Lita Ford

Even with all the lipstick floating around, Pop Metal has unfortunately been so male-dominated that women have had better shots snuggling up against stardom as groupies than as guitar heroes. In 1988, though, things shifted a bit and the public noticed women teasing their hair in the MTV dressing rooms too. L.A.'s glossy female foursome Vixen flipped a finger at music critics and sold millions of their debut album. That same year, former Runaways guitarist turned gas station attendant/hairdresser/perfume salesperson Lita Ford broke through the charts with "Kiss Me Deadly." The song rode the silent voice of female rockers in on a Harley, with the lyrics "Went to a party last Saturday Night / Didn't get laid, got in a fight / It ain't no big thing." The wake up call to drooling dudes everywhere that there are women in rock who know what they want came as a counter-revolution to the muzzled bubblegum pop of Tiffany and Debbie Gibson, who had topped the charts a year earlier. Ford was no delicate girl, although her next hit off the same album was a heartbreak duet with Ozzy Ozbourne called "Close My Eyes Forever." After that, the public closed their eyes to Ford's next four CDs and her career, making it clear that her collective ten minutes of fame was over.