public, and the cause of femininity. The modern chic singer is a unique commodity, to be sure, and quite a contrast to the images portrayed by forerunners like Billy Holiday and Dinah Washington. Today's girls are on the road constantly, almost always in the company of four or five men, making up either her back-up or the rest of the group that she's a part of. She's always in the public eye (the record buying public) and, because of her limited ranks, suffers through constant comparison with her counterparts.

Of course, when one thinks of chic singers, the names Joplin and Slick instantly pop up... and well they should. They've been around the longest (in pioneer fashion) and have hence gotten the most exposure and publicity.

But what of the other girls in rock? The girls who, perhaps influenced by the success of Joplin and Slick, have chosen to make rock their calling? We all know, through articles in everything from Life to Vogue to Hit Parader, what kind of lives the aforementioned San Franciscans live, but is that necessarily a stereotype for other chics... especially newcomers?

With that in mind, I assembled a panel of the other "girls" in rock.

The girls involved were:

       LINDA RONSTADT:  Ex-Stone Poney who's now carving out 
          an artistically-successful career as a solo,
          ultra-sexy country-rock artist.

       LYNN CAREY:  Formerly the lead singer with C.K. Strong,
          she's currently re-evaluating her position; whether
          to go back to being "the chic in the group" or to 
          go into more solo-oriented things.

       LYDIA PENSE:  A relative newcomer to the rock scene, she's
          the lead singer for Cold Blood and is about to face
          many of the pressures and experiences that the other
          girls refer to.

       NANSI NEVINS:  As Sweetwater's female vocalist, she's
          gotten generally excellent reviews, but still finds
          herself in the bag of constantly being compared 
          to "the Grace Slick sound".