Isis was an all-female rock band from New York. They took their name from the Egyptian goddess Isis, and were an early example of professional women in rock music in the 1970s.
Biography
The first two albums
Isis was formed in 1972 by Carol MacDonald (vocals/guitar) and Ginger Bianco (née Panabianco; drums), former members of 1960s female rock band Goldie & The Gingerbreads. To fill out the line-up, they recruited Susan Ghezzi (guitar), Stella Bass (vocals/bass), Nydia 'Liberty' Mata (percussion) and a horn section featuring Jeanie Fineberg (sax/vocals), Lauren Draper (trumpet/vocals) and Lolly Bienenfeld (trombone/vocals).
Isis built a solid following on the New York club circuit, and in 1973 became the fifth all-female band to sign to a major label (Buddah Records). In the fall of 1974 they released their self-titled debut album. The Isis album was produced by George "Shadow" Morton and drew comparisons to Chicago, Blood, Sweat & Tears, Earth Wind & Fire, and Santana, as well as Black Sabbath, Yes and Jethro Tull. The album cover—a photograph of the band members in nothing but metallic body paint—created a sensation, and the LP reached Billboard's Top 100 chart.
Despite receiving positive reviews for the album and live appearances, Isis failed to reach mainstream audiences. One possibility for the resistance encountered by the band may have been singer Carol MacDonald's unwillingness to deny her homosexuality, which she sang about in the song "She Loves Me".
As time went on, the group scored support slots with the biggest acts of the day, including KISS, Aerosmith, The Beach Boys, and Lynyrd Skynyrd, among others. In 1974, Susan Ghezzi (guitar) was replaced by Renata Ferrer and Lauren Draper was replaced by Ellen Seeling. The band also added Edith Dankowitz (sax/vocals) and former Gingerbreads organist Margo Lewis (B-3).
In 1975, this incarnation of Isis recorded the group's follow-up album, Ain't No Backin' Up Now, with producer/songwriter Allen Toussaint at his studio in New Orleans. (Toussaint had just completed recording "Lady Marmalade" with LaBelle.) Ain't No Backin' Up Now relies on soul, funk, and disco influences and featured a guest appearance by guitarist June Millington, fresh from the break-up of Fanny. Reviewing it in Christgau's Record Guide: Rock Albums of the Seventies (1981), Robert Christgau wrote:
Breaking Through and breaking up
Without commercial success, it was difficult to keep the group together. Equally challenging was finding qualified female musicians to join the band. By 1976, the core line up was Carol MacDonald, Margo Lewis, Jeanie Feinberg, Ellen Seeling and new members Faith Fusillo (vocals/guitar), Barbara Cobb (bass), Vivian Stoll (drums) and Lynx (sax/guitar/vocals).
In 1977, the band signed with its second label, United Artists, and released their third album, Breaking Through, produced by Len Barry. Frustrated by the inability to turn great reviews into commercial success, the LP was a departure from its two previous releases and was geared specifically to the commercial market. However, this LP, like the others, was once again a commercial disappointment. Alumni members Nydia Mata, Ellen Seeling, Lolly Bienenfeld, Lauren Draper and Jeanie Fineberg, as well as newcomer Laurie Frink, also appeared on the album.
The band (with Frink and other guest members) toured to support the release of the LP throughout the US and the Caribbean. The group opened for chart-topping BT Express and Dr. Buzzard's Savannah Band on the west coast leg, and for Blondie on the east coast dates.
After the touring to support Breaking Through, the group took up residence for a time at Greenwich Village landmark Trude Heller's on 6th Avenue and 9th Street, where they played nightly. However, the continued lack of commercial success eventually led the group to disband by the end of the 1970s.