You're Gonna Hear Them Roar: 'I Am Woman' Is An Anthem Beyond Its Era
Helen Reddy's 1972 single captured the spirit of second-wave feminism. Today, its echoes still sound in American culture — including a version that arrived just in time for #MeToo.
One of the best-known anthems of second-wave American feminism might not have become a No. 1 hit without an obnoxious display of macho behavior.
In 1970, singer Helen Reddy's manager and then-husband, Jeff Wald, met with an executive at her label to discuss a song she hoped to record with the label. It was called "I Am Woman."
"Capitol Records said, 'That women's lib crap is gonna kill her,' " Wald remembers. " 'Why are you letting your wife
