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Out of the Great Plains roared a sound that had roots in both country music and blues. In the ‘50s. “Girl singers” sang country. They were demure, pretty, soft-spoken. Then came Wanda Jackson, a veritable tornado of feminine bravado, swagger and power, roaring back and forth the country on relentless tours. She caused a sensation with her honest, funny lyrics and scandalous stage outfits. She earned herself a spot in many a hall of fame or list of greats, but unless you’re tuned into the ever-simmering rockabilly resurgence, you might not know her name. Many thought
Jackon was on some kind of permanent hiatus, but she wasn’t.
She was touring Europe; dedicated rockabilly fans across the continent
turn out for her shows in droves. There’s no hiatus for her.
After she got married, Jackson did attempt to stay home, but after
a while, she couldn’t take it. “I said to my husband,
‘Please let’s go back on the road. If I stay home I’m
going to kill myself,’ she says. “I’m still enjoying
it – it’s my life’s passion. I have never done
anything else.” Besides Flores, Jackson has worked with Elvis Costello (who said “My payment for working with Miss Wanda is to be in the studio with her.”), the Cramps, and others, on her album Heart Trouble and on other recordings. Her earliest collaboration was with country singer Hank Thompson, who heard a teenaged Jackson singing on a radio station in Oklahoma in 1954. Thompson invited her to sing with his band. She had a hit out of it and signed a contract with Decca, but she didn’t start touring until she graduated from high school. But arguably her most influential coworker was Elvis Presley. They were put on tour together in the mid-50s, before either were well-known, in the days before Elvis’ career “exploded.” She first met Elvis at the local radio station where they were promoting their concert. “He was tall and good-looking,” she said. “I was 17 and he was 20, and looks were pretty important. He was very charming and very much a gentleman.” They dated, and Elvis pushed Jackson to sing the type of rowdy, dangerous music he was performing instead of the well-mannered country songs she was used to. “He wouldn’t take no for an answer,” she says. “But the sound was something so new. It was turning the industry upside down. We didn’t know if it was going to last or just be a fly-by-night.” Furthermore, rock wasn’t for ladies. But, as Jackson pointed out, she was “different than any of the girl singers.” She gave it a try and hit her stride, but “America wasn’t ready for a girl to be singing in this wild, outlandish style.” Jackson tossed the good-girl country singer look (full skirts, cowboy boots, neck scarves) in favor of fringed dresses, spaghetti straps, high heels, long earrings, and “anything shiny.” “I wanted to look more glamorous and sexy,” she says. She knew how to work the fringe. “When you wear fringe, it looks like you’re doing a lot, with the fringes flying all over, even if you’re not doing much,” she says, “If you’ve ever worn fringe you know what I mean.” She began writing
songs because nobody was writing rockabilly songs “for girls.”
It took a couple of years for one of her rockabilly songs to hit.
In 1960, a DJ in Iowa started opening his radio show with Jackson’s
cover of “Let’s Have a Party.” That success convinced
Capital Records to release the song as a hit. “Bless his heart,”
Jackson says. “I am a fan. I was lucky enough to see her on my birthday last year,“ says Delilah DeWylde of Detroit’s favorite rockabilly group, Dangerville. “Her voice still sounds the same as on the old recordings. She is a great performer.” A2P Jackson will perform at the Tenny Street Roadhouse, 22361 West Village Drive, Dearborn, on April 7 with the Lustre Kings. (313) 278-3677 $15, 8:30 p.m. |
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