• Included with Wanda Jackson Concert in Bay St. Louis.
• Wanda Jackson was touring with Elvis Presley in the late 1950’s, and the King himself is the one who suggested that she start singing rockabilly.

Martin Winfree

November 30, 2012

Wanda Jackson had a great country career back in the day beginning with her 1962 hit song “Right or Wrong”. Others followed like “In the Middle of a Heartache”, “The Box It Came In”, and “Tears Will Be the Chaser for Your Wine”. While she was never a superstar like Dolly Parton, Loretta Lynn, Tammy Wynette or Patsy Cline, her work has held up well over the years.
But what makes her unique is her work as a rockabilly singer in the late 1950’s and very early 1960’s. She was touring with Elvis Presley in the late 1950’s, and the King himself is the one who suggested that she start singing rockabilly. Earlier this year, I picked up a new pressing of her 1959 Capitol album There’s a Party Goin’ On in Atlanta. She is backed on the album by her hot new band the Party-Timers, featuring a young Roy Clark on electric guitar. Besides the title song, the album includes other rockers like “Hard Headed Woman”, “Tongue Tied”, Lost Week-end”, “Man We Had a Party”, plus her take on “Kansas City”.
Unlike most country stars, she also had true international renown. In 1965, she topped the German charts with “Santa Domingo,” sung in German. One of her biggest rockabilly hits was “Fujiyama Mama”, which was a big hit in Japan.