“We never ever got as famous as The Beatles. But we started as friends, and we ended as friends.” - Sylvia Saunders, drummer of the Liverbirds

For the first time EVER on the Dolls Pod, we’re featuring a group! We’re telling the stories of Pam Birch, Val Gell, Mary McGlory, and Sylvia Saunders. Together, they’re more than Britain’s first all-female rock band…although that part is pretty cool! They’re four independent, self-actualized young women breaking music’s glass ceiling - and having a whole lot of fun doing it. This episode is for any girl in a band, or any girl who’s ever wanted to be in a band 🐦‍⬛ “It’s Liverbirds, Not Liverbirds” is available now wherever you stream your podcasts!

We’d like to thank Mark Berman (@fullyinvolvedmark on TikTok) for tipping Abby off to Mary and Sylvia’s memoir

Materials used for this episode:

Mary McGlory and Sylvia Saunders, “The Other Fab Four: The Remarkable True Story of the Liverbirds, Britain’s First Female Rock Band” (2024)

“‘Girls don’t play guitars!’ The Liverbirds Story” BBC Outlook, 4/17/2024

“We Made Rock History. Here’s Why You Don’t Know Us.” “Almost Famous” by Op-Docs, The New York Times (dir. Ben Proudfoot, 12/18/2019)

(episode starts at 6:13)

Songs in this episode:

“Mister Rogers’ Neighborhood” Theme Song

The Kaye Sisters - Paper Roses (1960)

Cliff Richard - Move It (1958)

The Searchers - Apache (1962)

The Beatles - Please Please Me (1962)

The Rolling Stones - I Wanna Be Your Man (1963)

The Kinks - You Really Got Me (1964)

The Kinks - All Day and All of the Night (1964)

The Liverbirds - Roadrunner (1965)

The Liverbirds - Johnny B Goode (1965)

The Liverbirds - Peanut Butter (Live on Beat Club, 9/25/1965)

The Liverbirds - For Your Love (1966)

Jimi Hendrix - Wild Thing (Live at Monterey Pop, 6/18/1967)

The Liverbirds - Cavern Stomp (2025)

Follow @thedollspod on Instagram to see photos and clips from this episode!

It’s Emma’s (belated) birthday! For her first episode of the season, she’s showcasing her “birthday twin:” the one and only Janis Joplin. Though her career lasted just four short years, it was no less transformative; feeding the nation’s appetite for blues rock and making a bookish girl from Texas into a generational icon. Everything about Janis, from her big heart to her fiery soul, embodied the spirit of the counterculture 60s. It’s a story of pain, passion, and a woman’s sheer power. “Janis Joplin: Piece of Her Heart” is available NOW wherever you stream your podcasts ❤️‍🔥

(Episode starts at 4:43)

Materials used for this episode:
Ellis Amburn, “Pearl: The Obsessions and Passions of Janis Joplin” (1992)

Myra Friedman, “Buried Alive: The Biography of Janis Joplin” (1992)

Holly George-Warren, “Janis: Her Life and Music” (2019)

Jack Whatley, “Went Right To His Head: the moment Janis Joplin fought off Jim Morrison with a glass bottle” (Louder Sound, 11/12/2024)

Songs in this episode:

Big Brother and the Holding Company - “Combination of the Two” (Live at Monterey Pop, 6/17/1967)

Janis Joplin - “What Good Can Drinkin’ Do” (1962)
Janis Joplin and Jorma Kaukonen - “Hesitation Blues” (1964)

Big Brother and the Holding Company - “Ball and Chain” (Live at Monterey Pop, 6/17/1967)

Janis Joplin - “Try (Just A Little Bit Harder)” (Live at Woodstock, 8/17/1969)

Janis Joplin with Jerry Garcia - “Tell Mama” (Live at McMahon Stadium, Calgary, Alberta, 7/4/1970)

Janis Joplin with Clark Pierson - “Happy Trails” (1970)

with samples from “Woodstock: 25th Anniversary Edition” (dir. Michael Wadleigh, 1994), Janis’s 1969 and 1970 appearances on the Dick Cavett Show and an untitled interview she gave in England in 1969

Follow @thedollspod on Instagram to see photos and clips from this episode!

It’s the story you’ve heard a thousand times before, from a perspective you’ve never heard…Welcome back to the Dolls Pod! To kick off season 2, we’re telling the story of the Beatles from the point of view of their biggest fan: longtime secretary and Fan Club president Freda Kelly! Her no-nonsense attitude, big heart, and hard work are proof of just how much a girl’s love can change rock-and-roll 💌 We’d like to thank listener Pat Reeder for suggesting we cover Freda’s career - “Good Ol Freda Kelly: is available NOW wherever you stream your podcasts!

(Episode starts at 6:07)

Materials used for this episode:
“Good Ol’ Freda” (dir. Ryan White, 2013)

The Beatles, “Anthology” (edited by Bryan Roylance, 2000)

James Sullivan, “Beatles’ Secretary Recalls Madness of Early Days” Rolling Stone, 9/11/2013

Lucy Brazier, “PROFILE: Freda Kelly” Executive Support Magazine, 9/25/2014

Jonathan Deburca Butler, “Freda Kelly: 'I always made sure John, Paul, George, and Ringo's mums knew where they were’” The Irish Examiner, 10/22/2023

Fans On The Run, Ep. 90: Freda Kelly (8/31/2024)

Songs in this episode:

The Beatles - “Besame Mucho” (1962)

The Beatles - “The Sheik of Araby” (1962)

The Beatles - “Love Me Do” (1962)

Little Richard - “Long Tall Sally” (1956)

The Beatles - “I Want To Hold Your Hand” (Live on the Ed Sullivan Show, 2/9/1964)

The Marvelettes - “Please Mr. Postman” (1961)

The Moody Blues - “Go Now” (1964)

The Beatles - “I’m Only Sleeping” (1966)

with samples from “Help!” (dir., 1965,) “Beatles ’64” (dir. David Tedeschi, 2024,) and the Beatles’ 1963 Fan Club Christmas message

Follow @thedollspod on Instagram to see photos and clips from this episode!