What does a photographer who is also a Halloween enthusiast who also sings in a ‘90s cover band do with her new studio while under quarantine?
Step 1: Resist. Deny. Barter. Pout.
Step 2: Engage in heavy nostalgia, watching re-runs of Boy Meets World and listening to a playlist of Billboard top 100 hits from 1993.
Step 3: Notice a proliferation of cheap wigs, vintage and thrift store shopping gems, and bags of items waiting to be donated.
Step 4: Lightbulb.
One part self-preservation, equal parts boredom and a love of female musicians and the clothes they inspire, this photo project came with strict guidelines: Pay homage to one female musician each year from 1970-2019 who appeared on the Billboard Hot 100 that year using only items already found in my Austin apartment.
1970: Aretha Franklin
“Don’t Play That Song” Reaches #11
Attempting to channel a woman of color, not to mention a woman of color with this much talent, not to mention a woman of color no longer with us, is no easy task.
Many of the women on this list - for the purposes of cultural sensitivity and the limitations of my wig collection - are white women. But to not honor this Queen of Soul and civil rights activist would be more criminal than getting the hair just absolutely wrong.
Fun Facts: These earrings were pulled from an estate sale and reset by my grandfather, while the faux fur “wrap” is a body pillowcase that was just too fabulous to not make an appearance. The wig was leftover from the Halloween I dressed as Stefan from Saturday Night Live.
1971: Janis Joplin
“Me and Bobby McGee” Reaches #1
Janis Joplin was the original inspiration for taking this project beyond the ‘80s, when I first started shooting. Despite this, I only learned in researching this project that she attended UT Austin (Go Longhorns!)
Her style is synonymous with the ‘60s and Woodstock, where she performed. In fact, many consider her “active” only until 1970, when she died of a heroin overdose. Her song “Me and Bobby McGee” reached #1 in March of 1971 after her album “Pearl” was released posthumously.
Fun Fact: Minus the head scarf and wig, I have worn this outfit in public … not even remotely ironically.
1972: Cher
“The Way of Love” Reaches #2
Oh, the things you learn when you choose an artist simply based on the kick-ass red jumpsuit you snagged from a clothing swap last year.
Did I know “I Got You Babe” and “Do You Believe?” Of course. Did I know she was credited, in part, with popularizing bell bottoms in the 1960s? I did. And most people know she is - after 6 decades and still going - a Tony away from the coveted EGOT.
But Cherilyn Sarkisian La Piere Bono Allman has been credited with everything from being the first woman to bare her bellybutton on TV (actually false, it was the queens from the original Star Trek) to inspiring the fashion choices of the one and only Beyonce. But more on her later.
Fun Fact: Yeah, this is a Morticia Adams wig that never saw the light of day. Until now.
1973: Carly Simon
“You’re So Vain” Reaches #1
When all is said and done, how to choose between Carly Simon and Carole King, whose “Tapestry” album defined my childhood (20 years later)?
The answer comes down to hair - I just don’t have King’s mane. What I do have is Photoshop, turning my rapidly deteriorating blonde highlights (kind of) brunette. And it’s a good thing, because Simon was a relative unknown to me before this project.
What I did learn: She was 1971’s Best New Artist and the first person - not woman, person - to win a Grammy, Oscar, and Golden Globe for a song composed, written, and performed by the same artist (Her, obviously).
Fun Fact: Almost everything in this picture is worn backwards in an attempt to replicate the “You’re So Vain” album cover.
1974: Joni Mitchell
“Help Me” Reaches #1
Before this project, I could name 2 Joni Mitchell songs. I consider it the greatest injustice of my childhood that my father - who inspired in me a love of ‘70s musicians, talented guitarists, and female vocalists - never bothered to mention the holy trifecta.
Yes, I chose Joni Mitchell because of those insane cheekbones and the fact that I basically had to do nothing to my hair . Also, this shirt - can we talk about how awesome this shirt is? Thanks, me’mere!
But OK: A Canadian, she has been inducted into not only the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame, but the Canadian Music Hall of Fame. On multiple occasions, she has been listed as the best female guitarist of all time by Rolling Stone, and she smoked her first cigarette at age 9. Is that an accomplishment? I was impressed.
