Happy Mother’s Day! Shout out to 5 Amazing Rock & Roll Moms

Being a mom is a hard job--much harder than being rock star, yet somehow these amazing women kick butt at doing both! In honor of moms everywhere, North Main Music is highlighting some incredible women in music who deserve some pampering this Mother’s Day…

Where did you get your love of music? Is your mom musical? Maybe she played an instrument, sang in church or in a band, or saves up her hard-earned money so that you can take music lessons?

However you found your way into music, your mother was probably there to love and support you on your musical journey. This Mother’s Day, we can’t help but think about rockin’ women in music who are also moms.

1. Ann Wilson
Best known as the lead singer and songwriter for the hard rock band Heart, Wilson was named one of the “Top Heavy Metal Vocalists of All Time” by Hit Parader magazine in 2006. Known for some killer songs like “Crazy on You” and “Barracuda,” Wilson is also the adoptive mother of two kids. With her dramatic soprano vocal range and powerful lyrics, Wilson is a maternal force to be reckoned with.

2. Alicia Keys

Singer-songwriter, pianist, music producer, philanthropist, actor, and mother are just a few of Keys’ achievements thus far--and she’s only 37 years old! Her beautiful voice and unforgettable songs, like smash hits, “Fallin” and “Girl on Fire,” helped her soar to the top of the charts, but one of her most groundbreaking and empowering performances was at the 2010 BET Prince Tribute, during which she performed barefoot and several months pregnant and climbed on top of a piano! The expression on Prince’s face as he watched her climb on the piano says it all--what a powerful mama!

3. Kim Gordon

Gordon obviously did things that moms do—changed dirty diapers, sang lullabies, and celebrated little achievements with her daughter, Coco. But she did something else that the average mom doesn’t do: she helped define a generation and a genre by creating Sonic Youth with Thurston Moore, during a time in music history when no-wave music was all the rage. Gordon was the bassist, guitarist, and vocalist for the New York-based band, all while being a mom, too--talk about multi-tasking! In addition to her prolific musical output she also found time to write a book. In Girl In A Band, she elaborates on her life and what it’s like to be a mom who rocks. Hats off to Kim Gordon on this Mother’s Day!

4. Beyoncé

Beyoncé’s kids have been in the spotlight from the time they were born. The world waited for her children to arrive like a kid waits for gifts on Christmas. In addition to selling over 100 million records worldwide and winning 22 Grammy’s, Beyoncé still finds time volunteer with charitable causes. After Hurricane Katrina in 2005, Beyoncé and Kelly Rowland founded the Survivor Foundation to provide transitional housing for victims in the Houston area. By most accounts, Beyoncé appears to be a kind and humble person. And those are qualities that make any mom rock.

5. Chrissie Hynde

Chrissie Hynde is best known as a founding member of the Pretenders. With her take- no-prisoners lyrical and musical approach, and her Zen-Beatnik-Punk-Biker style, Hynde has influenced the musical landscape, as well as female fashion and the feminist attitude, for decades. However, few people (outside of her hardcore fans), may know that Hynde follows Vaishnavism, a branch of Hinduism; is a strict vegetarian; and the mother of 2 daughters. Hynde brings the concept of being a “cool mom” to a whole new level.

How does your mom rock? Tell us about her in the comments below!



This article was inspired by/adapted from the following article on takelessons.com.

The Importance of Mistakes and 5 Famous Rock & Roll Screw-Ups

As humans and musicians, we all make mistakes. Everyone from absolute beginners to high-level professionals are subject to the occasional mess-up and each of us reacts to our imperfections differently. Some musicians are able to recover and move on seamlessly from mistakes, while others allow slight errors to affect their confidence.

The way a musician thinks about mistakes has a huge impact on how they develop as a performer. When musicians are overly-critical of themselves, it can prevent them from being creative and venturing outside of their comfort zone. Mistakes are a necessary part of growing as a player, and without developing the ability to recognize and learn from our gaffes, we miss out on opportunities to improve.

Next time you misstep during a performance, think about what you can take away from the experience. Were there any nice moments or ideas you can use or expand upon in your next performance? What exactly caused the error, and how can you prevent it from happening again?

Remember, play the right notes, but play with feeling and with fearlessness. Focusing on soul and emotion is infinitely more important than focusing on perfection, and mistakes are an invaluable learning tool for any musician. Accept your mistakes as learning lessons, and know that you’re in good company. Some of the most famous acts of all time have messed up big time. From studio slips, to forgotten lyrics, to technical glitches, everyone deals with mistakes from time to time. Here are five of our favorites:

Van Halen - “Jump” (Live) - The synth track plays back in the wrong key during this live performance, resulting in 6 minutes of awful noise.

Paul McCartney - “We Can Work It Out” (Live) - Paul messes up the lyrics not once but twice during this acoustic performance, restarting the song both times.

The Police - “Roxanne” - The seemingly random piano chord at 0:04 and laughing at 0:06 were caused by Sting accidentally leaning on a piano during the recording session.

Billy Joel - “We Didn’t Start the Fire” - Billy forgets some of the words of the second verse, and is forced to start the song over.

Led Zeppelin - “Baby I’m Gonna Leave You” - Beginning at 2:20 you can hear a dim voice that is actually Robert Plant singing along with John Bonham’s drum track. There was no way to remove Robert’s voice from the tracks, so it stayed in.