Diary š ā60s garage rock, Female Species
The story of two sisters and an album that wasnāt released for nearly 60 years
Graceās Diary is a monthly series of personal stories and deep-cut discoveries by TSCMLās Editor-in-Chief, Grace Lilly.
Girl drummer, girl guitarist, girl bassist
The other day I stumbled across an all-girl band called Female Species and decided I had to tell you about them. I heard one song (āStop and Think It Overā) and loved it, looked them up, and fell in love with their story.
Sisters Vicki and Ronni Gossett started Female Species as teenagers in the ā60s but didnāt release an album until 2021ā¦
āThis is the story of two sisters who nurtured a dream for half a century and never let it die.ā
Southern California, 1966: Vicki Gossett was a 16-year-old high school student living in Whittier, California when she decided to start a band. She had seen The Beatles perform on the Ed Sullivan show two years prior in 1964 and was inspired.
āI want a band thatās just like The Beatles, only itās going to be all girls.ā
It wasnāt until one fateful day that she actually got started ā she was riding home on a bicycle and was hit by an uninsured drunk driver. Luckily, she was mostly uninjured and since her parents werenāt interested in pressing charges, they decided to accept $200 in cash as compensation for the accident.
Vicki decided that was āthe perfect time to ask for a new guitarā and thatās how Female Species officially began.
Her mom, Loretta, came up with the name Female Species, and Vicki recruited her 14-year-old sister Ronni to play bass and coach the other members of the band ā Dawna Snow (keyboards), Linda Peters (guitar), and Michelle Molner (the first of many on drums).
To avoid the hassle of learning popular radio hits, the self-taught sisters decided to write their own songs. The result was a collection of psychedelic-infused pop songs featuring wild keyboard solos from Dawna Snow and smooth, melancholic vocals from Vicki (see āTale of My Lost Loveā and āYou Need Meā).
After their drummer left for college, the girls put an ad in the newspaper to find a replacement. This is where things get really wildā¦ Who answers the ad? The one and only, Karen Carpenter (pre-The Carpenters).
āThis gal calls and says, āYeah, my name is Karen. Are you still looking for a female drummer?āā
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