wanda jackson Archives - Vinyl From The Vault

Wanda Jackson “Wanda Live! at Third Man Records”

sfilzen — Tue, 13 Jan 2026 20:49:09 +0000

Wanda Jackson “Wanda Live! at Third Man Records” 2011. Third Man Records, limited edition Black/Transparent Blue Split vinyl with DVD of the performance included. Recorded at Third Man in Nashville January 18th 2011, the “The Queen of Rockabilly” is backed by Jack White on lead guitar and Olivia Jean on rhythm guitar. It sounds like the impetus of this performance and record was his producing work on Jackson’s 2011 The Party Ain’t Over I adore Wanda (and Jack White/Third Man) so super excited to spin this collection of Jackson originals and covers filtered through her funky rockabilly lens and absolutely unique voice. Covers include Amy Whinehouse’s “You Know I’m No Good” (which features a N’Orleans-style horn section and way more pep than the original), Jesse Stone’s “Like a Baby” (both are also on The Party Ain’t Over), “Riot in Cell Block #9” which was first recorded by The Robins in 1954, “Shakin’ All Over” by Johnny Kidd & the Pirates (1960) and the all-out rollicking “Let’s Have a Party” recorded by Elvis in ’57. I always thought “Fujiyama Mama” was a Jackson original but apparently she made it popular in 1957; it was written in by Earl Burrows and first recorded by Annisteen Allen in 1955 and, cover or not, absolutely slays. Another top pick from this live LP is actually one of her originals: “Right or Wrong” (which she says she wrote for Brenda Lee but decided to keep and record herself) and its excellent b-side “Funnel of Love” which she released in 1961.

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Wanda Jackson “Wanda Jackson”

sfilzen — Thu, 20 Oct 2022 17:21:48 +0000

Wanda Jackson “Wanda Jackson” 1958. Today, October 20th, is Wanda Jackson’s 85th birthday (b. 1937). Wanda Jackson is her debut record and it mixes country music, 50’s style pop and rockabilly while prominently featuring her distinctive clear soaring voice that frequently gives way to an exuberant growl. I adore Wanda Jackson, the Queen of Rockabilly, ever since I got hooked on her 1960 release Rockin’ With Wanda in the early 90’s when Joe gave me the tape. My favorite songs from her s/t release are the rockin’ ones: “Long Tall Sally” originally recorded and co-written by Little Richard in 1956, the rollicking piano-forward “Money, Honey” (written by Jesse Stone who is best known for “Shake, Rattle and Roll”) and “Let’s Have a Party,” first recorded by Elvis Presley for the movie Loving You in 1957. Jackson’s version was released as a single in 1960, hitting #37 in the US and #32 in the UK (Elvis’ initially went to #2 in the UK in ’57). We saw Jackson play at Cactus Club a few years ago – anywhere from 10-20 years, it’s super fuzzy – and it was incredible. She told stories about dating Elvis briefly in the 50’s, her experience as a woman breaking barriers in the music business and, of course, sang some of her most beloved songs from the early days of rock.

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Wanda Jackson “Rockin’ With Wanda!”

sfilzen — Fri, 27 May 2016 15:41:14 +0000

Wanda Jackson “Rockin’ With Wanda!” 1960. A compilation of a “dozen rockin’ swingin’ surprises” from the sweetest hellraising rockabilly voice ever. I love every single song on this album, especially because the first time I heard this album was listening to the mixtape pictured below from my now-husband who made it on this date 23 years ago. He lived in Milwaukee, I lived in Madison and we were just friends at the time. He mailed the tape to me just before I left on a post-college graduation trip to California – I showed it to a guy-friend of mine and his comment was “this dude is totally into you.”

I still get little jolts of delight as I spin this, especially “Rock Your Baby,” “Fujiyama Mama” (which hit #1 on the Japanese charts in 1958), “Hot Dog! That Made Him Mad,” “Baby Loves Him” (complete with references to blue suede shoes and pink Cadillacs) and “Mean Mean Man.” We saw Wanda Jackson play at the small Cactus Club here in our Milwaukee neighborhood a few years ago and Wanda’s voice sounded as clear and sweet as it was 50 years ago.

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