I’ve mined the territory of checking in with women were doing in the recording studios through some random assortment of years during the 1960s. I started with 1965, jumped to 1961 and then did 1963.

1964 is an interesting year to ponder. Of course it’s mostly remembered as the beginning of the British Invasion that swept many popular U.S. Pop stars off the Billboard Hot 100. What’s often forgotten is it’s the year that saw Mary Wells’s, The Shangri-Las and The Dixie Cups scoring massive #1 hits, nevermind The Supremes scoring #3 hits in just 6 months of the year.

There’s the successes of Dionne Warwick, Martha & The Vandellas and Betty Everett that claimed a healthy share of the charts for women, and Black women in particular that kept opening up the world to the concept of proto-to-actual feminism. The largest number of women since World War II were staying in the workforce, and determining their life directions alongside the intersectional fight for Civil Rights.

So it’s no accident that there was still a plethora of female artists exercising their craft this year. For just over an hour and a half, we pile into a brand new Mustang worth of tunes with veterans and start ups of what was fresh, swinging and soulful from assorted women in the recording year in this huge transitional year in society.

Enjoy!

6)  The Supremes – Can’t Buy Me Love
7) The Sapphires – I’ve Got Mine, You’ve Better Get Yours

20) Maxine Brown – Oh Lord, What Are You Doing To Me?