NEWS NOW

Remembering two 1970s music legends who passed away on the same day — singer-songwriters Helen Reddy and Mac Davis.

“I realized the song I was looking for didn’t exist.”

— Helen Reddy

Unable to find a song that represented how she felt to be female, Australian singer Helen Reddy, who died on Sept. 29 at age 78, wrote the lyrics of “I Am Woman” herself. The tune would become an international hit and feminist anthem in the 1970s and win her a Grammy. Though none would have the same impact as “I Am Woman,” Helen went on to enjoy five other Top 10 hits, plus acting gigs (she played the singing nun in Airport 1975) and musical theater. “I am at the age where I can just kick back and say what a wonderful life I’ve had,” she said in 2013. Happily, Helen lived long enough to see her story brought to the big screen in the recent biopic I Am Woman. “She sobbed at the end,” says granddaughter Lily Donat, who described Helen as “smart, strong-willed, and loving," to Closer. "We all did."