Vintage Rock – September-October 2019

A crossover sensation, Wanda Jackson always did it her

way. She brought glamour to country and rocked as hard

as any male star. As the rockabilly queen decides to

(technically) retire, we celebrate six decades of her

rip-roaring, rollercoaster career

THE

WONDER

OF

WANDA

WORDS BY JULIE BURNS

J

ust like Jerry Lee Lewis, one of the

other few rockers ‘left standing’,

Wanda Jackson is blessed with

a feisty spirit. Like Lewis, she recently

suffered a stroke – luckily caught in time –

and has experienced up and down health

of late. In April this year, Wanda told

Rolling Stone that she was to retire “due to

health and safety”. As a pioneering female

performer, in the 50s she shared bills with

the greats such as Elvis, who encouraged

the young country singer to rip it up in the

emergent world of rock’n’roll.

As a rare woman capable of both a cooler

take on country and rocking up a storm,

Wanda paved the way for other female

entertainers to follow. She spent some

65 years on the road: fi rst as a teenager,

managed by her father, criss-crossing

the States on gruelling one-nighters

and package tours; then in Japan after

gaining surprise star status, and latterly a

renaissance on the European retro revival

circuit. Between ’54-’74, Wanda achieved

30 hits and 40 albums on the Country and

Pop charts. “I wanted to work right up until

I couldn’t,” she recently revealed. “That

point has been reached.” Yet happily for her

many fans worldwide, even this swansong

statement isn’t fi nal: for the still growling

grandmother, now 81, the prospect of a

sparky new album’s in the pipeline.

Following on from her great later album

collaborations with musician-producers

Jack White and Justin Townes Earle, Wanda

is looking forward to completing a new

“full album” project produced by Joan Jett.

She’s also returned to songwriting. Recently

linking up with young guns Sonia Leigh,

Wanda Jackson