Wanda Jackson was only halfway
through high school when, in
1954, country singer Hank
Thompson

heard her on an Oklahoma City
radio show and asked her to
record with his band, the
Brazos Valley Boys. By the end
of the decade, Jackson had
become one of America's first
major female country and
rockabilly singers.
more

Wanda Jackson was only halfway
through high school when, in
1954, country singer Hank
Thompson

heard her on an Oklahoma City
radio show and asked her to
record with his band, the
Brazos Valley Boys. By the end
of the decade, Jackson had
become one of America's first
major female country and
rockabilly singers.


Jackson was born in Oklahoma,
but her father Tom -- himself
a country singer who quit
because of the Depression --
moved the family to California
in 1941. He bought Wanda her
first guitar two years later,
gave her lessons, and
encouraged her to play piano
as well. In addition, he took
her to see such acts as Tex
Williams, Spade Cooley, and
Bob Wills, which left a
lasting impression on her
young mind. Tom moved the
family back to Oklahoma City
when his daughter was 12 years
old. In 1952, she won a local
talent contest and was given a
15-minute daily show on KLPR.
The program, soon upped to 30
minutes, lasted throughout
Jackson's high school years.
It's here that Thompson heard
her sing. Jackson recorded
several songs with the Brazos
Valley Boys, including 'You
Can't Have My Love,' a duet
with Thompson's bandleader,
Billy Gray. The song, on the
Decca label, became a national
hit, and Jackson's career was
off and running. She had
wanted to sign with Capitol,
Thompson's label, but was
turned down, so she signed
with Decca instead.


Jackson insisted on finishing
high school before hitting the
road. When she did, her father
came with her. Her mother made
and helped design Wanda's
stage outfits. 'I was the
first one to put some glamour
in the country music -- fringe
dresses, high heels, long
earrings,' Jackson said of
these outfits. When Jackson
first toured in 1955 and 1956,
she was placed on a bill with
none other than Elvis Presley.
The two hit it off almost
immediately. Jackson said it
was Presley, along with her
father, who encouraged her to
sing rockabilly.


In 1956, Jackson finally
signed with Capitol, a
relationship that lasted until
the early '70s. Her recording
career bounced back and forth
between country and
rockabilly; she did this by
often putting one song in each
style on either side of a
single. Jackson cut the
rockabilly hit 'Fujiyama Mama'
in 1958, which became a major
success in Japan. Her version
of 'Let's Have a Party,' which
Elvis had cut earlier, was a
U.S. Top 40 pop hit for her in
1960, after which she began
calling her band the Party
Timers. A year later, she was
back in the country Top Ten
with 'Right or Wrong' and 'In
the Middle of a Heartache.' In
1965, she topped the German
charts with 'Santa Domingo,'
sung in German. In 1966, she
hit the U.S. Top 20 with 'The
Box It Came In' and 'Tears
Will Be the Chaser for Your
Wine.' Jackson's popularity
continued through the end of
the decade.


Jackson toured regularly, was
twice nominated for a Grammy,
and was a big attraction in
Las Vegas from the mid-'50s
into the '70s. She married IBM
programmer Wendell Goodman in
1961, and instead of quitting
the business -- as many women
singers had done at the time
-- Goodman gave up his job in
order to manage his wife's
career. He also packaged
Jackson's syndicated TV show,
Music Village. In 1971,
Jackson and her husband became
Christians, which she says
saved their marriage. She
released one gospel album on
Capitol in 1972, Praise the
Lord, before shifting to the
Myrrh label for three more
gospel albums. In 1977, she
switched again, this time to
Word Records, and released
another two.


In the early '80s, Jackson was
invited to Europe to play
rockabilly and country
festivals and to record. She's
since been back numerous
times. More recently, American
country artists Pam Tillis,
Jann Browne, and Rosie Flores
have acknowledged Jackson as a
major influence. In 1995,
Flores released a rockabilly
album, Rockabilly Filly, and
invited Jackson, her longtime
idol, to sing two duets on it
with her. Jackson embarked on
a major U.S. tour with Flores
later that year. It was her
first secular tour in this
country since the '70s, not to
mention her first time back in
a nightclub atmosphere. ~ Kurt
Wolff, All Music Guide


THIS SONG WAS A BIG HIT FOR
JONI JAMES IN THE POP GENRE.

Category Music

Tags music, country, Wanda, Jackson