Oklahoma rockabilly queen to earn her Stripes in the studio
Alternative rocker Jack White will help Wanda Jackson record new album
BY GENE TRIPLETT
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Published: November 14, 2009
Oklahoma City’s own "Queen of Rockabilly” was on her way to Nashville on Friday to meet in a recording studio with one of the crowned heads of alternative rock.
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The rockabilly songbird’s next hometown show will be at 8 p.m. Nov. 21 at 66 Bowl, 6810 NW 39, celebrating the Route 66 landmark’s 50th anniversary.
Newly inducted Rock and Roll Hall of Famer
Wanda Jackson is set to record an album produced by
Jack White of the
White Stripes,
The Oklahoman has learned.
"One of the biggest stars on the planet I guess right now,” she said of White during a phone interview Friday from
Denver International Airport, where she was waiting for a flight connection.
The Maud native, 72, was a young country and gospel artist who began singing rockabilly in the 1950s on the advice of her mentor and one-time boyfriend,
Elvis Presley.
White, 34, is a
Detroit native who founded the White Stripes in 1997 with then-wife
Meg White. The duo’s raw, stripped-down garage band sound made them modern rock sensations in the 2000s with albums such as "De Stijl,” "White Blood Cells” and "Elephant,” and a big hit single, "Seven Nation Army.” White also fronts two other alternative rock bands,
the Raconteurs and
the Dead Weather.
A collaboration between two artists of such differing styles and backgrounds might seem unlikely, but White is known to dabble in many genres, having produced country legend
Loretta Lynn’s critically lauded 2004 album, "Van
Lear Rose.”
"They had a super album, but he didn’t have her do anything different, you know,” Jackson said. "She just did her little Loretta Lynn songs. But he told me he’s gonna stretch me some, so we’ll see. We’ll talk later.”
This isn’t Jackson’s first association with new-generation rockers, having worked with
Dave Alvin, The Cramps,
Rosie Flores,
Lee Rocker, the
Cadillac Angels and another Elvis — last name Costello — on her 2003 comeback album, "Heart Trouble.”
Costello, in fact, was one of the stars who championed Jackson’s induction into the
Rock and Roll Hall of Fame in
Cleveland, which finally took place in April.
Jackson said she was introduced to White through her Web site manager,
Jon Hensley, who had told her White was a big fan of her music.
Initially, Jackson and White will record a single for digital release before completing an album.
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Saturday November 21, 2009 08:00
66 Bowl 50th Anniversary with Wanda Jackson
66 Bowl
3810 NW 39th St
Oklahoma City, OK 73112
Date: Saturday November 21, 2009 08:00 PM
Doors: 7:00 PM
Tickets at www.ticketstorm.com
Good going Wanda.