Wanda Jackson recently spoke with BlackBook magazine about her pioneering career and her forthcoming, Jack White-produced album, The Party Ain't Over. BlackBook says, "artists from Carrie Underwood to Cat Power should thank the so-called 'First Lady of Rock and Roll' for paving much of their way." Jackson talks about her early days performing with (and dating) Elvis Presley; the challenges of being a woman in rock at the time; and how times have changed since then.
Wanda Jackson recently spoke with BlackBook magazine about her pioneering career and her forthcoming album, The Party Ain't Over. The album, produced by Jack White, is due out on Third Man / Nonesuch Records January 25 and is available for pre-order in the Nonesuch Store, with an autographed poster included for a limited time.
BlackBook's Hillary Weston, in the introduction to the Q&A, says "artists from Carrie Underwood to Cat Power should thank the so-called 'First Lady of Rock and Roll' for paving much of their way."
In the interview, Jackson talks about the rockabilly roots of rock and her place at the forefront of that sound along with Elvis Presley, her then-boyfriend, back in the 1950s; the challenges of being a woman in rock at the time; and how the times have changed considerably since then, as in working on the new album with White.
Along the way, Jackson has been able to avoid the pitfalls that have tripped up other female artists. "A lot of those girls just seem to go crazy—the success or the money or something, and I think that’s a shame," Jackson tells BlackBook. "Rosanne Cash presented me with my induction to the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame last year, and she made a comment about me and it made me really happy. She said I wasn’t a Red Carpet Rehab ... something like that. She said I had my career for 56 years, but I kept my soul intact. I thought that really does say it."
Read the complete interview at blackbookmag.com.
To pre-order The Party Ain't Over with the limited-edition, signed poster, visit the Nonesuch Store. You can vote for the album's opening track, "Shakin' All Over," as the Coolest Song in the World on Little Steven's Underground Garage.
- Log in to post comments