Australian-born singer Helen Reddy, whose hit “I Am Woman” became a feminist anthem in the 1970s and is still popular among suffragists today, died in Los Angeles on Tuesday afternoon. She was 78 years old.
To me, those ideals mean just as much today as they meant yesterday. Yesterday, feminism answered a cry for help to maintain my personality. Today it answers my cry for help to overcome the problems caused by my stroke.
I met Helen Reddy indirectly one time. This is my account of that moment.
Helen Reddy
The concert started at 8:00 p.m. It was a sell-out crowd. The audience applauded loudly when the curtain went up. It was supposed to be Ike and Tina Turner. All was quiet; they never showed up. The crowd waited and waited. Then the promoter stepped out and told the crowd that the band was delayed because the flight was delayed. He promised it would just be a little while longer, and he promised an excellent concert.
About a half hour later, the promoter appeared and said it would still be a little while longer, but they had arranged for entertainment in meantime. There was a singer from Australia who was making a tour and playing at the Lost Cork and Bottle (Las Cruces, New Mexico) and would graciously perform for us during the time we had to wait. The singer was Helen Reddy. She sang non-stop for forty-five minutes, but the crowd having none of it. They yelled insults at her and threw cups of soda. The promoter stopped the show and admonished the crowd for being rude and told them they should just sit there until the concert started.
The concert started about a half hour later. Ike and Tina played for an hour and then abruptly left. The promoter explained that Ike and Tina had fulfilled the contract, and went on to say that we were wrong to have been so rude to the artist (Helen Reddy), and that was why Ike and Tina had left.
Twenty-five years later, realizing that the incident had been a stain on the school, New Mexico State University sent an apology to Helen Reddy, recognizing the millions of dollars she had raised for Democratic political candidates, her role as Administrator for California’s Department of Parks and Recreation, and the way she had caught the unstoppable mood of the women’s liberation movement. (She became a naturalized American citizen in 1974.)
I remember the songs: “I Am Woman” 1972, “Delta Dawn” 1973, “Leave Me Alone (Ruby Red Dress),” “Keeping on Singing,” “You and Me Against the World,” “Angie Baby,” “Ain’t No Way to Treat a Lady,” and “Somewhere in the Night.”
I Am Woman
I am woman, hear me roar In numbers too big to ignore
And I know too much to go back an’ pretend
‘Cause I’ve heard it all before
And I’ve been down there on the floor
No one’s ever gonna keep me down again
Oh yes, I am wise, But it’s wisdom born of pain
Yes, I’ve paid the price, But look how much I gained
If I have to, I can do anything
I am strong; I am invincible
I am woman
You can bend but never break me
‘Cause it only serves to make me
More determined to achieve my final goal
And I come back even stronger, Not a novice any longer
‘Cause you’ve deepened the conviction in my soul
Oh yes, I am wise, But it’s wisdom born of pain
Yes, I’ve paid the price, But look how much I gained
If I have to, I can do anything
I am strong; I am invincible
I am woman
I am woman watch me grow
See me standing toe to toe
As I spread my lovin’ arms across the land
But I’m still an embryo With a long, long way to go
Until I make my brother understand
Oh yes, I am wise But it’s wisdom born of pain
Yes, I’ve paid the price, But look how much I gained
If I have to, I can face anything
I am strong; I am invincible
I am woman
I am woman
NPR has written a nice overview of her life Helen Reddy.
