Wanda Jackson Lights Up Shenanigans

There's really no way to overstate it: you can trace a line from every single woman playing rock music today back to Wanda Jackson, who was inducted into the Rock & Roll Hall of Fame as an Early Influence in 2009.  She is widely regarded as the first woman to play rock & roll.

Jackson, often referred to as The Queen (or The First Lady) of Rockabilly, began her career in the mid-'50s.  As a pioneering rockabilly artist she was a peer of other early key figures such as Carl Perkins and Johnny Cash, and shared bills with (and briefly dated) Elvis Presley.  She recorded for Decca Records as a teen, though Jackson had initially talked with Capitol about a deal, where she was told by a producer, "Girls don't sell records."

"Well, of course, it was a true statement at the time," said Jackson, speaking from Oklahoma City.  I can't say anything against [that producer]. There was another reason I found out later: I wasn't of age. But Hank Thompson was trying to get me a contract with Capitol. I was only 16, and they had had some problems with an underage artist that they had signed, with parents, got into lawsuits and stuff.  So they said, no more – got to be of age before we even look at you."

"So, as soon as I turned 18 and my contract [was complete] with Decca Records, who went ahead and signed me – they didn't have any hang-ups – I went with Capitol, and they greeted me with open arms. Girls were beginning to sell records by that time.  That helped, too.  Kitty Wells had opened the door for girls in country music.  She had had a number one song in 1953 or '54. So, the scene was changing already. I just did my part to help it."

There are a number of fine compilations still available of Jackson's early singles, and the raw energy of tracks like "Mean, Mean Man" and "Honey Bop" hasn't diminished a whit over the years. While her late-'50s releases were generally regional hits, she got the news that her "Fujiyama Mama" was a number one single in Japan, and a tour was arranged. Little did she know what an uproarious situation she was about to enter. 

"Well, that was staggering," recalled Jackson. "It blew my mind. It was my first hit, and I didn't realize how big it was. It was 1959; we didn't have the media and things. I'd heard that it was doing real well, but I had no idea it had been number one there for a whole summer and how really huge that song was. I lived there for a couple of months that I toured like a true rock star. I couldn't get out, go places – the crowds. Pretty exciting for a young girl. I was 20, 21."       

With Capitol she released rockabilly singles with country songs on the flip side. In 1959, Jackson had a Top 40 hit with "Let's Have A Party," and the following year she made her first appearance in the upper reaches of the country charts. While it was her rockabilly recordings that established her name and secured her legend, the country songs pointed toward the direction she would take from the mid-'60s and into the '70s after rockabilly faded from popular favor.

In the early 1980s, Jackson was invited to play festivals overseas, and only then did she realize that rockabilly music still had a fervent following. "The rockabilly career just exploded around me. Another thing, I certainly didn't go out and pursue it; it just happened. I've been doing this since 1985, in Scandinavia and western Europe. Then, in 1995, it began to explode over here for me. So now, it's been over 20 years that I've been enjoying this…not exactly a comeback…maybe." 

"I just didn't know that rockabilly was that popular again in America until I toured with Rosie Flores and she introduced me to this new generation, all these new venues and festivals that I didn't know about because I was spending so much time in Europe. I hadn't noticed what was going on in America. So it's nice now; most of my work now is in America, but I'm still in Europe about four times a year. The last few years I've had larger crowds than I've ever had. Especially last year, some places look like they'd doubled.  I've always had good crowds but now it's sold out weeks before I get there and things like that, so it's always exciting."

It's been remarkable for Jackson to see the evolution of her audiences from the last years of her country career in the 1970s to today's shows where she is held in reverence by fans who recognize her as one of the few remaining rock & roll pioneers. "The people are different these days, even in clubs. I've noticed that the generation, the people who are coming to see me now, are young adults. There are a few scattered people my age, from my era, but most of them are this new generation of rockabilly and '50s-rock fans. They're so cute because they know all of my songs, which is always shocking, and they sing along with me, and they know so much about my career. They're just really great fans and they seem to esteem me very highly, which is very nice. Plus, I get paid a little bit more these days. That's always nice, too."

Over half a century from the start of her career, Jackson is set to receive some of her greatest media attention later this year with her upcoming Jack White-produced album.  Jackson had been considering recording a disc of duets, and White was contacted by Jackson's webmaster to see if he might be interested in participating. 

"He said, ‘No, I wouldn't be interested in that, but I'm such a big Wanda Jackson fan that I would be interested in recording her and produce her on my own label, at my studio.' Then it began to get real exciting. I thought, well, now, what is he going to do with me? I was pleasantly surprised. I'd just decided I would put myself in his hands. Here's a young man who is super-talented himself, has a great career, he's one of the hottest artists on the planet right now, and it seems like everything he does, he's right. They're saying he has a Midas touch, and he's only, like, 34, so I thought this could be real exciting." 

Jackson confirmed that work on the album is complete. However, due to their full schedules, she and Jack White are holding off for a fall release, at which point they will work together in promoting the record (leaving Jackson with the need to politely refrain from offering further details here about the album). In the meantime, the first fruits of their sessions are available in the form of a digital single that has just been released:  "You Know That I'm No Good" and "Shakin' All Over."

"He put me into the 21st century, is what he's done. He stretched me a little bit more, and I'm always up for a challenge like that, and it turned out well with his guidance and my wanting to do something fresh and brand new. And I have just enjoyed the heck out of singing stuff like this. He really had to work with me but I was willing to try, so it worked out for a good marriage there, I think. Something old, something new."