Does anybody remember the song "Let's Have a Party" or "Honey Bop"? I first heard the rockabilly classic ( Let's Have a Party )in the 1989 movie Dead Poet's Society which starred Robin Williams as an English teacher in a boarding school. It's the best example of a typical rockabilly song from its era. Wanda Jackson recorded this tune and I have never heard anyone else's version of it, although another version which Elvis Presley recorded first, exists. If you've never heard the song I urge you to check it out to hear it for yourself.
Wanda Jackson was the rockabilly queen and she had no real competitors in her genre- not of the female variety in any case. Her first hit was in Japan in 1958 with Fujiyama Mama. She had a uniquely aggressive approach to her music which was unheard of at the time of her popularity. She had as much power and class as any of the "old" guys like Gene Vincent, Dorsey and Johnny Burnette, Eddie Cochran or Buddy Holly. Her first huge hit was Let's Have a Party which featured a band belonging to Gene Vincent called The Blue Caps in 1960. None of her hits made the top twenty but she continued to record clear up to 1979 with a Greatest Hits album. She eventually went into gospel and country music but never achieved quite as much notoriety with that music as in her beginnings.
Born in Maud, Oklahoma on October 20, 1937 to an amateur musician ( her father, Tom) both her mother and father encouraged her to sing from an early age. In 1952 she won a local talent contest and was awarded a fifteen minute daily show on KLPR which was in Oklahoma City. She then got a thirty minute slot radio show (at the tender age of fifteen) which she kept through her high school years and by 1953 she started recording with Decca Records. Her first hit was You Can't Have My Love a duet she sang with Hank Thompson's bandleader, Billy Gray. In 1956 she signed on with Hank Thompson's swing band, Brazos Valley Boys and eventually signed with Capitol Records after her career was well under way.
Some tunes to look for would be Right or Wrong, In the Middle of a Heartache in addition to the previously mentioned tunes. There are others such as Mean Mean Man, Slippin and Slidin, Hot Dog! That Made Him Mad, Try a Little Kindness and many more you can Google. In the 70s and 80s she toured internationally and has re-recorded several of her hits in German, Dutch and Japanese to great success.
Jackson toured constantly during her career and was nominated for a Grammy twice. She married an IBM programmer, Wendall Goodman in 1961, and surprisingly he gave up his job in order to manage Wanda's career. After she released her gospel album in 1972 her secular career cooled but she claimed that it saved her marriage!
During the 80s Rockabilly had a resurgence in Europe with The Stray Cats and others and Jackson's major influence to several country artists who wanted to take advantage of the new found popularity received new attention as a rockabilly singer. As a result she was invited by many female artists to tour Europe in which she took part. Rosie Flores released a rockabilly album titled Rockabilly Filly in 1995 and invited Jackson to record several of the tunes with her. They embarked on a major U.S. tour together later that year.
Discography
1960- Rockin' with Wanda (Capitol)
1966- Wanda Jackson Sings Country Blues
1972- Praise the Lord
1974- Country Gospel (Word)
1979- Greatest Hits (Capitol)
2000- Queen of Rockabilly (Ace ) import
Single "Let's Have a Party" made it to #37 on the charts 1960
Single "Right or Wrong" made it to #29 in 1961
Single "In the Middle of a Heartache" made it to #27 in 1961
All Rights
Evelyn M. Wallace
March 28, 2008
