Jewish musician Joanie Leeds has had a prolific career making wonderful, infectious music for children, including two delightful Jewish albums: “Challah, Challah” and “Meshugana”.
But her latest album, “All the Ladies,” is an incredible feminist celebration, one that is partly inspired by Ruth Bader Ginsburg, whom, of course, we lost last month. It features vocals from incredible female musicians like Jewish mama Lisa Loeb, and is filled with empowering messages for young girls — it even imagines what the world would look like if girls ruled the world! (Actually, as coronavirus is proving, a world ruled by women might indeed make it a better place.)
Leeds’ latest video from the album is for the song “Glass Ceilings,” which is about changing the messaging girls receive, starting the moment they’re born. Featuring vocals from Jewish singer Chava Mirel, the lyrics are based on an article in The Guardian called “Four Reasons Not To Tell Your Daughter She’s Pretty,” and assures little girls that they don’t need a prince or glass slippers — and that they can all break glass ceilings.
Also on the album is a song called “RBG,” which tells the life story of the wonderful woman we all admired — and helps pass her incredible legacy on to our kids.
“While all of the songs embody the themes of empowerment, lifting each other up, and breaking glass ceilings, I couldn’t make an album about gender equality without honoring Ruth Bader Ginsburg with her own song,” Leeds tells Kveller. “To me, she is the biggest champion for equality and has been fighting her entire life.”
As Leeds sings in the chorus: “I wanna be just like RBG/fighting for our rights and shining truth/I wanna be just like RBG/ The glorious, notorious Ruth.” In the music video of the song, she is joined by a group of dancing and singing girls, wearing black robes and incredible jabots:
The song reminds us of why we admired Ginsburg so much: “She never stopped, she never quit” until she got to the highest court on the land — and how she paved the roads for our daughters.
“I hope the album is a small, musical start for our children to gain the confidence to fight like Ruth,” Leeds says.
At a time when many of us are still grieving the passing of Ginsburg, this beautiful music — which allows us to celebrate and build on the feminist legacy of the Jewish Justice while dancing and singing with our kids — is a welcome comfort.
