REVISITING A 1977 INTERVIEW WITH PRODUCER GENYA RAVAN

The year was 1965 and Genya Ravan and her rock band, Goldie & The Gingerbreads, had hit the charts with their top 10 single “Can’t You Hear My Heart Beat.” This all-girl group was the first of its kind, and Ravan’s diverse set of talents contributed greatly to the band’s success.

Genya Ravan was a rock singer and music producer during a time when female visibility in music production and the audio industry writ large was lacking and effectively nonexistent. Ravan became a female rock producer in the U.S., defying all preconceived notions of what women were capable of achieving in the music industry. She sang; she worked the audio board; and she even handled the business side of her music career by working with record companies, promoters, and venues.

In a 1977 video interview with Channel 5 New York, Genya Ravan remarked on her experience as one of the few women who had been able to gain esteem in the music production scene:

“Sometimes I get the illusion that I have to work double-hard to prove a point, but at the same time, I think because I’ve done what I’ve done in the past 10 years, there is a certain amount of respect that – hey – this chick has got to know what she’s doing.”

The sentiments Ravan expressed in this interview in 1977 still ring true for many female music producers today. Some of the same issues in the music industry that Ravan encountered in the 70’s continue to persist; women continue to be underrepresented in the music industry, and the women who are successful in the industry tend to not get the praise or the visibility that they deserve.

You can still find Ravan behind the sound board today as she hosts her monthly radio show called Chicks and Broads, where the celebrated musician and producer plays music made by other women from the 1950’s to today. Even when not making music, Genya Ravan actively looks to uplift and celebrate women like herself who have had to navigate the music industry.