Goldie & the Gingerbreads was an all-female American

rock band A rock band or pop band is a small musical ensemble that performs rock music, pop music, or a related genre. A four-piece band is the most common configuration in rock and pop music. In the early years, the configuration was typically two gui ...

from 1962 to 1967. They were the first all-female rock band signed to a major record label.Lucy O'Brien. ''She Bop II: The Definitive History of Women in Rock, Pop and Soul.'' London: Continuum, 2002. 95. Whereas most female bands were ignored by the big record labels and their live performances rarely attracted more than gimmick-seeking crowds, the quartet consisting of three musicians and a singer: Ginger Bianco, Margo Lewis, Carol MacDonald, and Genya "Goldie" Zelkowitz (later

Genya Ravan Genya Ravan, a.k.a. Goldie (born Genyusha Zelkovicz; April 19, 1940) is an American rock singer and music producer. She was lead singer of The Escorts, Goldie and the Gingerbreads, and Ten Wheel Drive. Life and career Childhood Ravan was bo ...

), were among the first to break into a domain dominated by men. They were signed to

Decca Decca may refer to: Music * Decca Records or Decca Music Group, a record label * Decca Gold, a classical music record label owned by Universal Music Group * Decca Broadway, a musical theater record label * Decca Studios, a recording facility in We ...

in 1963 and to

Atlantic The Atlantic Ocean is the second-largest of the world's five oceans, with an area of about . It covers approximately 20% of Earth's surface and about 29% of its water surface area. It is known to separate the " Old World" of Africa, Europe ...

in 1964.Mitch Patrick. ''Girls with Guitars.'' Liner Notes. 4. Ace Records, 2004. CDCHD989.

Early days

In 1962, local musician Genya Zelkowitz (later known as

) was introduced to

drummer A drummer is a percussionist who creates music using drums. Most contemporary western bands that play rock, pop, jazz, or R&B music include a drummer for purposes including timekeeping and embellishing the musical timbre. The drummer's ...

Ginger Bianco (née Panabianco), in the

New York City New York, often called New York City or NYC, is the List of United States cities by population, most populous city in the United States. With a 2020 population of 8,804,190 distributed over , New York City is also the L ...

club where Zelkowitz was the lead singer of Richard Perry's band The Escorts.Frost. "Garageland." 416.Genya Ravan. ''Lollipop Lounge: Memoirs of a Rock and Roll Refugee.'' London: Billboard Books, 2004. 49. Panabianco was on stage, drumming for a friend of Perry's. This acquaintance with a female drummer inspired in Genya the idea of an all-female

rock and roll Rock and roll (often written as rock & roll, rock 'n' roll, or rock 'n roll) is a genre of popular music that evolved in the United States during the late 1940s and early 1950s. It originated from African-American music such as jazz, rhythm ...

band. The name of the would-be band was quickly decided on: ''Goldie'' was the name given to Genya by her mother after their arrival in the United States from post-war Poland, whilst ''gingerbread'' was a play on Ginger's name. Richard Perry and the other members of The Escorts were college students. When the summer concert season ended, Genya and Ginger began to look for a

pianist A pianist ( , ) is an individual musician who plays the piano. Since most forms of Western music can make use of the piano, pianists have a wide repertoire and a wide variety of styles to choose from, among them traditional classical music, ja ...

and soon recruited Carol O'Grady. Finding a female guitarist turned out to be much harder. Various ad-hoc recruits filled in as and when required, but when they accompanied

Chubby Checker Chubby Checker (born Ernest Evans; October 3, 1941) is an American rock and roll singer and dancer. He is widely known for popularizing many dance styles, including The Twist dance style, with his 1960 hit cover of Hank Ballard & The Midnight ...

on his 1962 concert tour of

West Germany West Germany is the colloquial term used to indicate the Federal Republic of Germany (FRG; german: Bundesrepublik Deutschland , BRD) between its formation on 23 May 1949 and the German reunification through the accession of East Germany on 3 ...

and

Switzerland ). Swiss law does not designate a ''capital'' as such, but the federal parliament and government are installed in Bern, while other federal institutions, such as the federal courts, are in other cities (Bellinzona, Lausanne, Luzern, Neuchâtel ...

