On December 18, 1972, Australian Singer, Helen Reddy struck gold with her liberation anthem, “I Am Woman“. The tune was written by Reddy in collaboration with singer/songwriter Ray Burton.
Here’s how she came up with the idea:
“I couldn’t find any songs that said what I thought being woman was about. I thought about all these strong women in my family who had gotten through the Depression and world wars and drunken, abusive husbands. But there was nothing in music that reflected that.
“The only songs were ‘I Feel Pretty’ or that dreadful song ‘Born A Woman’. (The 1966 hit by Sandy Posey had observed that if you’re born a woman “you’re born to be stepped on, lied to, cheated on and treated like dirt. I’m glad it happened that way”.) These are not exactly empowering lyrics. I certainly never thought of myself as a songwriter, but it came down to having to do it.” Via WikiPedia.
Born October 25 1941, Helen Reddy placed 15 singles in the Top 40 of the Billboard Hot 100. Six made the Top 10 and three reached No. 1. She appeared in the Disney film “Pete’s Dragon” and was one of the all star cast in the movie “Sgt. Pepper’s Lonely Hearts Club Band”.
