Top 10 Women Who Inspired Rock's Greatest Songs

#10: Sharon Osbourne

In 1979, Black Sabbath manager Don Arden addressed frontman Ozzy Osbourne’s reckless lifestyle by firing him. It was Arden’s daughter Sharon who turned him around. She married Ozzy in 1982, sternly managing his rise to a stellar solo career and helping him achieve sobriety. The heavy metal madman responded with the classic power ballad “Mama, I’m Coming Home.” Meanwhile, Sharon Osbourne Management launched the likes of Lita Ford, Gary Moore and Motörhead. The sole employee then became a superstar after inviting audiences into her and Ozzy’s home for MTV’s groundbreaking reality show “The Osbournes.” Sharon Osbourne was instrumental in making the Prince of Darkness a titan in his own right. No less impressive is how she made herself a legend.

#9: Mary Austin

For all his spectacle, Queen frontman Freddie Mercury was very reserved off-stage. He typically found his passion in his close relationship with Mary Austin. The two were even engaged for six years, only to split over Mercury’s struggles with his sexuality. He still recognized Austin as the “love of [his] life,” and declared this in a ballad on the album “A Night at the Opera.” It’s even believed that “Bohemian Rhapsody” was inspired by Mercury’s lonely confession to his fiancée. It’s certain that she made his life less lonely. After his death in 1991, Mercury arranged to have Austin spread his ashes in a location known only to her. She’s since lived a low-profile life, commemorated by her significant role in creating a legend.

#8: Courtney Love and Kurt Cobain

It was hard to imagine Nirvana’s Kurt Cobain settling down… So he never did. His marriage to fellow grunge pioneer Courtney Love was marked by intensity even after the birth of their daughter. They also enabled each other creatively. Cobain inspired the Hole songs “Beautiful Son” and “Doll Parts,” while Love inspired Nirvana’s “Heart-Shaped Box” and “You Know You’re Right.” But Love faced heavy backlash for her hostile persona, even after her husband’s shocking death in 1994. Love confronted the tragedy with Hole’s biggest album, “Live Through This.” Even her critics mourn with her and recognize her place in alternative music, direct and indirect. The 2010 song “Honey” shows Cobain’s own lingering effects on a groundbreaking artist.

#7: Nico

The New York art scene of the 1960s was enchanted by German actress and singer Christa Päffgen, better known as Nico. She inspired Bob Dylan’s “I’ll Keep It With Me,” and expanded Jim Morrison’s philosophy. Andy Warhol was so impressed that he brought her into the Velvet Underground. Their debut album became a seminal piece of experimental rock, distinguished by Nico’s subversive style and impaired hearing. Though this put her at odds with Lou Reed and John Cale, their brief creative and romantic relationships were transformative. Nico continued to influence artists like Morrissey, Robert Smith and Siouxsie Sioux, before tragically dying of a cerebral haemorrhage at age 49. Surely, Nico’s incomparable aesthetic lives on in the works of her contemporaries and experimental musicians since.

#6: Anita Pallenberg

It's bound to get complicated when a whole band claims one muse. Internationally recognized model and actress Anita Pallenberg joined the Rolling Stones through multi-instrumentalist Brian Jones, whose volatility drove her into a 13-year relationship with Keith Richards. She moved the band into the experimental phase of rock in the late ‘60s. “Gimme Shelter,” “She's a Rainbow” and “You Can't Always Get What You Want” are just some songs believed to be written for her. Jealousy inevitably arose in the band, compounded by Pallenberg's alleged affair with Mick Jagger. Her own career was devastated by this pressure and the death of her son Tara Jo Jo. But besides her indirect mark on music, Pallenberg gave the world plenty before and after the Stones.

#5: Linda McCartney

American photographer Linda Eastman met Paul McCartney in London while covering the 1967 launch of “Sgt. Pepper’s Lonely Hearts Club Band.” They married two years later. Linda was key to her husband’s activism and vegetarianism, never mind his art after The Beatles broke up. The couple formed the band Wings in 1971, making Linda a rock star and expanding Paul’s musical horizons. He wrote so many great love songs about his wife both for Wings and as a solo artist. They also founded Linda McCartney Foods to help make veganism mainstream. Sadly, almost two decades of an iconic marriage ended with Linda dying from cancer in 1998. The multitalented visionary nonetheless highlights rock history as, not only a muse, but a full creative partner.

#4: Marianne Faithfull

Folk singer Marianne Faithfull seemed to get lucky when she befriended the Rolling Stones in 1964. Really, frontman Mick Jagger was the lucky one. Faithfull expanded his artistic tastes and vision during their four-year romance, spawning such classics as “Wild Horses.” Her own unique artistry was distinguished from the music and acting industries. Sadly, her status in the ‘70s was stifled by financial difficulties and substance use disorder. Faithfull mounted a comeback going into the next decade, and went on to mentor and collaborate with many major musicians until her passing in 2025. Her career may have begun with shaping Jagger as an artist, but her legacy stands tall on its own.

#3: Yoko Ono

It was through her collaboration with avant-garde composer John Cage that Yoko Ono met the biggest pop band in the world. Her marriage to John Lennon led to some of The Beatles’s most unique songs, including “Don’t Let Me Down” and “I Want You (She’s So Heavy).” Ono was unfairly credited with breaking up the band, when she merely pushed her husband to new heights as a musician and humanitarian when he went solo. He, in turn, was key to her creative and commercial breakthrough after they formed the Plastic Ono Band. But Ono shifted her focus to philanthropy after Lennon’s murder in 1980. Though some feel the couple overstepped their experimentation, much of Lennon’s unprecedented musical and political impact was thanks to Ono.

#2: Pattie Boyd

She inspired some of the most moving love songs in rock, and one of the most infamous love triangles. Model and fashion icon Pattie Boyd was married to George Harrison for over a decade, inspiring Beatles ballads like “If I Needed Someone” and “Something.” She also inspired Eric Clapton to write the entire Derek and the Dominos album “Layla and Other Assorted Love Songs.” The eponymous anthem’s declaration of the guitarist’s affections destroyed his friendship with Harrison. The two reconciled by the time Clapton and Boyd wed, leading to the soft rock staple “Wonderful Tonight.” This marriage didn’t last either, but Boyd's enchanting grace and style were distilled by two husbands’ masterpieces. They in turn inspired her acclaimed photography work.

#1: Bebe Buell

It's hard to overstate Bebe Buell’s impact on ‘70s rock for the public to mostly recognize her as a model. She gained the spotlight through an on-off relationship with Todd Rundgren that inspired his career-defining hit “Can We Still Be Friends.” Buell was also romantically and artistically involved with the likes of Elvis Costello, Mick Jagger, Jimmy Page and Rod Stewart. In addition to Aerosmith’s “Crazy,” she and Steven Tyler also gave us the actress Liv Tyler. Buell has been called the quintessential groupie, partially influencing the character Penny Lane in the film “Almost Famous.” But she defied the stigma as an accomplished musician, personality and writer. There's no telling how many more romantic souls can be called the true icons behind rock classics.

Whom else do you credit as the true vision behind your favorite songs? Give a tribute in the comments below.