Wanda Jackson
Wanda Jackson, often hailed as the Queen Of Rockabilly, was the first female Rock And Roll singer in the U.S, releasing her debut record in 1956. She dated Elvis Presley, who encouraged her to step away from the country-tinged gospel she had been performing since childhood and try her hand at Rock And Roll. She developed her own distinctive voice and performed in a variety of styles, from folksy traditional tunes, to country twang and high yodels to throaty, suggestive ballads. She is a prolific singer of songs with wry lyrics - such as Fujiyama Mama: You can say I'm crazy
Stone deaf and dumb
But I can cause destruction
Just like the atom bomb!
'Cause I'm a Fujiyama Mama
And I'm just about to blow my top!
The song contains many references to the World War II bombing of Hiroshima and Nagasaki; ironically, it became a #1 hit in Japan.
Wanda achieved great and continuing success throughout Europe, Asia, and Australia, but has never found the same level of fame in her native United States. She toured with Rock And Roll pioneers such as Elvis Presley, Jerry Lee Lewis, and Buddy Holly. She has been nominated for the Grammy award twice as the best performing female singer and has been awarded the Oklahoma Native Daughter Award. She has been inducted into the Oklahoma Country Music Hall of Fame, the Rockabilly Hall of Fame, the International Hall of Fame, the International Gospel Music Hall of Fame, the Oklahoma Music Hall of Fame, and the German Country Music Hall of Fame, but remains conspicuously absent from the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame. In 1971, Wanda and her husband/manager Wendell Goodman abandoned Rock And Roll and spent the next twenty-five years performing gospel in churches. In 1996 Wanda was invited by alt-country singer Rosie Flores to duet with her on an upcoming album. The two were so pleased with the results that Wanda joined Ms. Flores on a handful of promotional club dates which was soon extended into a five-week North American tour. Wanda, plesantly surprized to discover that she and her songs were known by a generation of Rockabilly fans her grandchildrens' age, soon assembled her own band and returned to the clubs and festivals where she continues to perform. In recent years Wanda has recorded with such artists as The Cramps, Lee Rocker, Dave Alvin, and Elvis Costello.
External links http://www.wandajackson.com/ http://www.rockabillyhall.com/
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