On August 1, 2019, the GRAMMY Museum welcomed Los Angeles-based female rock icons Cherie Currie and Brie Darling on the eve of the release of ‘The Motivator,’ their debut album together. During the program, Currie and Darling discussed the making of the new album.

The Runaways front-woman and solo artist, Currie, met the Fanny drummer and singer, Darling, in 2017 when Currie had come in to contribute vocals to Fanny Walked the Earth, a reunion album from the trailblazing Fanny, the first all-female band signed to a major label (Reprise) in 1969. Though the two musicians were certainly admirers of each other, they had not yet met until that session. Once connected, the idea to continue collaborating was hatched, and the idea to record an album was solidified. The Motivator, was produced by the six-time GRAMMY-nominated Dave Darling and features nine classic covers by bands including T. Rex, The Rolling Stones, Stevie Wonder, and John Lennon, plus three powerful new originals, “Too Bruised,” “I’m Too Good, That’s Just Too Bad” and the topical “This Is Our Time.” Guests on the album include a host of family and friends who came in to do backups, including Currie’s sister, actress Sondra Currie, her ex-husband, actor Robert Hays; friends, Susan Olsen of Brady Bunch fame and actress/director, Allison Scagliotti. Darling’s brother, Henry Berry is on “He Ain’t Heavy”; and brother Phil Berry does a guitar solo on the Kinks tune “Do it Again” while her sister, Rory Berry Bishop plays drums on Thunderclap Newman’s “Something in the Air.” Patti Quatro—Suzi’s sister and a member of Fanny—plays guitar and sings on “For What It’s Worth.”