Straight from the hip The legendary Genya Ravan pulls no punches
by Chris Parcellin
The music biz of today is jam-packed with female performers who write and perform their own songs and play their own instruments. It's taken for granted that people like Courtney Love, or the women of L7, can get onstage and play hard-driving rock'n'roll without the aid of male backup musicians. But turn the clock back forty years and the world was a very different place. The only females who were on the radio were one's who sang sappy pop ballads and tried to fit in with the vanilla sound that Middle Americans were demanding in that post-'50s vacuum of mediocrity.

Goldie and the Gingerbreads were like a breath of fresh air in that repressed time. Playing tough, R&B-based rock'n'roll, they were four attractive young women who unknowingly paved the way for later performers like Joan Jett, the Bangles and, yes, even Hole. They were so good that they got to play shows with the Rolling Stones, the Yardbirds and other British Invasion bands of the time, and more than held their own-displaying the grit and chops that won them the respect of fans and critics alike.

As the '60s ended, lead singer Goldie reverted to her name of Genya Ravan and fronted another R&B act Ten Wheel Drive for much of the '70s. She also launched a solo career and released several albums with Top 40 singles that received plenty of airplay. On top of that, she began producing albums for artists as diverse as punk messiahs the Dead Boys, and former '60s pop siren Ronnie Spector.

Today, she's still a producer and performer--with one of her recent jobs being a return to her '70s punk roots as she took the helm for an album by former Dead Boy Cheetah Chrome and her own CD of rare tracks. Just as exciting is her upcoming autobiography, which promises to be rather juicy--as Ravan is a no-nonsense kind of lady.

She spoke to D-Filed recently, and she was as forthcoming and entertaining as ever.


You were born in Poland in the early 1940s. How did your family manage to make it out of there and evade the Nazis?
Barely. They somehow got to Russia and we spent lots of time in the Russian camps. Then we escaped from there and came to the USA on a ship.

But you actually grew up in NYC, right? What was your childhood like?
Yes, I was brought up on Rivington Street, Lower East-Side of Manhattan. My childhood was awful. My mother was overprotective and she was very strict. I finally ran away on a Harley Davidson bike to California.


How did you initially become interested in becoming a singer?
It was an accident. I was in a bar and was singing at the table with the band that was on, and I was dared to go up onstage. I took the dare. The group was in contract with Decca Records, and I was asked to sing with them. I did, and the rest was history.

Your band Goldie and the Gingerbreads played with the Kinks, the Rolling Stones and the Yardbirds. So, I'm guessing that you had a real R&B influence even then. Who were the vocalists that you wanted to emulate?
Ray Charles, for sure. I also was very into the blues.

People like the Runaways talk about how hard of a time they had as an all-female band in the '70s. But how was it for you starting out in the early '60s?
Very hard, but we didn't think so. We just did it like that was the way to do it. We were very naïve. We did everything ourselves, we never had roadies. But this was a time (that) when you worked as a gig--it was five to six weeks at a time. So there was not all that much moving.

Did you feel like you were breaking new ground when you were out there making records and touring in those days?
(It) really was not that heavy. I was making a living, paying bills-basically that was it. It was later that we thought of stardom.

Has any of your solo stuff been reissued yet?
No, and I'm pissed off about it. The record company (Polygram) is so huge they don't even know that they have my tapes.

So there's no way you can get the rights to them or anything?
I can, but that would be expensive. I did try at one time.


What drew you towards the role of being a record producer?
All the fuck-ups on my productions by these so-called "great" producers. I also thought, because I was a singer, I would be sensitive to a musician's needs and they would perform better. I was their audience, and their leader.

When you worked with Ronnie Spector how did that go? Were you at all intimidated by the fact that her old producer was ex-husband Phil who was revered for his "Wall of Sound" productions. Or was that something you didn't really care about?
Good questions. Honestly, I did not care about Phil. Her voice is all I cared about. As for her personality, and the way she thinks-it's fucked.


Really? How so?
I never realized that she talks about everybody behind their backs. She was saying nasty things about me while smiling at me and telling me she was so grateful that I was in her life. (She) turned around and stabbed us. We were working our asses off for her record "Siren", and while we were abroad selling her, she was bad-rapping us to the press. She is fucked up.


You produced the classic first album by the Dead Boys. What was that experience like?
It was a great one. They listened to me, there were no attitudes-and it worked well because of it. They did not have a bass player, and I insisted that they have one-so I used an old buddy of mine, Bob Clearmountain-but they never gave him any credit. Later on, when Bob got famous, they were sorry about that. But when I worked with them, they were fine.

How come those guys didn't make it?
They got too cocky too fast. It all went to their heads.

Are you still working with Hilly Kristal at CBGBs Records? Did you end up producing the Cheetah Chrome album?
I did do the Cheetah album. I think it came out great, but I don't believe we ever finished it…Internal problems. And, no, I am not working with CB's right now.

What do you think of the current state of music?
I like all kinds of music. I love Macy Gray--the woman can sing. I also like some of the hip hop records. But give me old R&B.

What's coming up for you?
A book, (and) a CD "For Fans Only". It's on my website. Thanks for putting my site on your site.

My pleasure! So, this will be an autobiography?
Yes, it is.

Will there be some surprises in there?
You bet.

What will the CD be like?
It's stuff that I recorded that never got released, from England in 1976 to 2001 (I'm in the studio now putting in two songs). Everything else is (rehearsals, too) old and really good. Some (of it is) just piano and vocals. It's not the quality one should look for in this CD, it's the performances. That's why it's for fans only. I don't want press reviews, and all than tension a CD gets when released. This is truly for fans only. You should see my e-mails from my die hard fans. It's because of them that I am doing this.

What's your message for America's youth?
Hang in there, things will get better. Don't be afraid. Buy my records.
© 2001 Chris Parcellin & D-Filed, All rights reserved.