Helen Reddy passed away today at the age of 78 in Los Angeles. Her children told the Associated Press, “She was a wonderful Mother, Grandmother and a truly formidable woman.” The statement continued, “Our hearts are broken. But we take comfort in the knowledge that her voice will live on forever.”
Her voice, that since 1972, has empowered women to declare I Am Woman hear me roar. In 2012, she told the AP that song is a big reason why she stepped away from her limelight even though she was still making hits. “That was one of the reasons that I stopped singing, was when I was shown a modern American history high-school textbook, and a whole chapter on feminism and my name and my lyrics (were) in the book.” Then she added, “And I thought, `Well, I’m part of history now. And how do I top that? I can’t top that.′ So, it was an easy withdrawal.”
That was not her only song. She entered the charts a year earlier with her version of I Don’t Know How to Love Him from Jesus Christ Superstar. She continued climbing the charts with Delta Dawn, You and Me Against the World, and Ain’t No Way to Treat a Lady.
Not only did she sing, but she acted on Broadway and in movies like Airport ’75 and Pete’s Dragon along with guest-starring on Family Guy.
Today, as woman’s rights are being threatened because of an empty seat in the Supreme Court, we need to sing to those conservatives, I Am Woman, and let them know that we are in numbers too big to ignore!
