The Feminine Complex: one of the 1960s’ most overlooked all-girl garage bands
Even today, all-female rock bands are often treated like a novelty, accused of being industry plants and judged considerably harder than their male counterparts. The categorically false belief that women simply can’t play their instruments as well as men has infected music for many years, with famous figures like John Lennon even being quoted saying that “girls don’t play guitars.”
Rock has often been deemed an area where women are the fans or the groupies, but never the ones playing the instruments, and as a result of this, many women have shied away from trying their hands at being rockstars – after all, who wants to be surrounded by that much prejudice? During the early years of rock and roll, women were allowed to be pop stars, soul singers, or folk artists, but rarely were they able to be electric–guitar playing, drum stick-wielding musicians.
Still, many women, itchy with the desire to write music and play instruments, tried their best to cut through the sexist noise and judgemental comments from male musicians and made their own sound. One of the first all-female rock bands, The Feminine Complex, did just that, but their career was short-lived, with the teenagers disbanding as they moved away for college and not looking back until several decades later when their only album, Livin’ Love, was reissued.
The band was made of five high school girls from Nashville – Mindy Dalton, Judi Griffith, Pame Stephens, Lana Napier, and Jean Williams. Spending many hours rehearsing in their basements, the girls started to play live shows, often covering popular tracks. As one of the only female groups in their area, they proved that you didn’t need to be a man to attract an audience who would dance and listen to your music. Soon, they were signed to Athena Records – in fact, the band was their first recruit – and they started to record demos, including material they’d written themselves.
The band travelled to New York to perform on the TV show Showcase ‘68, a competition that they did not end up winning, but it was an experience they found exciting, nonetheless. These five teenage girls were suddenly given a glimpse of life as rock stars, and they subsequently continued to record music, resulting in their debut album, Livin’ Love, which arrived in 1969. It was reissued in 1996, with a collection of demos, To Be in Love, following in 1997. These two records offer crucial insight into the world of The Feminine Complex, a band who unknowingly paved the way for countless female rock artists who arrived in their wake – even if they did decide to pack in their trailblazing band as soon as they released their album.
The demos reflect their early years as a garage band, harnessing the raw energy that defines much proto-punk and garage rock of the period. Some of the tracks have a soulful quality, while others are more psychedelic, with the band covering tracks like ‘Spooky’, ‘(I’m Not Your) Steppin’ Stone’, and ‘You Keep Me Hangin’ On’. The lo-fi recording quality of these tracks is rather charming, but listening to them makes you wish you could hear these renditions in better quality, especially on songs like ‘Leslie’, inspired by ‘Gloria’. Their version of ‘Summertime’ is an intriguing one, with Dalton’s beguiling vocals sitting alongside sparse instrumentation, giving the song a rather melancholic quality.
Their one and only album is a much more polished product, however, and it features various songs that should be much more widely celebrated, like the gorgeous ‘Are You Lonesome Like Me?’. It’s a dreamy number, with lyrics like “I called out for you/ But all I could manage to say was/ ‘Hello, how you doin’?/ I hope you’re doin’ fine’.” With sumptuous instrumentation (complete with twinkling sounds) and silky smooth backing vocals, it’s truly one of the most underrated tracks of the ‘60s.
The more impassioned ‘Now I Need You’ is another highlight – it’s the kind of song you can imagine inspiring Amy Winehouse, with its soulful instrumentation and words like “Since I’ve been gone/ I’ve seen through my fears/ And now I need you/ To hold back my tears/ And now/ Now I need you.”
The Feminine Complex were a group of teenagers with a clear passion for their music, but one that they soon switched out for education and adult life. Perhaps they couldn’t fathom a longstanding career as musicians; no other all-female bands had achieved significant success at this point in time. This was pre-Fanny and pre-The Runaways – popular all-female bands were yet to become a common occurrence. So, they went their separate ways, leaving behind a fantastic album that remains a relic of the late ‘60s. It’s an incredibly impressive record, and one that deserves much more acclaim.
