Bob Dylan describes her as an “atomic bomb in lipstick”, but she just calls herself the Queen. Wanda Jackson, known as the Queen of Rockabilly, will play 8 p.m. Friday at the Buskirk-Chumley Theater.
The 2009 Rock ’n’ Roll Hall of Fame inductee is promoting her new CD, “The Party Ain’t Over,” produced by White Stripes’ Jack White. Here are a few facts to acquaint you with the Queen.
Teenage dream
The Oklahoma native began her career at 13 playing guitar and singing at parties. Now 73, Jackson has been a touring musician for more than50 years.
Breaking out
As a junior in high school, Jackson won a radio contest and landed her first recording contract with Decca Records. Within two years, she was transferred to Capitol Records and after graduating high school in 1955, she began to tour playing country music.
Living with legends
In the 1950s, Jackson played with musicians such as Johnny Cash, Carl Perkins, Buddy Holly and Jerry Lee Lewis. She also toured with Elvis Presley.
The King’s say
Not only did Jackson tour with Presley, but the two also dated for a short while. Presley encouraged her to sing rockabilly. “I thought it was wonderful that he (Presley) even cared as much,” Jackson said in a Pittsburgh Tribune article. “His career was going huckledy-buck and exploding right around him, and yet he was taking time to encourage me.”
Party in the USA
Her first hit, “Let’s Have a Party,” peaked in the Top 40 in 1958. The song had previously been recorded by Elvis himself.
Jack of all trades
Jackson teamed up with Jack White to record in his Third Man Records studio in Nashville. “I was scared at first because I didn’t know what this young rock star was going to expect of me or ask me to do,” Jackson said on her website.
Time-old tale
Jackson’s new album, “The Party Ain’t Over,” reflects her history of rockabilly, gospel and country, with White playing lead guitar.
Happily ever after
Jackson married Wendell Goodman in 1961. They are still together and have two children, and Goodman is Jackson’s manager.
All hail the queen
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