Wanda Jackson

Wanda Jackson was born in 1937 in Maud, Oklahoma. The only child of a musical family, Jackson began singing with her parents at an early age. Wanda’s family relocated to Bakersfield, California in the 40s where Jackson sang at her local church and performed on the radio as well as at venues around town. It wasn’t long before her distinctive voice and verve was discovered by country singer Hank Thompson who helped Wanda sign to Decca Records at the young age of 17. 

The very next year she toured with Elvis Presley and by 1956 she was playing rockabilly with Joe Maphis and Buck Owen supporting. This period earned Wanda her longstanding honorific as the Queen of Rockabilly. Widely regarded as one of the first major female vocalists of country music as well as a groundbreaking musician in rockabilly, gospel and rock and roll, Wanda found longevity in her career by exploring multiple styles and never shying away from change.

Her album Heart Trouble was released by CMH in 2003 and was, at the time, her first rock album in decades. It features collaborations with The Cramps, Elvis Costello and Rosie Flores as Wanda revisits a few rockabilly and country favorites. AllMusic called the album a “killer collection of songs” and a “rock & roll dream.” Writing for PopMatters, Charlotte Robinson praised the album, concluding that Wanda “still has pretty impressive pipes. Thankfully, she's using them in the right way on this release, which is in every way a winner.” CMH is proud to have been a part of this excellent album and to have worked with this rock and roll legend who’s made lasting work across so many decades.

In 2011, Wanda collaborated with Jack White on her album The Party Ain’t Over and in 2021 she released her final album Encore, produced by Joan Jett. While she continued touring and recording long into her later years, Wanda has officially retired from music. With two Grammy nominations in her lifetime, a fellowship award from the National Endowment for the Arts, induction into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame and the Rockabilly Hall of Fame, as well as international recognition for her work, Wanda can rest easy knowing her legacy and influence on the world of music will be well intact for years to come.