The awards have previously honored trail-blazing musicians such as Pat Benatar, Melissa Etheridge and others.
Hit singles were less of a consideration for Ritchie Blackmore's band, but the song became the rock radio flagship for their seventh album 'Bent Out Of Shape.'
An introduction to an artist with an ear for a killer melody and a voice ready to breathe fire into it.
The Grammy-winning rock singer-songwriter from Brooklyn, New York is known for her powerful, hard-charging hit singles.
For every anthem and romantic ballad, female artists have also asserted their independence through empowering lyrics, challenging the constraints of gender stereotypes, bad relationships or the music industry itself.
The first album by Melissa Etheridge in her new deal with Stax/Concord, MEmphis Rock and Soul, will be out on 7 October, 2016.
