Help Me Brainstorm: Good love songs...sung by females/from the female perspective

[yellowbismark]

I'm trying to compile a mix soundtrack of love songs for my wedding and it's becoming apparent to me after a couple of listens that my mixtape is quite the sausage factory. I'm diggin' what I've put together so far, but I'm thinkin' there is not enough female representation/love songs from the female perspective and I think it there should be some balance in it. Problem is, I don't really have a large selection of female songs to choose from, nor do I have a very comprehensive knowledge of what's out there. Another thing...I know there are a bunch of great female country vocalists out there, but the problem I'm running into there is most of the songs I know of are about heartbreak or cheatin' or some crap like that, I'm trying to keep the theme of the music as positive as possible, so that's another challenge there. I guess probably the most unique female selection I have so far is Sandy Rogers - Fool for Love...

There are no guidelines here, any genre, any time period is fair. I just want some ideas , so help me out!! :D

[voyager]

I'll Stand By You - The Pretenders is a great one.

My wife and I had our first dance to Celine Dion's Because You Loved Me.

[DoctorD]

Bonnie Raitt - she's only half country - has plenty off "Luck of the Draw" and "Nick of Time".

My wife really likes "This is Us", a duet by Mark Knopfler and Emmy Lou Harris off "All the Roadrunning".

[DoctorD]

I'll Stand By You - The Pretenders is a great one.


come on. "Watching the Clothes Go Round" is much better for a wedding. :D

but seriously:
Is "2000 Miles" explicitly about her baby, or is it a general love song? EDIT - I meant "Show me the Meaning"

"World Before Columbus" by Suzanne Vega? Off her brilliant "Nine Objects of Desire".

[yossarian]

Etta James - "At Last"

[zman31]

"Dimming of the Day" Richard and Linda Thompson. Sung by a woman. It has one of my all time favorite lines: You pull me like the moon pulls on the tide.

[zman31]

Etta James - "At Last"

Fantastic song and a world class delivery. That opening note....mm, mmm, mmmm.

[yellowbismark]

Thanks, keep em comin'...

Etta James, good call Yossarian...

Some good soul/R&B flavor is of extra interest...

Of the several that I have checked so far on the 30 second I-Tunes snippets, I might like the Knopfler/Harris duet.

I appreciate the input so far.

When I get home from work, I will check out the Thompson duet, thanks zman

[Matt in the Hat]

Alone by Heart

[Dyvel]

Prove My Love by Lucinda Williams

[Claymore]

Etta James - "At Last"
Great one!

I Never Loved A Man by Aretha Franklin is another good one. Believe it or not, Maria Doyle did a kickass version of it for The Committments soundtrack as well.

[yossarian]

Thanks, keep em comin'...

Etta James, good call Yossarian...

Some good soul/R&B flavor is of extra interest...

Of the several that I have checked so far on the 30 second I-Tunes snippets, I might like the Knopfler/Harris duet.

I appreciate the input so far.

When I get home from work, I will check out the Thompson duet, thanks zman

A sort of obscure one that just popped into my head.....

a cover of "Can't Help Falling in Love with You" by a band called Lick the Tins. Most people know the Elvis or the UB40 version of this song....but Lick the Tins cover is a pretty cool version with a woman doing the vocals. It may not be quite what you're looking for but if you're interested, IIRC it was featured on the "Some Kind of Wonderful" soundtrack.

[bungadiri]

Prove My Love by Lucinda Williams

Yes, hell!

I would add "Can't let go" also by Lucinda Williams from her "Car Wheels on a Gravel Road" CD.

And the suggestion of Linda Thompson singing Richard's "Dimming of the Day" is excellent.

[dm3mdgtr]

Time after Time - Cyndi Lauper


Not sure if it's technically a love song (don't know anything about her). Sounds like one and everyone knows it.

[Crimen y Castigo]

I Never Loved A Man by Aretha Franklin

Epic recording. (the adjective, not the label)


I'd also just peruse the Dinah Washington and Ella Fitzgerald songbooks. Yes, there's lots of heartbreak, but they both do their own defining versions of Porter, Lerner and Loewe, Gershwin, Kern, etc.

Just as a for instance,
Dinah:
What a difference a day makes
All of me
Our love is here to stay

Ella:
They can't take that away from me
You do something to me
It's all right with me
Night and Day
Easy to Love

etc, etc, etc.

[Sachsen]

A sort of obscure one that just popped into my head.....

a cover of "Can't Help Falling in Love with You" by a band called Lick the Tins. Most people know the Elvis or the UB40 version of this song....but Lick the Tins cover is a pretty cool version with a woman doing the vocals. It may not be quite what you're looking for but if you're interested, IIRC it was featured on the "Some Kind of Wonderful" soundtrack.

You recall correctly. One of my favorite soundtracks.

[Claymore]

The Very Thought Of You by Billie Holiday is another gem.

[yellowbismark]

Once again, thanks everyone. I'm lovin' the replies so far...I have some work to do when I get home from work :cool:

[zman31]

Prove My Love by Lucinda Williams

Yes, hell!

I would add "Can't let go" also by Lucinda Williams from her "Car Wheels on a Gravel Road" CD.



You could put half the songs from that album on this mix. I Still Long For Your Kiss and Right In Time would go nicely. The later being about as sexy a song as there is. "...moan at the ceiling," indeed!

[bungadiri]

Thought of another one:

Neil Young wrote "Harvest Moon" but Cassandra Wilson's cover of it (from New Moon Daughter) is absolutely lovely.

zman: I completely agree. I was debating between Can't Let Go and Go Back Greenville as examples of great women-centered breakup songs. I settled on Can't Let Go because of the guitar solo. Once I tried to explain to my sons that the Car Wheels CD was in many ways as complete an evocation of a feminine perspective on love and sex as there was out there in recent music. I failed, of course. But I did try.