SO 9 Episode 03: June Millington - Music is Life

Two Old Bitches: Stories from Women who Reimagine, Reinvent and Rebel

If you were deeply enmeshed in the ‘womyn’s’ music scene or romped topless through the Michigan Womyn’s Music Festivals in the 1970s and 1980s, then you will pulsate with memories of the amazing, kick-ass all-women’s rock group, Fanny. Even if you missed it, we hope you can imagine how revolutionary and transgressive Fanny was in its heyday in the early 70s. Which is why we were thrilled to find June Millington -- wild woman, lead guitarist and the band’s co-founder -- as kick-ass now as she was 50 years ago. At 75, June and her partner, Ann Hackler, run the Institute for Musical Arts in Goshen MA – hosting a recording studio and annual camps that show scores of girls and young women the power of rock and roll to be their ‘get out of jail free’ card, just as it was for June and her sister Jean when, in early adolescence, they picked up their first ukuleles in the Philippines. You can immerse yourself in Fanny’s story, from their origins to meeting with the Beatles, playing back-up for Barbara Streisand, their successful albums and tours and more in the 2021 documentary, The Right to Rock. To learn more about June, check out her memoir, Land of a Thousand Bridges. A second memoir is coming soon and June and sister Jean’s latest album, "Play Like a Girl" is available on Spotify and Amazon Music. June still lives by the mantra that "life is music and music is life." We are eternally grateful to her for sharing a bit of the winding path that brought her to this point, as she bravely commits to coming face-to-face with herself at every age.

The music we used in this episode includes:

Ain’t That Peculiar (Fanny, 1972)

Thinking of You (Fanny, 1971)

It Takes a Lotta Good Lovin’ (Fanny, 1967)

Charity Ball (Fanny, 1971)

Changer and Changed (Cris Williamson, l975)

My Love (Tret Fure, 1973)