Meet Fanny, the Best '70s All-Female Band You Probably Haven't Heard Of

Some of the most influential female rock stars of the 1970s nearly faded away into the deep archives of music history — until now. Fanny was the first all-female rock band to release an album on a major label. In fact, by 1974 they had released five albums, paving the way for other female musicians who’ve gone on to become household names, like the Go-Go’s and the B-52s. But unlike those bands, Fanny featured musicians who proudly identified as Filipina American and lesbian — fighting not only a male-dominated record industry, but one where racism and homophobia have been deeply entrenched.
In a 1999 interview, David Bowie told Rolling Stone, “One of the most important female bands in American rock has been buried without a trace.” He went on to say, “Revivify Fanny. And I will feel that my work is done.”
Recently, Fanny put out a reunion album, Fanny Walked the Earth, and they’re the subject of a documentary called Fanny: The Right to Rock, which is airing at the nation’s largest Asian American film festival, CAAMFest, in San Francisco this month. The documentary will also be streaming on PBS stations in May