To be a woman in country music is to try 10 times as hard to get your voice heard and your music taken seriously. This is an undeniable truth for many industries that are dominated by men. Women, no matter how talented, conventionally attractive, or professional, have to try much harder to get their music out to audiences full of listeners they hope will appreciate what they’re saying.

For as long as the genre has existed, women have been telling stories and speaking truthfully about their lives for others to hear. Country music is a genre where doing both of those things is always encouraged. It’s a genre based on storytelling and honesty that, at its core, values different perspectives. If every country song was the same simple tune about meandering down a dirt road with the woman you love in your truck kicking up dust, would that be enough to hold a large audience’s attention?

The women on this list are just 10 of the notable women of country music who have learned from each other what it means to be a musician in this specific industry. They’re trailblazers, hometown heroes, and global icons who continue to inspire others to make their mark on the world through song. Here’s how their hard work has come to define the genre itself.

10

Kacey Musgraves

Unapologetically Authentic

As the most recent artist on this list, Kacey Musgraves holds the reins of influence on the current and next generation of female country artists. With her debut album Same Trailer Different Park, Musgraves describes the lives and struggles of everyday Americans with clever wit to the tune of Dolly Parton. It won Best Country Album at the 2014 Grammy Awards, an impressive feat for a socially conscious country debut.

Her future releases leaned into similar subjects, including feminism, racial justice, and LGBTQ+ issues, all things that Musgraves continues to speak out about today. Likely inspired by some other women on this list, she smoothly transitioned into country-pop, fully into pop, and back into country in the span of 10 years, picking up awards and nominations for each release along the way. With the way her career has already paved out, Musgraves is poised to have a long-lasting legacy.

9

The Chicks

Outspoken Renegades

The Chicks, formerly known as the Dixie Chicks, spent a good portion of their career as a warning to other country artists about what not to do. In March 2003, they publicly criticized President George W. Bush’s involvement in the Iraq invasion, stating that they were ashamed he was from their home state of Texas. Today, this comment would likely spark a handful of articles or social media posts before fading away into oblivion. In the early 2000s, the Chicks were all but forced into a hiatus after people destroyed their albums in public and sent them death threats.

Just a few years before, the Chicks sold more CDs than all other country groups combined. They were well-loved for their beautifully-written lyrics and sweeping harmonies, but were blacklisted by country radio stations after voicing their opinion. This incident is directly touched on in “Not Ready To Make Nice,” one of the defining songs of my childhood, and the group has since released their first album since 2006, Gaslighter. The Chicks continue to inspire young women, and have had a direct impact on the music of artists like Taylor Swift and Miranda Lambert.

8

Shania Twain

Country Pop Icon

Before we get to the icons who first crossed over from country to pop music, we have to talk about the queen of country-pop who influenced the careers of Taylor Swift, Kelsea Ballerini, and Maren Morris. Shania Twain is the best-selling female artist in country music history and one of the best-selling artists of all time, with over 100 million records sold.

The particular fusion of country and pop on her 1997 album Come On Over changed the modern country music landscape. Not only did she introduce country music to a younger audience, but she also mastered a sarcastic, pointed tone that would undoubtedly influence Swift’s writing. Come On Over remains the best-selling studio album by a female soloist nearly 30 years after its release.

7

Reba McEntire

Red-Headed Firecracker

Taking influence from artists like Dolly Parton, Barbara Mandrell, and Patsy Cline, Reba McEntire burst onto the scene in 1977 with her powerful voice and fiery red hair. She wouldn’t see her first glimpse of success until 1979 with “Sweet Dreams,” a cover of Cline’s version of Don Gibson’s 1955 song. Throughout her career, McEntire received criticism for straying from the traditional, more stripped-back style of country music that women before her were known for.

Despite being called “bombastic” and “melodramatic,” words that are used to describe many of the women on this list, McEntire rose above the criticism, earning over 50 Top 10 singles along the way. She maintains her influence as a role model for young female artists even today with grace and good humor.

6

Linda Martell

Unsung Trailblazer

As a lesser-known artist on this list, Linda Martell is someone who deserves a deeper introduction. Her only album, Color Me Country, was released in 1970, and made her the first commercially successful Black female artist in country music, paving the way and opening doors for eventual artists like Rissi Palmer, Mickey Guyton, and Brittney Spencer.

“Color Him Father,” a heartwarming song about parental love, peaked at #22 on the Billboard H๏τ Country Singles chart. This was the highest-peaking single for a Black female country artist until 2024, when Beyoncé’s “TEXAS HOLD ‘EM” topped the charts. Beyoncé honored Martell on COWBOY CARTER, including her voice in “THE LINDA MARTELL SHOW” before “YA YA” and to introduce “SPAGHETTI,” paying homage to an artist who made it possible for an artist like Beyoncé to win Best Country Album at the 2024 Grammy Awards.