, they performed without a guitarist. Organist Margo Lewis, who turned out to be the group's third permanent member, replaced O'Grady and performed with the group on the Chubby Checker tour. The following year, Goldie and the Gingerbreads found guitarist and vocalist Carol MacDonald, who at the time was signed to Atlantic/Atco Records, and she became the fourth permanent band member.Gillian G. Gaar. ''She's a Rebel: The History of Women in Rock and Roll.'' Seattle: Seal Press, 1992. 64. The group's first release on the Spokane Records label was titled "Skinny Vinnie". Although credited to Zelkowitz and Stan Green, the song was, in fact, the Bill Haley composition "

Skinny Minnie "Skinny Minnie" is a 1958 song co-written and recorded by Bill Haley and his Comets. The song was released as a Decca single which became a Top 40 chart hit in the U.S. Background "Skinny Minnie" was composed by Bill Haley with Milt Gabler, Rusty ...

" with slight lyric changes.

The Mods and Rockers Ball

In 1964,

fashion photographer Fashion photography is a genre of photography which is devoted to displaying clothing and other fashion items, sometimes haute couture. It typically consists of a fashion photographer taking a picture of a dressed model in a photographic studio ...

and director Jerry Schatzberg threw a party for the Warhol superstar Baby Jane Holzer that was later referred to by writer

Tom Wolfe Thomas Kennerly Wolfe Jr. (March 2, 1930 – May 14, 2018)Some sources say 1931; ''The New York Times'' and Reuters both initially reported 1931 in their obituaries before changing to 1930. See and was an American author and journalist widely ...

as "the Mods and Rockers ball, the party of the year."Lisa Rhodes. ''Electric Ladyland: Women and Rock Culture.'' Philadelphia: University of Pennsylvania Press, 2005. 135 Goldie and the Gingerbreads were booked to provide the musical entertainment and impressed the assembled attendees with both their music and their inimitable presence. Among the guests at this fashionable and well-attended event were

The Rolling Stones The Rolling Stones are an English rock band formed in London in 1962. Active for six decades, they are one of the most popular and enduring bands of the rock era. In the early 1960s, the Rolling Stones pioneered the gritty, rhythmically dr ...

and Ahmet Ertegün, the chairman of

Atlantic Records Atlantic Recording Corporation (simply known as Atlantic Records) is an American record label founded in October 1947 by Ahmet Ertegun and Herb Abramson. Over its first 20 years of operation, Atlantic earned a reputation as one of the most im ...

, who promptly signed them to the label.

The Gingerbreads in Europe

Later in 1964, the band met

Eric Burdon Eric Victor Burdon (born 11 May 1941) is an English singer. He was previously the lead vocalist of R&B and rock band the Animals and funk band War. He is regarded as one of the British Invasion's most distinctive singers with his deep, pow ...

and

The Animals The Animals (also billed as Eric Burdon and the Animals) are an English rock band, formed in Newcastle upon Tyne in the early 1960s. The band moved to London upon finding fame in 1964. The Animals were known for their gritty, bluesy sound and ...

, whose manager contracted the Gingerbreads for a tour in

England England is a country that is part of the United Kingdom. It shares land borders with Wales to its west and Scotland to its north. The Irish Sea lies northwest and the Celtic Sea to the southwest. It is separated from continental Europe ...

. These standard group tours were arranged by record companies to showcase their roster of talent and the Gingerbreads were one of up to six bands on the tour, performing on the same bill night after night in small towns. In Britain, they toured with The Rolling Stones, The Animals,

The Beatles The Beatles were an English Rock music, rock band, formed in Liverpool in 1960, that comprised John Lennon, Paul McCartney, George Harrison and Ringo Starr. They are regarded as the Cultural impact of the Beatles, most influential band of al ...

The Yardbirds The Yardbirds are an English rock band, formed in London in 1963. The band's core lineup featured vocalist and harmonica player Keith Relf, drummer Jim McCarty, rhythm guitarist and later bassist Chris Dreja and bassist/producer Paul Samwe ...

