Description
Just turned 21 and beautiful beyond words, Wanda Jackson ripped through a red-hot, live Town Hall Party rockabilly session in 1958 that helped define the parameters of this raw, young music. Discovered singing on an Oklahoma radio station only two years earlier by honky-tonk recording star Hank Thompson and encouraged to cut loose musically by genre superstar/touring partner (and onetime boyfriend) Elvis Presley, Jackson was a perfect fit for Town Hall Party, the Los Angeles-based TV show that had already welcomed sets by rockin' luminaries Gene Vincent, Carl Perkins and Eddie Cochran. Backed by old friend and "King of the Strings" guitarist Joe Maphis, Jackson was in her element for the Town Hall Party session, tearing into "Mean, Mean Man," a career-defining tune she'd recorded only a few months earlier. Highlights of Jackson's set also include "Rock Your Baby," her current Capitol Records single, and "Alone (With You)," a Faron Young chart-topper, as well as her show-stopping finale, Jackson roaring through "Hard Headed Woman," a scorcher from Elvis' current movie, King Creole. Jackson would soon become a substantial force on the country music charts, specializing in aching, honky tonk ballads for the rest of her career. Still touring today to rabid fan reaction, Jackson has never forgotten her red-hot rockabilly roots. And no live session ever caught Wanda Jackson as wild and rocking as she was on Town Hall Party in 1958, now available on Sundazed's high-definition, ten-inch vinyl.--sundazed.com
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