Female Prog Artists Recommendations.

Definitely Inga Rumpf, the singer of Frumpy. Here an excerpt from their Beat-Club appearance (Beat-Club was a German TV-program that ran from 1965-1972. Countless top rock acts appeared at it, including many prog bands):

Why the Swedish flag appears at the beginning is a mystery to me; Frumpy were a German band (with one French member, keyboarder Jean-Jacques Kravetz).

The bands played live at Beat-Club; no playbacks.

That list is very helpful, tho I noted the absence of the Incredible String Band (Christina "Licorice" McKechnie, vocals & percussion 1968-72).

I have got plenty to explore for now, and it could take me some time, but please keep the suggestions coming!

There's no mention of the pioneering all girl bands Birtha and Fanny from the early 70's but I suppose they are more hard rock / proto metal than being prog related. The other band that springs to mind from that era would be Vinegar Joe (Elkie Brooks sharing vocal duties with Robert Palmer) but they are more blues rock.

Hi,

And above all ... her connection to THE FOOL, which even The Beatles made use of ... and they were from LA, not London of all places and ideas.

To me, it was the women that made the INCREDIBLE STRING BAND, and I think that their appeal and show suffered from not having the women involved as much other than background vocals, which I think the ladies were not happy with, is my thought.  They ended up with "U" ... which they performed at WOODSTOCK, of which there are no recordings or film, as it was in the middle of the night, and apparently too many folks were asleep .... but it was a stage show ... and I don't think it had been shown in too many places before then ... so Licorice, was at Woodstock with the band ... for this performance. 

I kinda thought that this "theater" was something that fit THE FOOL and the ladies more than it did Robin or Mike ... and you can see it on the film they made ... though in it, you get the feeling that the bits and pieces by the men, did not amount to much, and that the image of the women was more entertaining and alluring, than what the men did with it, which in many ways was almost opposite of what the women were there for or showed ... that is how I interpret it, btw.

It makes it easier to say that Licorice and her friend were likely the catalysts for the vision that became Mike and Robin, however, Robin in an interview with Guy Guden, explains that it was all about the poetry and the stage, and the attempt to make it come alive ... and that specific expression which Robin says helped their creativity since he came from a poet/writer background and Mike from a rock music background, which he says made things work when they got together. But the inspirations also went beyond the poetry ... into many areas that make things difficult to explain. By the time you listen to EARTH SPAN, it is a great album, fabulous material ... but you wonder what it is all about ... different inspirations from around the world? Or simply poetry within the context of a few stories and what ends up as "performance" instead of a person!

Again, I think the ladies had more to say here than we know or understand ... and Licorice will likely be remembered for her touch and expression, though she does not get much credit for it ... one is not likely to get her voice and stylings on so many songs, unless you have an inner flame that is so far apart, and yet ... a part of something else!