The Hollies The Hollies are a British pop rock band, formed in 1962. One of the leading British groups of the 1960s and into the mid-1970s, they are known for their distinctive three-part vocal harmony style. Allan Clarke and Graham Nash founded the band ...

and

The Kinks The Kinks were an English rock band formed in Muswell Hill, north London, in 1963 by brothers Ray and Dave Davies. They are regarded as one of the most influential rock bands of the 1960s. The band emerged during the height of British rhyt ...

, among others.Gaar. ''She's a Rebel.'' 65 Troubles with British working visa requirements led to the band performing dates in West Germany (where many UK and US troops were then stationed as part of the

NATO The North Atlantic Treaty Organization (NATO, ; french: Organisation du traité de l'Atlantique nord, ), also called the North Atlantic Alliance, is an intergovernmental military alliance between 30 member states – 28 European and two N ...

defences) at venues including the Star-Club in

Hamburg Hamburg (, ; nds, label=Hamburg German, Low Saxon, Hamborg ), officially the Free and Hanseatic City of Hamburg (german: Freie und Hansestadt Hamburg; nds, label=Low Saxon, Friee un Hansestadt Hamborg),. is the List of cities in Germany by popul ...

while they waited for their British work permits to come through. A subsequent appearance in Paris at the Olympia earned Goldie & The Gingerbreads a favourable introduction to the French music scene, despite technical difficulties that arose during the performance.

The politics of popular music

Throughout the early 1960s, Goldie and the Gingerbreads toured extensively throughout North America. Here, the club and venue promoters were not so much interested in their music as in presenting the novelty of an all-female musical group. Goldie and the Gingerbread's single "

Can't You Hear My Heartbeat "Can't You Hear My Heartbeat" is a song written by John Carter and Ken Lewis, produced by Mickie Most, and performed by Herman's Hermits. It reached #2 on the ''Billboard'' Hot 100 in 1965. "Can't You Hear My Heartbeat" was kept from the #1 sp ...

" reached No. 25 on the

UK Singles Chart The UK Singles Chart (currently titled Official Singles Chart, with the upper section more commonly known as the Official UK Top 40) is compiled by the Official Charts Company (OCC), on behalf of the British record industry, listing the top-s ...

in 1965. Although it was also released in the United States, a recording of the same song by the heavily promoted

Herman's Hermits Herman's Hermits are an English beat, rock and pop group formed in 1964 in Manchester, originally called Herman and His Hermits and featuring lead singer Peter Noone. Produced by Mickie Most, the Hermits charted with number ones in the UK ...

was released nationwide with great fanfare just two weeks prior to the Gingerbreads' version, thus fatally undermining the Gingerbreads' chances for their first hit single in the U.S.Gaar. ''She's a Rebel.'' 66.

The end

Over the course of 1967 and 1968, the group began to fragment as various members came and went. A return to the United States in a final attempt to garner mainstream success there failed. Genya Ravan's strong personality and selfish leadership has been cited as the major factor in the band's split, although frustration due to making little profit from their record releases may also have been a significant issue.

Future careers

Genya Ravan went on to form Ten Wheel Drive and a career in

record production A record producer is a recording project's creative and technical leader, commanding studio time and coaching artists, and in popular genres typically creates the song's very sound and structure.Virgil Moorefield"Introduction" ''The Producer as ...

and radio. She produced the

Dead Boys The Dead Boys are an American punk rock band from Cleveland, Ohio, United States. The band was among the first wave of punk, and regarded by many as one of the rowdiest and most violent groups of the era. They were formed by vocalist Stiv B ...

1977 debut album '' Young Loud and Snotty''. She now hosts two radio shows on Little Steven's

Underground Garage ''Underground Garage'' is the name shared by two related but different radio outlets, a syndicated show and a satellite radio station, both created and supervised by American musician Steven Van Zandt (best known as a guitarist in Bruce Springst ...

channel on Sirius/XM: Goldie's Garage and Chicks and Broads. Ravan's memoirs, entitled ''Lollipop Lounge: Memoirs of a Rock and Roll Refugee,'' were published in 2004 by

Billboard Books ''Billboard'' (stylized as ''billboard'') is an American music and entertainment magazine published weekly by Penske Media Corporation. The magazine provides music charts, news, video, opinion, reviews, events, and style related to the mus ...

