She’s the “Queen of Rockabilly.” She used to date Elvis Presley. And with a career spanning five decades, Wanda Jackson is still rockin’ today, most recently playing the Bang Festival in Los Angeles last weekend. In recent years, she’s collaborated with Jack White and Justin Townes Earle, and has even been named as an influence by Cyndi Lauper and Adele.
Although she’s released albums of varied styles of country and gospel over the years, her place on the throne as the “Queen of Rockabilly” is what etched her mark on the musical family tree. Wanda was there at the beginning, raising the bar and setting a new place at the table for women in rock and roll—and in the process earning herself a spot in the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame.
I found myself back at Som Records in DC, sifting through the now very familiar dollar bin, and was shocked to see There’s a Party Goin’ On by the amazing Ms. Jackson. Surely this must have been a mistake, as original Wanda vinyl commands a fairer price. I quickly saw why it was relegated to the discount crate—the sleeve was split apart across the top and the minute scratches across the face of each side resembled USC’s offensive playbook.
Wear and tear notwithstanding, I plunked down my dollar and made my way home. Even after a good rub with record cleaning solution, the moment the needle hit the record, the telltale crackle of surface noise jumped out of my speakers. But in the moment, it didn’t matter—Wanda was singing.
From the onset, you know Wanda means business. On the title track, her high-pitched voice is painted with her trademark snarl that exudes an audacious attitude. She geared down a little bit on the following numbers like “Kansas City,” opting for a voice that spun a web of silken gold. With an occasional rasp here and an intentional “hiccup” there, just when you think she’s getting a little bit mushy with “Fallin’,” Wanda reminds you who the boss truly is on “Hard Headed Woman.”
Side two relates the all-too-familiar frustrations of getting “Tongue Tied” around the opposite sex. And with two songs on the album about partying and two about weekends, you might draw the conclusion that partymeister Andrew W.K. drew some influence from Wanda. The overall vibe of the album is pure fun, but from a less digital and decadent era. The music on this LP could be played at both a teenage sock hop in California or a booze-fueled honky-tonk somewhere in the south. Even in her love songs like “Sparkling Brown Eyes,” the way Wanda comes across when singing lyrics like “Oh if I had the wings of a beautiful dove/Yeah don’t you know I’d fly to the man I love,” she radiates a confident boldness years before the women’s lib movement.
In the ‘50s, Wanda Jackson was among the first to span the bridge between country music and rock and roll. The doors that she opened for countless female musicians are still evident today, and There’s a Party Goin’ On is a must-have for any fan of classic rockabilly, country, rock and roll, or all of the above.