5

Dolly Parton

Incomparable Icon

It’s difficult to put into words just how influential Dolly Parton is to not just country music, but music as a whole. In short, she’s a songwriter, singer, pop superstar, actor, businesswoman, and philanthropist who continues to spread joy through her music and voice. Throughout her extensive catalog, Parton stands strong on issues of everyday women with a precise perspective that feels like she’s singing directly to you. Songs like “9 to 5” and “Jolene” are staples of the genre that make country music better by simply existing through Parton’s sweet, sincere voice.

After her crossover into the world of pop music, Parton lost enough of her core country audience to dissolve her fan club in 1997. Despite that, she was one of the first female artists to find success in several different genres. Now, Parton continues to stay relevant through collaborations with artists like Sabrina Carpenter, her Imagination Library that provides free books to children, and Dollywood, her amusement park in Pigeon Forge, TN.

4

Barbara Mandrell

Lifelong Talent

Barbara Mandrell’s talent was formed at a young age. She was taught to play the accordion and read music before entering first grade. By 14, she was a seasoned professional in the arts, with experience as an actor, dancer, and performer, and was considered a hit recording artist by 21. Mandrell received her first Billboard charting record with “I’ve Been Loving You Too Long,” an Otis Redding cover, in 1969, just the first of many chart-topping records of her career.

Her popularity in the 1970s and 1980s country music scene led to her being the first artist to win the CMA for Entertainer of the Year two years in a row, something that would become an exclusive club including artists like Garth Brooks, Hank Williams Jr., and George Strait. Mandrell is still the only woman to win two years in a row. A song like 1973’s “The Midnight Oil” was a defining factor in her career, with Sєxually frank lyrics that stood out at the time discussing infidelity from a female perspective.

3

Loretta Lynn

Turning Humble Beginnings Into Accolades

When you think about the defining women of country music, you can’t speak without mentioning Loretta Lynn. As one of her biggest songs says, she grew up in the coal-mining hills of Kentucky to humble beginnings. Lynn was married by the age of 15, and a mother by 16, just two defining factors that would go on to influence her lyrical prowess. Songs like “Don’t Come Home A-Drinkin’ (With Lovin’ On Your Mind)” and “Rated X” perfectly capture her ᴀssertive voice that made sure to get exactly what she wanted to say across with a smile every time.

Eventually, humble beginnings led to Lynn becoming the first woman to receive CMA’s Entertainer of the Year award in 1972. She was also inducted into the Country Music Hall of Fame in 1988, and received a prestigious Kennedy Center Honors nomination in 2003 for her lifetime commitments to the arts. Lynn is nothing short of a necessary influence on hundreds of young girls pursuing songwriting, and someone they can always find a piece of themselves in.

2

Tammy Wynette

Country’s Heroine of Heartbreak

Tammy Wynette is a defining female voice in country music, largely known for the specific female perspective she brought to the genre in the 1960s and 1970s. At the time, Wynette’s golden voice and honest songwriting presented a digestible point of view that the everyday woman and her family could relate to. Someone listening to a song like “Stand By Your Man” in 2025 might see her urgency to forgive men for their mistakes as isolating or even insulting, but she was speaking to women who sometimes had no choice but to dedicate their lives to their husbands.

Her lyrics were a place of comfort for many women, and seemed like an outlet where she could seek to comfort herself in the midst of her treacherous relationship with fellow country star and longtime duet partner, George Jones. Throughout her career, Wynette would go on to snag several #1 country hits like “I Don’t Wanna Play House,” and would also team up with Loretta Lynn and Dolly Parton for the Honky Tonk Angels collaboration album in 1993, continuing her legacy until her death in 1998.

1

Patsy Cline

First Lady of Country Music

Patsy Cline is one of the most influential female country artists in recording history. Her career started with amateur talent show performances, cheap gigs at local bars, and even performing in a nightclub cabaret act, before riding high with “Walkin’ After Midnight” in 1957. The song was her first chart topper, hitting #2 on the country chart and #12 on the pop chart, but she couldn’t rely on one song forever. Soon enough, Cline was back to playing $50 gigs, reaching a low point in 1960, the same year she became a member of the Grand Ole Opry.

She saw success with her 1961 album Showtime and her 1962 album Sentimentally Yours, with singles including “Crazy,” “I Fall To Pieces,” and “She’s Got You” allowing her to keep some momentum until tragedy cut her career short. Cline died in a plane crash in 1963 at the age of 30. Despite her early death, Cline’s legacy lives on as a standard for female country artists. In 1973, Cline was the first solo female artist inducted into the Country Music Hall of Fame, just one instance of many where her artistry would not be forgotten.