“Just about every single interview we did, the opening question was, ‘Well, how does it feel to be a girl playing an instrument?’ And, you know, Jesus, did you do any research?”
So says Fanny bassist and singer Jean Millington at one point during Fanny: The Right to Rock and while women in rock music have definitely come a long way since Fanny’s heyday, what’s striking is that that women in bands are most certainly still being asked that question to this day. Sigh.
Fanny: The Right to Rock is a compelling and heartwarming portrait of a band that broke a lot of ground in the 1960s and ’70s, made a bit of an impact and won over a lot of people at the time, and who to this day still have a lot of big names championing them. But for various reasons (sexism, racism, homophobia), the band never quite did have the impact that they probably should have.
Featuring interviews with the likes of Kate Pierson (The B-52’s), Kathy Valentine (The Go-Go’s) and Joe Elliott (Def Leppard) singing the band’s praises, the film takes a deep dive into the band’s progression throughout their career, from their origins as the first all woman band to sign to a major label to their attempt to relaunch their career with reunion album Fanny Walked The Earth.
Director Bobbi Jo Hart makes a good case for the band’s legacy as trailblazers and while the band never did quite reach the heights that they could have, this film just might help to open up their music to a wider audience. And rightfully so, since Fanny absolutely rocks.
Fanny: The Right to Rock is currently available to stream through hotdocs.ca