Maureen Mahon

Even next to Patti Labelle's charisma and Nona Hendryx's songcraft, there is no Labelle without the range and clarity of Dash's silver throat — and the trio's commitment to singing as equals.

The full impact of Spector's musical legacy is impossible to measure without accounting for the creative labor of singers like Darlene Love and the damage Spector's manipulations did to their careers.

Bessie Smith's songs are tales of liberated women who are not afraid to speak openly about what they want, what they need and what they are tired of.