Having had a look at lovely ladies whose names start with the latter A and then powering our way through the B’s, we now turn our attention to the C’s and some ladies who love ladies.  I know, it’s a tough job and all that but we are very dedicated here at Gaelick towers.  Being a lady who belongs to this category myself I have high hopes for my peers.

So lets start with some musical women who hit the right note, from cabaret to country with a few dentures through indie and pop.

Claire Waldoff (1884 – 1957)

Born in Germany, Claire became a beloved cabaret singer in Berlin in the 1910′s and 1920′s.  At the turn of the century she got a job in the theatre and went on to be a major hit in cabarets, singing her songs with a distinctive Berliner slang.  Waldoff hit her stride in the 1920′s and was played on the radio, which in those days was an incredible achievement, she even sang with the amazing Marlene Dietrich.

Claire lived with her partner Olga von Roeder in Berlin for many years but when the Nazi’s came to power in the early 1930′s the couple moved to Bavaria and Claire’s great success came to a premature end.  Sadly she lost all her money but did go on to write an autobiography in 1953.

Cris Williamson (1947 – present)

Cris was out and proud before many of the people you may think of when you hear words like “lesbian singer” or “lesbian visibility”, a true trailblazer.  She a singer songwriter who is also a political activist and serves as a wonderful role model to many in our community.

Born in South Dakota, Williamson was one of the brains behind Olivia Records a label which was created in 1973 and was aimed solely at gay women.  She went on to record over a dozen records with the label herself, not to mention helping to form a safe space for so many who followed.  Not many people will leave a legacy like the one Cris will leave.  Her beautiful song Sweet Woman (listen onclick=”javascript:pageTracker._trackPageview (‘/outbound/www.youtube.com’);”>here) is thought of by many as the first major release love song from a woman to a woman, on that she says:

With Sweet Woman, all of the sudden there were women who would get it. And they’d about drive off the road. They’d write me. “Oh My God! All of the sudden it hit me. It’s a woman singing about another woman. How powerful!” Such a simple thing…  Power can come from the simplest place, which for me is about the truth. There is nothing quite so fine as telling the truth straight like that and not being afraid. I didn’t know to be afraid.

Catie Curtis (1965 – present)

Having played drums professionally from just 15 Catie was obviously a women heading for the big time.  Her latest of 11 albums was released only last year but what I love about her is how hard she is to categorise, is she indie is she pop, is she country – she’s all of the above and more.

Her songs feature in top TV shows like Dawson’s Creek and Alias, she has performed on stage with some great names like Mary Chapin Carpenter, but why does she make my list?  Well, because she donates instruments to underprivileged children of course, and I mean tons of ‘em.  She does this through her own Aspire to Inspire inititive.  Not only that but being married with two kids herself Catie is so dedicated to marriage equality that she became ordained to officiate them herself in 2010, nice one.

Chely Wright (1970 – present)

Have you ever heard that someone came out and wanted to shout – “ha told you so!”  I’ve been a fan of Chely’s music for years so of course she makes my list. A song writer and singer from Kansas, Chely has rightly been the recipient of many country music awards over the years, having written some great songs, not just for herself but for many others including Richard Marx and the unstoppable Indigo Girls.

Her coming out in 2010 was followed not only by her autobiography Like Me and the award winning documentary Wish Me Away but also with some great advocacy work, not least of which was the opening, earlier this summer, of the Like Me Lighthouse in Kansas City.  The only annoying thing about Chely is she is one of those women who gets better looking with age.  I could go on and on but it could easily become one big swoon-fest and she’s a married woman!

Camila Grey (1979 – present)

Half of Uh Huh Her along with girlfriend Leisha Hailey, Camila is a successful musician from Austin Texas.  The pair have released several recordings since 2007 and have toured extensively.  The band name comes from a PJ Harvey album so you can’t go wrong can you?

Grey played keyboard and bass for a host of artists before becoming the lead vocalist, guitar player and also playing keyboard for Uh Huh Her.  She hasn’t quit her day job just yet either and has toured with Adam Lambert’s live band on keyboards.

So who have I missed out, there are bound to be plenty more of us, amazing women whose names start with C.  Let us know in the comments section below who you would ad.