Our guest this episode has been interchangeably called the First Lady and the Queen of Rockabilly. She is a ceiling-breaking artist who was one of the very first women to have a career in both Country and in Rock and Roll, and is considered one of the first female Country stars. Also referred to as “the sweet lady with the nasty voice”, Wanda Jackson was born in Maude, Oklahoma in 1937, destined to be a musician and a star. In early childhood, Wanda and her family lived in Southern California, which was where Western Swing and Country music came into her life.

Learning songs and playing them with her father, Wanda had a guitar in her hands by age six, and by the time the family moved back to Oklahoma, singing and playing guitar was all Wanda wanted to do. An audition in her early teens to play on a local radio station’s Country show led to Wanda’s first regular gig playing live on the air, and her big break: her hero Hank Thompson heard her and invited her to open for his band, then join him on his TV show. With his help, a record deal came shortly after.

At 17, Wanda had a hit Country single in 1954 before she had even graduated high school. The following year, she was touring with Elvis Presley, whom she dated briefly, and he encouraged her to start recording and performing Rockabilly. Not only did she take his advice, Wanda also started writing and recording her own hit songs, and that’s when her signature growl, her steadfast confidence, and glamorous image made her a trailblazer for women in both Country and Rock and Roll.

She has been Grammy nominated twice - once in 1964, and again in 1970 - but it was later in life that Wanda Jackson began to get the recognition she so deserved. She was inducted into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame in 2009, and received an Americana Lifetime Achievement Award in 2010. She has yet to be inducted into the Country Music Hall of Fame. From Country to Rockabilly, to Gospel music, and back to Rockabilly, Wanda Jackson is now 67 years on from that first hit single, and at 84, just released a brand new album produced by Joan Jett called Encore. This Mixtape Memoir documents a charmed life of music and love and the graceful perseverance of this living legend. 

Credits:

Host/creator/creative director - Carmel Holt @carmelholt @sheroesmixtape @sheroesradio
Engineer/Mixing/Mastering - Phoebe Wang @feebswang 
Theme music - Lucius @ilovelucius
Cover art - Merle Cooper @m.c.cooper
Art direction - @carmelholt 
Guest: Wanda Jackson @wandajofficial
Label: Big Machine Records / @bigmachinelabelgroup