The Pantagraph from Bloomington, Illinois • Page 53

MUSIC 'Girl groups' take on rock Random Motes by, and he hinted recently that the first rock concert powered entirely by solar energy may take place later this year. By RICHARD HARRINGTON The Washington Post Patty Donahue of the Waitresses may know what boys like, but Joan Jett knows that girls love rock 'n' roll. More than a quarter of a century after rock's ungainly birth, women are achieving success in a male-dominated world. Jett's and the Go-Go's' albums are both at the top of the record sales charts, with the Go-Go's' debut the first all-women's group to have reached Number One status. has a unique perspective, having produced the Angels and written for them the song "My Boyfriend's Back." Playing rock 'n' roll "is a macho thing, like driving fast cars or whatever it is boys do when they grow up.

It's part of the change in our society. But it was also inevitable: Girls grow up listening to music like guys do. Sooner or later they're not going to be satisfied just with guy guitar heroes. They're going to want to play the instruments themselves. It just took longer because it's not a traditional role for a woman to be a drummer or By CHRISTOPHER CONNELLY The Rolling Stone A frail, lovely Voko Ono reported last month on the progress of Strawberry-fields, the eight-acre memorial to John Lennon situated in New York's Central Park.

In a sun-drenched ceremony at Tavern on the Green the Central Park eatery where Lennon celebrated his 40th birthday Ono declared that "our prayers have been answered." More than 40 nations, including Poland, Israel, New Zealand and the U.S.S.R, have responded to Ono's request a year ago that world leaders donate plant or mineral items for the site. Such disparate articles as a drinking fountain, a gazebo and a mosaic walkway have been contributed. NASA is pitching in the sole official offering from the United States: a seedling germinated in outer space. Styx guitarist James "JY" Young is among the entertainers actively supporting a solar-power organization called the Solar Lob A- The new breed of women rocfc 'n' rollers is a far cry from the "girl groups" of the '50s and '60s. Paul McCartney and Michael Jackson recently got together in an L.A.

studio with producer Quincy Jones to record a tune the duo had written called "The Girl Is Mine." "It was great, these two guys singing live," reports Toto drummer Jeff Porcaro, who was part of the studio band. "It sounds like a signature tune of both of them there're definite McCartney melodies, and the groove is like an old Motown groove. We worked the tune out in the studio. George Martin was even there and he changed a couple of little chords." Porcaro said the band was slightly nervous about working with McCartney, "but I could tell that he was nervous too. Then afterward, it was just musicians hanging out." Did Paul sound good? "Oh, YEAH!" ji tXTm Debby Harry TWO-DAY CRUISE PEORIA TO STARVED-ROCK -kV is 1 XI A.

Pat Benatar them from this "teen-age jailbait." The Runaways lumbered loudly into oblivion. In the mid-'70s, Suzi Quatro moved in a different direction. She played strong electric bass and led a male band, and her leather-clad stance established her as one of the boys. Her music also signified a shift to a harder, aggressive beat, but Quatro was five years ahead of the times (in fact, her look and sound are almost exactly those that have been so successful for Joan Jett). The girls-in-the-band theme has expanded in several ways.

Women instrumentalists (sometimes doubling as singers) have slowly become integrated into bands, mostly New Wave, but including such stellar groups as Fleetwood Mac and Heart. They've formed all-women groups (England has several dozen, including heavy-metal sensation Girlschool, now touring the States). Or they've remained lead vocalists while dominating the songwriting or direction of their bands (Chrissie Hynde of the Pretenders, Pat Benatar, Debbie Harry of Blon-die). There are dozens of hybrids as well, including the two-woman, three-man B-52's. One group that has yet to convince critics it is more than a novelty is The Go-Go's.

Detractors insist the band members can't play their instruments very well. Gotterher scoffs. "They probably play as well or better than the Beatles did when they started making records. I think that's the key. They're going to get better and better." Gotterher also sees Jett and the Go-Go's as important role models for girls.

"I have a daughter who's 5 years old and she adores them. I watch the 10-and 12-year-old kids who follow the Go-Go's and consider them a significant part of their lives. And they're sensible role models for young kids to have; there's nothing out of line. It proves 'we can do it, we can accomplish i I The singles charts are also alive with the sound of macha, with Jett's "I Love Rock 'n' Roll" and the Go-Go's' "We Got the Beat." One suspects they're not going to give up that beat any time soon. It's been close to 20 years since "girl-group rock" held such a dominant position, but there's a world of difference between the singing-only Shangri-Las, Crystals and Ronettes of the '60s and Jett and the Go-Go's, who not only sing, but also play their instruments and write their material.

While Jett and company are filling huge arenas, at least one survivor of the earlier era is continuing her long comeback in smaller venues: former Ronette Ronnie Spector. "In the early '60s there were a lot of female lead singers," Spector says. "Then after the Beatles, everything was male four-piece bands; the music changed to all-male for a while. Now it's changing back to my type voice." The changes run much deeper than Spector will allow. In the girl-group heyday (1958-1965), groups like the Chiffons, Angels and Ronettes performed men's music at men's direction.

The music industry then, as now, was dominated by men. Alan Betrock, whose "The Girl Groups" will be published next month, points out that "all the girl groups of the '60s did was sing. They didn't write or produce or play their own instruments. Often they didn't even go out on tour; it was just a session or studio group. All the producers then were male, and the better records were dominated by a single strong personality like Phil Spector (Ronnie's former husband and producer) or Berry Gordy at Motown." That none of the girl groups had any success after leaving their original producers substantiates that point Women traditionally have been cast as singers, but times are changing, says Richard Got-terher, producer of the Go-Go's' multi-platinum debut.

Gotterher Saturday, May 15, 1982 ABOARD THE Patty Donahue 8i FOR BLUE GRASS MUSICIANS MUSIC LOVERS -BRING YOUR INSTRUMENT- Featuring CAPTAIN JOHN HARTFORD JUNE 14-15 an electric guitar player. Now it will be much more common." The Ronettes and other girl groups did serve as a bridge between the male teen idols of the late '50s and the self-contained groups that arrived as part of the British invasion in 1963. Half a decade later, Janis Joplin and Grace Slick started to redefine women's roles, but remained singers. By the early '70s, there were some all-women rock bands (Fanny, Isis, Bertha) but they lacked talent. The Runaways (with whom Jett performed) played their own instruments adequately but remained essentially a producer's fantasy and a boys' band; parents were advised to "lock up your sons" to protect FARE $135 INCLUDES MEALS LODGING hi FOR INFORMATION: P.O.

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