The Queen of Rockabilly

Photo from wandajackson.com. All others from Last.fm

Last night, I got to see an American Legend–Ms. Wanda Jackson. And for all of you who don’t know who I’m talking about, she is called the Queen of Rockabilly and has been inducted into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame as an early influencer. While she was at her most popular back in the 50s and 60s, she is still as relevant as ever. Adele counts her as an inspiration, Jack White recorded an album with her and Ms. Jackson even recorded one of Amy Winehouse’s songs.

As a big Rockabilly fan (and also of trashabilly, punkabilly, surfabilly & psychobilly), you know I just had to go see Wanda Jackson when she came to town.  And even though she is 75 years old (we even sang her happy birthday as her birthday is October 20th), she can still rock out! She also told the story about how it was Elvis Presley who encouraged her to try out this “new style” of music back in the day when she was still just a teenage country singer.

For those who don’t know, Rockabilly is a combination of rock and country (or hillbilly) music and it was one of the earliest sub-genres of rock and roll. Take a listen on Pandora and pay a little homage to one of the early rock and roll trendsetters.

 

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