Wanda Jackson is often referred to as the “Queen of Rockabilly,” and for good reason. After some success as a country singer, Elvis Presley encouraged her to try singing rockabilly, resulting in a string of hot tracks including “Hot Dog! That Made Him Mad,” “Mean, Mean Man,” “Fujiyama Mama” (which hit No. 1 in Japan), “Funnel of Love” and “Let’s Have a Party” (which was a Top 40 hit in the United States).
She blazed the trail for women in rock ‘n’ roll, and was inducted into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame in 2009. Not content to rest on her laurels, earlier this year she released an album of smoking covers called The Party Ain’t Over, which was produced by and featured the guitar of Jack White.
The following is an excerpt from an interview conducted by phone on Dec. 9. Click here for the full interview. Tickets for her show Dec. 30 at SOhO Restaurant & Music Club, 1221 State St. in Santa Barbara, are available from Club Mercy.
Jeff Moehlis: What can we look forward to at your upcoming show in Santa Barbara?
Wanda Jackson: You can look forward to having a real good time if you like rockabilly, country and gospel music. I do my rockabilly standards, such as “Fujiyama Mama” and “Mean, Mean Man.” I do several songs from my new album that Jack White produced, called The Party Ain’t Over. We do a lot from that. Then I go back and do a few more of my standards — “Right or Wrong,” some of those. I do a gospel song, and then we close out with a song that is more or less my signature for rockabilly, or early rock, and that was “Let’s Have a Party.” I will have a great band with me. It’s Billy Joe Huels and the Dusty 45s. They’re out of Seattle, Wash.
JM: Sounds great.
WJ: We do our best. We put on a good, high-energy show. So people can be sure they’re rested and come on in, or if you’re not rested, we’ll get you jived up and rockin’.
JM: You mentioned the new album that Jack White produced, and that really gave a nice boost to your profile.
WJ: It certainly did. By doing that he has really helped me.
JM: How did that album come about?
WJ: Well, in calling him to see if he’d be interested in doing a duet with me on an album of duets with other people, which is what I kind of had in mind for my next project. In doing so he said no, that he wouldn’t be interested in doing a duet. So, you know, we were disappointed, but he went on to say, “But, I am interested in recording you on my Third Man record label, and I would like to do a single. And if it turns out well, we work together good, we’ll do an album.” So we got pretty excited with the prospect of that. We began, of course, first of all, taking care of the business part. And then Jack and I began exchanging songs and ideas for the album.
JM: Could you comment on your evolution from singing country music to rockabilly?
WJ: That began in 1955. My first tour that I worked after I was out of school, so that I could tour, was with Elvis Presley. And he was just getting started. He was very popular already in certain parts of the country. His manager wanted a girl on the show, so that’s how I happened to get that spot. Just seeing him perform and all ... I worked with him almost two years. And he talked me into trying it. I didn’t think that I could sing that kind of music, but he seemed to think that I could, and convinced me at least to try. Once I tried a little song like that, I really thought, boy, I like this. I think I can sing this stuff. So that’s how I became the first girl to record rock ‘n’ roll. But it was thanks to Elvis. I may never have tried.
JM: It was a good suggestion.
WJ: Yes, I thought so. He made me promise that I would try it. I couldn’t break my promise.
JM: Could you describe the Elvis that you knew?
WJ: He was just a happy-go-lucky young man. Things were going his way, and he knew what he wanted to do. He wanted to be a performer, and it was happening for him. It was the same with me. My only dream was to be a singer, to make records, and perform, and travel, and so we were both pretty happy young people, having a good time. And it was exciting to be on his shows, and see the crowds and the girls that were screaming and ran to the front of the stage. And watching his records going up in the Billboard charts. And yet, it wasn’t changing him. He was enjoying it, of course.
JM: Your first big hit was “Fujiyama Mama,” but that was a hit in Japan, not the U.S.
WJ: [laughs] Yes, you’re right.
JM: I know you toured Japan at that time. What was that like?
WJ: Well, it was a dream come true for me, because I had always wanted to go to Japan, and thought, well, I probably won’t ever be able to. But I wanted to. I loved Oriental things, and I had my bedroom decorated in Oriental style. So, yeah, I was very excited when I found out I had a tour coming up.
We didn’t have the media and things that we do today, so I had no way of knowing how popular my song was. I don’t think that I knew it was No. 1, had been all summer of 1959 in that country. So I was really quite a star there, and that was quite a shock to me. A nice shock. To see the crowds that I could draw, and my picture in the papers, the press conferences.
My dad and I, of course we’d flown. And when we got there, my daddy looked out and he said, “My goodness. All these people.” And he said, “Look there. They’ve got a red carpet, and photographers.” He said, “There must be somebody really important on this plane” [laughs]. And he said, “It’s probably some dignitary.” I said, “Well, maybe it’s a movie star”, so boy, we both start looking, trying to see who we might recognize [laughs]. And then when we got on the steps going down, we had no jetways then of course, and he was behind me, but he tapped me on the shoulder and he said, “Baby, I think you’d better start smiling. This is all for you!” I said, “Well, it can’t be!” And he said, “Yes, this is for you.” He knew it.
JM: Thank you for talking to me. It’s a thrill. I’m looking forward to your show here in Santa Barbara.
WJ: Thank you very much. It’s one of my favorite cities. I really love it. I think everybody that lives there loves it. I would like to have a second home there. Maybe it’ll happen one day [laughs].
— Noozhawk contributing writer Jeff Moehlis is a professor of mechanical engineering at UCSB. Upcoming show recommendations, advice from musicians, interviews and more are available on his Web site, music-illuminati.com.
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