Women in New Wave: How Debbie Harry, Tina Weymouth, the Go-Go’s, and Cyndi Lauper Rewired Pop’s Possibilities

These trailblazing artists didn’t just perform —they reshaped the sound, style, and spirit of an era.

Listen to it here, or read on!

Intro

As I mentioned in What is New Wave, Anyway? , the genre welcomed eccentricity, visuals, and subversion. So new wave music was the perfect vehicle for women musicians to break through, compared to other styles of the late ‘70s and ‘80s. With the trifecta of style, sound, and spirit, these women expanded what it meant to be a female rocker - and rewrote the playbook while they were at it.

Debbie Harry (Blondie)

This north Jersey native is the hands-down face of Blondie. (in fact, many mistakenly call HER Blondie!) When forming the band, Debbie recalled often called “Blondie” in catcalls at her. So she decided to own it and name the band that. In the male-dominated rock music scene in the ‘70s, Harry as frontwoman was a breath of fresh air. Her and the band became regulars at seminal New Wave NYC venue CBGB. Debbie and Blondie embodied punk’s edge and New Wave’s curiosity. Unlike many punk peers, they weren’t afraid to blend in disco—Heart of Glass ($) being the shining example. And while it came out in 1979, the band internally floated it around as The Disco Song soon after they formed in the mid-’70s. Also, Harry the maverick was drawn to the Bronx hip-hop scene via graffiti artist Fab Five Freddy. Inspired by this, she rolled the dice and had the band make and release Rapture, which grafts a funk element on Blondie’s angular melodies. But it’s the bridge of the song that was seminal: Harry raps! Grandmaster Flash credited this song to opening the door for rap and hip-hop.

Debbie’s vocal delivery is quintessentially new wave: while many vocalists use nervous energy (David Byrne of Talking Heads) or are intentionally detached (Phillip Oakey of the Human League), Debbie borrows the jadedness of punk but little of the rage (think Disgust from Inside Out, rather than Anger).

She lent her voice, time, and energy to LGBTQ+ advocacy well before it was mainstream. For example, she was a friend of and collaborated with Andy Warhol. Harry is also a philanthropist, saying she was inspired by Elton John’s efforts fighting the AIDS crisis.

Tina Weymouth (Talking Heads, Tom Tom Club)

Tina grew up in the San Diego area in a military (Navy) family. When a teenager, Tina loved the music of Dylan and Peter, Paul and Mary and because of this learned to play the guitar. Talking Heads was a then-rare example of a mixed-gender band where the frontperson was not a woman. Like Harry and Blondie, Weymouth and the Talking Heads were CBGB staples early in their career. Weymouth’s bass guitar style incorporates elements of art punk and funk to give Talking Heads their signature, semi-danceable melodies. Her basslines counterbalanced Byrne’s jittery vocals, adding warmth and groove to the band’s angular sound. On Psycho Killer, Weymouth’s bassline is minimal but hypnotic—steadily pulsing beneath the jittery vocals like a heartbeat on edge. Her guitar in Take Me to the River ($) is tight, rhythmic, and minimalist, perfectly anchoring the song’s cool, hypnotic groove. In I Zimbra, she flips the script entirely, layering intricate Afrobeat-inspired rhythms that make her bass feel more like a lead instrument than a backdrop.

To flex her creative muscles (sorry Byrne!), she formed and fronted the Tom Tom Club, which continued the Talking Heads tradition of melodic inclusivity But Weymouth was able to take her melodies to their logical, highly danceable conclusion. Her breezy vocals gave Tom Tom Club a carefree charm, distinct from the art-punk tension of Talking Heads. Genius of Love is a great example of this, as is the lesser-known earworm Wordy Rappinghood.

The Go-Gos

For sure, rock music had its share of all-women groups (for some reason, often groups of 5). And while there were some with terrific vocals and bold-at-the-time feminist messages, they did not write their own music or play their own instruments. Enter the Go-Gos, who shattered that barrier by doing both. I wouldn’t be surprised if members Carlisle, Wiedlin, Caffey, Schock and Valentine were inspired by both Debbie Harry’s edginess and fellow south Californian Weymouth’s success as an instrumentalist. Their music is best described as the inevitable new-wavization of the LA brand of punk.

In addition to great instrumentation, their rich harmonies nodded to ‘60s girl groups, proving they could balance punk energy with pop finesse. Carlisle gave the songs the right dose of edginess to match the melodies. Wiedlin harmonized excellently with Carlisle (a good example is Vacation), had great vocal counterpoints in song bridges (Our Lips are Sealed), and occasionally led (Forget that Day). This reminds me of the Tilbrook/Difford vocal dynamic in Squeeze.

Their influence on future all-women bands (for example, Riot Grrl bands) is phenomenal, as well as on female instrumentalists.

Cyndi Lauper

In retrospect, she is often compared to Madonna. And while they both have excellent showmanship and hit songs, the similarities end there. Lauper’s unapologetic Queens accent shines throughout her songs, in line with the new wave ethos of authenticity. While she didn’t write most of her early songs, she dipped her toes in songwriting soon after and was in full swing with it by the late ‘80s.

At the turn of the ‘80s, Lauper fronted oldies-throwback band called Blue Angel, with a precursor to the fashion and stage presence of her later solo work. A few years later, Lauper’s debut album She’s So Unusual was a monster, spawning 5 hit singles, including the co-opted Girls Just Want to Have Fun (childhood memory about this song). It was written and demoed by Robert Hazzard and was originally about women wanting to explore their libido. But Lauper (through her raw, theatrical vocals and the supporting video) transformed it into a feel-good anthem for female independence. In She Bop, Lauper again cleverly used her vocals to let you know what the song was really about!

She is a big LGBTQ ally, lending much time, emotional support, influence and money toward its causes revolving around it.

Honorable Mention

I wish I could talk about more artists! For sure, there were other female artists that were trailblazers. Here are some of the other, more prominent ones:

• Dale Bozzio (Missing Persons) - Underrated frontwoman: Think Lauper’s showmanship and high-pitched vocals.

• Gillian Gilbert (New Order) - Queen of the synths. Bizarre Love Triangle? All her!

• Bananarama - Strong pop hooks (think Venus ($)) but kept the new wave authenticity.

• Lene Lovich - Underground new wave figure that never forgot her busker background.

And Then…

Though new wave faded at the turn of the ‘90s, there were echoes of female new wave artistry. Shirley Manson (Garbage) took Debbie Harry’s attitude and jaded delivery and added a splash of Siouxsie Sioux. Gwen Stefani (No Doubt) doubled down Lauper’s personal touch to the vocals, while mirroring some of her fashion. So there’s really no doubt (ha!) they were two of my favorite ‘90s artists. Weymouth and the Go-Gos inspired girls and women to not just pick up the mic, but the guitar, drumsticks and keyboard too. Even later artists (Chvrces, Chappell Roan) can trace their influences to female new wave wizardry.

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Please enjoy our Women in New Wave playlist, and let us know in the comments who your favorite is!