On Tuesday, the Fanny’s House of Music family had the immense privilege of attending the Nashville Film Festival’s screening of director Bobbi Jo Hart’s Fanny: The Right To Rock. On Wednesday, I felt a moral obligation to get better at guitar.

This is a must-see film, finally telling the long-overdue story of the first all-female band to release a full length record with a major label (Warner/Reprise/1970). The documentary is deeper than impressive stats and billboard songs, though. It’s a story of sisterhood and the sanctified nature of rock n’ roll in the lives of Filipina American teenagers systemically and socially “othered” in their daily lives, who found identity and power in their music. And it’s the story of women in their late 60’s who still haven’t surrendered that power, who are committed to the radical act of joyful, skillful musicianship in a world that tells them there is not a place for them. “Fuck that” is the general theme of their story.

Viewers join the band in a recent reunion, when 50 years after their heyday, they record and release a new rock album, “Fanny Walked the Earth.” Having never seen older women in this light, laughing and goofing off with their instruments (which, it goes without saying, they were all still masters of), I burst into tears about 15 seconds into the story. This is what we, as female musicians, deserve and should look forward to. We are used to the Keith Richards, the John Prines, the men who age and are granted a new celebrated identity. We so rarely get to see ourselves there. 

Despite all stereotypes of women, and especially women of color, being irrational, Fanny stays pretty even-keeled throughout their career. For certain, more so than any cis white male rockband of their era did.

“Fanny could never have been high the whole time and done what we had done.” – June Millington

“Fanny could never have been high the whole time and done what we had done” June Millington reflects. Throughout the film, we also see ex-band members as constants in their band family (such as when original drummer Brie Howard has to step down touring when she is pregnant with her daughter, and is replaced by a 17-year old Alice de buhr). We see conflict explored in weekly “therapy sessions” and we see no big stories breaking about any band members’ irresponsible behavior. Any mild “drama” we see is largely due to the band getting tired from working so much. And when it’s time for a band member to leave and take care of herself, she does that. What other rock n roll band has such a track record for self-responsibility? Fanny was there to be professional, to be good musicians. Not to absorb the societal tropes so often projected onto female musicians. Not to bask in the privileged, reckless waters afforded to their contemporaries.

If rock n roll is about owning your space, and standing up to “the man” Fanny is the most rock n roll band of all time. As a group sitting at the intersection of sexism, racism, homophobia, and now ageism, no band had more “men” to stand up to. But it would be a huge disservice to their sound and musicianship to define it solely by the boxes they broke out of. At the end of the day, Fanny is a California rock band, rich with harmonies and an ensemble of musicians any artist would be lucky to have as their studio band. They are tight, committed, and in my view, unmatched musicians in their era. 

When reflecting on how they accomplished all they did in  their relatively short time together, June Millington says “it wasn’t by talking. We just fucking did it.” Let all of us, who follow in their footsteps remember the power of just fucking doing it.

 

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Blog by Georgia English  / a Nashville-based musician, writer, illustrator, and educator.