I’ve been thinking about a compilation mix: songs about women getting by in a world of men without being … used by men.

This started out with “Brandy” by Looking Glass … “Brandy, you’re a fine girl, what a good wife you would be, but my life my love and my lady is the sea ….” Okay, sure, horny sailors, “she serves them whiskey and wine” — but that’s it, she’s not selling herself.

In other words: women who might be hookers but aren’t.

Noted musicologist Patrick L. — a close personal friend of mine — offers these suggestions for the mix:

There’s Donna Summer’s “She Works Hard For the Money” (which they swear isn’t about hookers, but about waitresses. “Bad Girls” was definitely about hookers.)

Then there’s “She’s A Beauty” by The Tubes, about strippers behind glass.

Along the same theme, there’s Tina Turner’s “Private Dancer” (penned by Dire Straits’ Mark Knopfler, BTW)

Thanks, Pat!

Also comes to mind: Bob Seger’s “Down on Main Street”.