Fun Fact: I can’t stop listening to Joni Mitchell now.
1975: Karen Carpenter
"Please Mr. Postman” (The Carpenters) Reaches #1
Considered one of the greatest singers of all time by Rolling Stone, Carpenter was known for her range (3 octaves, to be exact, up there with the likes of Kelly Clarkson, Bruno Mars, and Celine Dion) but actually began as The Carpenters lead drummer. In fact, she received the John Phillip Sousa Award for her drumming. Who knew?
It’s hard to talk about Karen Carpenter, a woman who struggled her whole life with complications from anorexia nervosa, in any humorous way. So I just … won’t. But after her death in 1983, the world began taking notice of the disease, and my sister and I - as well as many other girls in the ‘80s and ‘90s - were lucky to grow up in a world where it was discussed and legitimized, unlike Carpenter.
Fun Fact: The Carpenters’ “They Long To Be (Close To You)” was playing the day I was born. So I’m told by my mother. But she exaggerates a lot.
1976: Linda McCartney
“Let ‘Em In” (Wings) Reaches #1
OK. Why Linda McCartney? Setting aside the fact that I’m totally nailing the hair and outfit in this picture, this is a celebrity photographer who managed to get a Beatle to fall in love with her, then formed a band with him. Can we just recognize the game here?
Jokes aside, in 1968, Linda McCartney was the first woman to have a photograph featured on the cover of Rolling Stone. Years later, after meeting and then marrying Paul McCartney she became in 1974 the first - and still only - person to both shoot a cover image for the magazine and later appear as the subject.
Linda was not a naturally gifted singer (see, we’re basically the same person) and had to learn her instrument - the keyboard - on the job while recording Wings’ first album, “Ram.” She was also criticized often for singing offkey, a fact she never denied. Because, again, she’s a total badass.
1977: Marie Osmond
“Ain’t Nothing Like the Real Thing” Reaches #21
Did you know Marie Osmond was never in the Osmonds? Did you know she was the only daughter in a family of nine kids? I’m sure people more familiar with her would know - I just picked her because of her dope fashion sense and the opportunity to repurpose my Mia Wallace wig.
But a deeper dive into Osmond’s career pulls some interesting facts - She has a 40-year singing career, including a new opera album to be released this year, has performed in leading roles on Broadway, and has been a proud supporter of LGBTQ rights. No simple task for a member of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints.
Fun Fact: Along with having 2 children of her own, Osmond adopted 5 more. Step aside, Brangelina.
1978: Linda Ronstadt
"Back in the U.S.A” Reaches #16
10 Grammy Awards, 38 Billboard singles, and 30 studio albums, Ronstadt was voted the Top Female Pop Singer of the 1970s. By Playboy, but hey, it’s not like they were alone. She also appeared six times on the cover of Rolling Stone and has often been referred to as the Queen of Rock.
Also, can we talk about the fact that her Grammy awards include Best Pop Vocal Performance, Best Country Vocal Performance, Best Mexican-American Performance, and Best Musical Album for Children? I’m not going to lie - I scrolled up to make sure I was on the right Wikipedia page when I saw that one.
Fun Fact:: The iconic flower Ronstadt often wore in her hair came from bouquets sent backstage by fans, a style decision she later admitted regretting.
1979: Debbie Harry
“Heart of Glass” (Blondie) Reaches #1
So, Debbie Harry used to be a Playboy Bunny. Did I know that? It tracks. In fact, the Blondie lead singer (who preferred to refer to herself as “Dirty Harry”) has lived a life rife with interesting factoids, like the fact that “Call Me” was originally written for Stevie Nicks, and that her famous zebra-print dress was a repurposed pillowcase.
Style-wise, Harry was immortalized in 1980 by Andy Warhol, and she collaborated for years with fashion designer Stephen Sprouse. The designer was credited for her predilection toward slip dresses (and, by extension, my predilection toward slip dresses) and the two often fashioned entire outfits for Harry out of found objects in dumpsters and abandoned apartment homes in New York City.
Fun Fact: This wig is actually green. Thank you, Photoshop.