20th-century American women musicians

Jeanne Behrend (11 May 1911 – 20 March 1988) was an American pianist, music educator, musicologist and composer.

Gladys Alberta Bentley (August 12, 1907 – January 18, 1960) was an American blues singer, pianist, and entertainer during the Harlem Renaissance.
Her career skyrocketed when she appeared at Harry Hansberry's Clam House, a well-known gay speakeasy in New York in the 1920s, as a black, lesbian, cross-dressing performer. She headlined in the early 1930s at Harlem's Ubangi Club, where she was backed up by a chorus line of drag queens. She dressed in men's clothes (including a signature tail coat and top hat), played piano, and sang her own raunchy lyrics to popular tunes of the day in a deep, growling voice while flirting with women in the audience.
On the decline of the Harlem speakeasies with the repeal of Prohibition, she relocated to southern California, where she was billed as "America's Greatest Sepia Piano Player" and the "Brown Bomber of Sophisticated Songs". She was frequently harassed for wearing men's clothing. She tried to continue her musical career but did not achieve as much success as she had had in the past. Bentley was openly lesbian early in her career, but during the McCarthy Era she started wearing dresses and married, claiming to have been "cured" by taking female hormones.

Jessie Mae Robinson (née Booker, October 1, 1918 – October 26, 1966) was an American musician and songwriter, whose compositions included many R&B and pop hits of the 1940s and 1950s, including "Black Night", "I Went To Your Wedding", and "Let's Have a Party".

Naomi Harriet Ward Randall (October 5, 1908 – May 17, 2001) was a Latter-day Saint songwriter and author and a leader in the Primary of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints (LDS Church). In 1957, Randall wrote the lyrics to "I Am a Child of God", an LDS Church hymn that was originally written as a song for children.
Randall served as a member of the general board of the Primary Association for 27 years. As a member of the board, she was asked to write a song for children that would teach them the LDS Church beliefs on the nature of a child's relationship with God. The result was "I Am a Child of God", which has been published in over 90 languages. Randall also wrote the lyrics to "When Faith Endures", which is hymn #128 in the LDS Church hymnal.
Randall was a frequent contributor to The Children's Friend and was the chair of the Primary committee that created the CTR ring. From 1970 and 1974, Randall was the first counselor to LaVern W. Parmley in the general presidency of the Primary.
On October 13, 1998, Randall was awarded a Presidential Citation by Brigham Young University president Merrill J. Bateman for her lifelong service to the children of the LDS Church.Naomi Harriet Ward was born in North Ogden, Utah. She was married to Earl A. Randall and was the mother of one child. Naomi Randall died due to advanced age in La Mesa, California.

Elizabeth Fetzer Bates (March 30, 1909 – November 20, 1999) was an American Latter-day Saint musician, most noted for being the author of the children's songs "Book of Mormon Stories" and "Pioneer Children Sang As They Walked".

Zoë Tamerlis Lund (February 9, 1962 – April 16, 1999), also known as Zoë Tamerlis and Zoë Tamerlaine, was an American musician, model, actress, author, producer, political activist and screenwriter. She was best known for her association in two films with film director Abel Ferrara: Ms .45 (1981), in which she starred, and Bad Lieutenant (1992), for which she co-wrote the screenplay.

Thea Musgrave CBE (born 27 May 1928) is a Scottish composer of opera and classical music. She has lived in the United States since 1972.