March is Women’s History Month and serves as a time to honor the achievements and contributions that women of all backgrounds have made throughout the history of the United States, and the world by remembering those who paved the way in the struggle for gender equity in the United States, and by recognizing the history-makers and barrier breakers.
This month we’re highlighting the first all-female rock and roll groups, The Liverbirds, from Liverpool, UK, and the band Fanny, the first commercially successful rock and roll band in the United States.
Considered the first-ever commercial all-female rock and roll group, The Liverbirds, played from 1963 – 1968. The band was inspired by one evening in 1962, when Mary McGlory, then age 16, saw the Beatles play live at The Cavern Club in Liverpool. The nightclub is famously known as the “cradle of British pop music.” After seeing their performance, she decided she was going to be just like them… and be the first girl to do it.
The band came together when McGlory and three other working-class girls from Liverpool-drummer Sylvia Saunders and guitarists Valerie Gell and Pamela Birch, were determined to “break the male monopoly of the beat world.” Though only together for five years, they had immediate success and went on to tour alongside the Rolling Stones, the Kinks and Chuck Berry.
Though they mostly played cover songs, they did create some of their own music. Their best-performing single was Why Do You Hang Around Me?, with the single’s B-side Peanut Butter.
Fast forward to 2025, and two surviving members, McGlory, 78, and Saunders, 77, have just released a memoir, The Liverbirds: Our Life in Britain’s First Female Rock ‘n’ Roll Band. Check it out if you’d like to learn more about their pioneering history.
On this side of the pond, Fanny was the first all-female rock band to achieve commercial and critical success in the United States. The band was active in the 1970s and broke down barriers for women in rock.
Fanny was formed by sisters June and Jean Millington after moving from the Philippines to California in the 1960s. They were known for their unique style, rejecting the typical girl group “sound” and instead highlighting their musical skills. During their run, they had two Billboard Hot 100 top 40 hits with the songs I’ve Had It and Butter-Boy, a song written about lead singer Jean Millington and her hidden relationship with David Bowie.
The band recorded five albums between 1967 and 1975. Their final album was their most successful, titled Rock and Roll Survivors. They toured for a short time after but quickly disbanded the following year, but their legacy was already cemented in rock and roll history. Groups such as the Go-Go’s, the Bangles and the Runaways all cited Fanny as a key influence and inspiration for their music.
In a 1999 interview with Rolling Stone, David Bowie revealed his respect for the band, “they were one of the finest rock bands of their time. They were extraordinary. They wrote everything; they played like madwomen; they were just colossal and wonderful, and nobody’s ever mentioned them. They’re as important as anybody else who’s ever been, ever. It just wasn’t their time.”