. Carol MacDonald and Ginger Bianco later formed the nucleus of jazz-fusion band

Isis Isis (; ''Ēse''; ; Meroitic: ''Wos'' 'a''or ''Wusa''; Phoenician: 𐤀𐤎, romanized: ʾs) was a major goddess in ancient Egyptian religion whose worship spread throughout the Greco-Roman world. Isis was first mentioned in the Old Kin ...

. Margo Lewis is owner and president of Talent Consultants International, Ltd., a talent booking agency in New York, and a partner in Talent Source, Ltd, which manages the estate of

Bo Diddley Ellas McDaniel (born Ellas Otha Bates; December 30, 1928 – June 2, 2008), known professionally as Bo Diddley, was an American guitarist who played a key role in the transition from the blues to rock and roll. He influenced many artists, inc ...

. Lewis toured with Diddley as his personal manager and as his keyboard player for the last 10 years of his life. In 2011, Goldie and The Gingerbreads were recognized by the

Rock and Roll Hall Of Fame The Rock and Roll Hall of Fame (RRHOF), sometimes simply referred to as the Rock Hall, is a museum and hall of fame located in downtown Cleveland, Ohio, United States, on the shore of Lake Erie. The museum documents the history of rock music and ...

as part of its "Women Who Rock: Vision, Passion, Power" exhibit.

1997 reunion

On November 13, 1997, the Gingerbreads performed once more to mark their 30th anniversary and to commemorate the release of ''The

Rolling Stone ''Rolling Stone'' is an American monthly magazine that focuses on music, politics, and popular culture. It was founded in San Francisco, California, in 1967 by Jann Wenner, and the music critic Ralph J. Gleason. It was first known for its ...

Book of Women in Rock''. Accompanying Ginger, Margo and Genya was Debby Hastings on bass and Diane Scanlon on guitar.

Touchstone Award

On February 3, 1998, Goldie and The Gingerbreads were presented with a Touchstone Award from NY based Women in Music. This distinction is given to women who "have the courage and inspiration to make a difference in the music industry and whose work has set new standards.". At the awards ceremony, the statuettes were presented to each member of the group by music legend

Ahmet Ertegun Ahmet Ertegun (, Turkish spelling: Ahmet Ertegün; ; – December 14, 2006) was a Turkish-American businessman, songwriter, record executive and philanthropist. Ertegun was the co-founder and president of Atlantic Records. He discovered and ch ...

Line-up

Although several other musicians played with Goldie & the Gingerbreads over the years, permanent members were: *

– vocals, tambourine, saxophone * Ginger Bianco – drums, percussion * Margo Lewis – B3 organ, keyboards * Carol MacDonald (joined 1963) – guitar, background vocals – MacDonald died on March 12, 2007.

Discography

Singles *"Skinny Vinnie" / "Chew Chew Fee Fi Fum" – (1964), ''SPOKANE 45-4005 *"That's Why I Love You" / "What Kind of Man Are You" – (1965), ''ATCO 45-6354'' *"

" / "Little Boy" – (1965), ''DECCA 12070'' *"That's Why I Love You" / "The Skip" – (1965), ''DECCA 12126'' *"Sailor Boy" / "Please Please" – (1966), ''DECCA 12199'' *"Look for Me Baby" – (1966), DECCA *"Think About the Good Times" / "Please Please" – (1966), ''ATCO 45-6427'' *"Walking in Different Circles" / "Song of the Moon" – (1967), ''ATCO 45-6475'' *"Think About the Good Times" – ''FONTANA 693'' Compilations *''Thinking About the Good Times: Complete Recordings 1964-1966'' Compilation, Goldie and the Gingerbreads, 2021 Ace

References

External links

Genya Ravan's website

{{DEFAULTSORT:Goldie and The Gingerbreads All-female bands Beat groups American garage rock groups