These three women had profound impacts on pop music, from the 60s to the 2010s. Through their solo albums, vocal styles, or behind-the-scenes songwriting, they influenced artists of their time. Even beyond then. They don’t often get the recognition they deserve, so we’re singing their praises.
Laura Nyro
Laura Nyro had a profound influence on pop music of the 60s and 70s, but she remains somewhat underrated. She was a source of inspiration for many famous artists, but she hardly comes up in discussions of pop legacies. Nyro released nine studio albums during her lifetime, with one posthumous album recorded just a few years before her death. Eli and the Thirteenth Confession, New York and the Tendaberry, and Christmas and the Beads of Sweat are just three of her beloved early albums.
Nyro influenced other artists like Joni Mitchell, Carole King, Tori Amos, Elton John, and Cyndi Lauper. Additionally, she had an impact on Alice Cooper, Todd Rundgren, Elvis Costello, and Steely Dan. Other artists had success with covers of her songs. These include The 5th Dimension, Blood Sweat & Tears, Peter Paul and Mary, Three Dog Night, and Barbra Streisand.
Bonnie McKee
Bonnie McKee is an unsung hero of 2010s pop music. She first emerged in 2004 as a solo artist with her debut album Trouble, but eventually focused on songwriting for others. That decision led to some of the biggest mainstream pop hits of that decade and beyond. She released an EP, Bombastic, in 2015, while her most recent album, California Winter, was self-released in 2024.
However, her songwriting credits show off her underrated influence. McKee has written more than 50 songs for other artists, with many reaching impressive spots on the charts. She’s collaborated several times with Katy Perry on hits like “California Gurls”, “Last Friday Night (T.G.I.F.)”, “Teenage Dream”, “Roar”, and “Part of Me”. Additionally, she wrote “C’Mon” for Kesha, “Alone” and “Bad Reputation” for Kelly Clarkson, and “Dynamite” for Taio Cruz. Her credits also include five songs for Britney Spears’ 2011 album Femme Fatale.
JOJO
You may remember JoJo for her early 2000s hit “Leave (Get Out)”. When that song reached No. 1 on the Billboard Top 40, 13-year-old JoJo became the youngest artist to top that chart. She had a few more hits, such as “Too Little Too Late” in 2006. But by 2009, JoJo was in record label limbo. Her third album was stalled as her label refused to sign a distribution deal.
JoJo’s success had an influence on young, emerging pop stars of the early 2000s. But she had a unique advantage over the influx of lukewarm pop singers; JoJo had pipes. Her vocals were, and still are, warm, rich, and solid. She should have gained huge mainstream success, but instead she’s more of an underground pop artist. If you know, you know. The legal trouble with her label stunted her mainstream music career, but it didn’t stop her from returning to music in her own image.
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