Roots of Nona Hendryx

Daniel Earl Hartman was an American pop rock musician. Among songs he wrote and recorded were "Free Ride" as a member of the Edgar Winter Group, and the solo hits "Relight My Fire", "Instant Replay", "I Can Dream About You", "We Are the Young" and "Second Nature". "I Can Dream About You", his most successful US hit, reached No. 6 on the Billboard Hot 100 in 1984. The James Brown song "Living in America", which Hartman co-wrote and produced, reached No. 4 on March 1, 1986.

Labelle was an American band that originated out of The Blue Belles, a girl group who were a popular vocal group of the 1960s and 1970s. The original act was formed after the disbanding of two rival girl bands in the area around Philadelphia, in Pennsylvania, and Trenton, in New Jersey: The Ordettes and The Del-Capris, forming as a new version of the former, then later changing their name to The Blue Belles. The founding members were Patti LaBelle, Cindy Birdsong, Nona Hendryx, and Sarah Dash.

Angela Maria "Ani" DiFranco is an American-Canadian singer-songwriter. She has released more than 20 albums. DiFranco's music has been classified as folk rock and alternative rock, although it has additional influences from punk, funk, hip-hop and jazz. She has released all her albums on her own record label, Righteous Babe.

Mother's Finest is an American funk rock band, first formed in 1970 and led by the married vocal duo of Joyce "Baby Jean" Kennedy and Glenn "Doc" Murdock. Described by Classic Rock magazine as "Sly and The Family Stone-meets-Led Zeppelin," the band gained notice in the 1970s for their interracial membership and energetic live performances opening for both funk and rock bands. While the band did not find mainstream success during their heyday, they earned belated praise as a formative influence on later bands that combined funk and rock music, such as Living Colour and Red Hot Chili Peppers. They have also been noted as originators of funk metal.

Talking Heads were an American rock band formed in New York City in 1975. It consisted of lead vocalist and guitarist David Byrne, drummer Chris Frantz, bassist Tina Weymouth, and guitarist and keyboardist Jerry Harrison. Described as one of the most acclaimed groups of the 1970s and 1980s, Talking Heads helped to pioneer new wave music by combining elements of punk, art rock, funk, and world music with "an anxious yet clean-cut image".