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Tutta
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Tutta
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 Posted - 06/09/2018 : 16:48:54
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Interview Wanda Jackson at Graceland - Wall Street Journal
Post by MikeFromHolland » Tue Mar 17, 2015 1:03 pm
It's an interview from October 2012, so not new, but I haven't seen it before or here on FECC. Think it's interesting enough to share.
Why in the All Elvis section? Because of Elvis' big influence on Jackson. She mentions him often...
But first, Wanda Jackson as she is now - still touring in 2015 ! A clip from 2014:
WANDA JACKSON - Shakin' All Over - AMERICAN TOURS 2014
And how she was some 57 years ago:
WANDA JACKSON - Hard Headed Woman - TOWN HALL PARTY 1958
The Interview as published in The Wall Street Journal, October 2, 2012.
CULTURAL CONVERSATION WITH WANDA JACKSON The Rockabilly Queen
By MARC MYERS
(Oct. 2, 2012)
Memphis
Perched in a director's chair placed in Graceland's Jungle Room, rockabilly pioneer Wanda Jackson was at a loss for words. Looking around the Hawaiian-
themed space that Elvis Presley had used as a den and home recording studio, she appeared overwhelmed. "Knowing Elvis like I did, this is a bit much,"
she said. "Everything that was fun about him is crystallized in this house. It's Elvis, but he's not here."
Back in 1955 and '56, the singer-guitarist toured with Presley and dated him. Today, Ms. Jackson, 74, is one of the last original female rockabilly stars
still performing and recording. Her twangy cap-gun voice and feisty confidence haven't dimmed much since her early television appearances, now posted
on YouTube. But the raven-haired singer—dressed for her interview in a lipstick-red sequined top and black slacks—is no hayseed. Over the past year, she
has been rediscovered by a new generation of rockers and fans curious about the music's roots.
On Tuesday, Ms. Jackson will release "Unfinished Business" (Sugar Hill), her 31st studio album, produced by folk-country musician Justin Townes Earle.
It follows "The Party Ain't Over," her 2011 album produced by blues-rock guitarist Jack White. Last year she opened for Adele in North America, and
Bob Dylan, Bruce Springsteen and Elvis Costello have hailed Ms. Jackson's sizzly voice and rock-history importance.
"In '55, most country songs were about hard times and adult life," said Ms. Jackson, who was inducted into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame in 2009.
"Rockabilly was a new wind. The electric guitar replaced the fiddle, and the music was about the back beat and the excitement of being young."
Ms. Jackson, born in Maud, Okla., moved with her parents to Los Angeles in 1942. "There was no work for my daddy after the Depression," she said.
"We became Okies."
Out West, Ms. Jackson's father took odd jobs and taught her to play the guitar. "We'd go as a family to see Western swing stars like Spade Cooley,
Bob Wills and Tex Williams," she said. "But in the late '40s, we had to move back to Oklahoma so my mom could care for her invalid mother."
A "double-dog dare" in 1950 by a church-group friend goosed Ms. Jackson into appearing on a local-radio talent segment. Before long she had her
own show, and when country entertainer Hank Thompson heard her in 1953, he asked Ms. Jackson to sing with his band whenever he was in Oklahoma City.
Records for Decca followed, and when Ms. Jackson graduated from high school in May 1955, her father became her manager.
"That June, my daddy read Billboard magazine and found a promoter in Memphis named Bob Neal," she said. "He called him, and Bob said: 'You know,
I'm managing a young man now who's getting popular real fast. I'd like to book a girl on those shows, too.' We signed with Bob, and a month later in
Missouri I met the young man—Elvis Presley. His hair was still sandy blond."
For the first few months, Ms. Jackson performed as a country singer-guitarist. But as Presley amped up his stage act, Ms. Jackson became transfixed.
"The kids were just loving it and loving him," she said. "We didn't call it rockabilly yet. We just called it 'Elvis's kind of music.'"
After Ms. Jackson signed with Capitol in early 1956, Presley had a talk with her and her father. "He said if I wanted to sell records, I needed to record
what kids wanted to hear," she said. "But I didn't think I could pull off what he was doing."
By then, the two performers were an item. Presley gave Ms. Jackson his diamond-studded dinner ring and called her promptly at 4:30 p.m. each day
at her parents' home when they weren't on tour. "We both were only-children and we both had music careers—though his was out of sight and mine
was barely hanging in there," she said. "He wanted me to stretch."
To give Ms. Jackson a boost, Elvis drove her to his parents' home on Audubon Drive. "We spent an innocent afternoon in his bedroom," she said.
"He put on records for me and played guitar and sang. It wasn't a formal lesson, but he gave me what I needed: the courage to try his style. So I
began singing his way—freer, with more teenage attitude and that vocal hiccup."
She picked up other sassy tips from the wings. "Elvis never took himself seriously and just had fun on stage," Ms. Jackson said. "He flirted with the girls,
and his charm was his shyness. That's why when I'm up there today, I make eye contact with everyone in the first few rows. I like to have fun with them."
Ms. Jackson's first rockabilly record in 1956—"I Gotta Know"—was followed by a string of singles, including "Hot Dog! That Made Him Mad," "Fujiyama Mama"
and "Let's Have a Party," as well as her own songs "Cool Love," "Rock Your Baby" and "Mean, Mean Man." But like other female rockabilly artists who followed
Ms. Jackson, success had its limits. "Teenage girls bought most of the records then, so guys' singles sold best," she said.
Wanda Jackson, "I Gotta Know" (Western Ranch Party, 1958)
(Wanda Jackson performs "I Gotta Know" on "Western Ranch Party" TV Show, 1958.
Copyright Disclaimer Under Section 107 of the Copyright Act 1976, allowance is made for "fair use" for purposes such as criticism, comment, news reporting,
teaching, scholarship, and research. Fair use is a use permitted by copyright statute that might otherwise be infringing. Non-profit, educational or personal
use tips the balance in favour of fair use.
Check out my blogs at http://publicdomainmoviesandaudio.blo... and http://westernvongestern.blogspot.com for more public domain audio and video)
In January 1957, Elvis began spending more time in Hollywood, ending the rural tours and puppy love. "I never foolishly believed I was Elvis's only girl,"
Ms. Jackson confessed. "I wasn't in love with Elvis. I thought the world of him. I had a crush on him. And that was it." Ms. Jackson married Wendell Goodman,
an IBM executive, in 1961. They had two children, and she began recording country and gospel albums as pop-rock and R&B rapidly eclipsed rockabilly.
What was Presley's most attractive feature? "Oh, his eyes," Ms. Jackson said, closing her own. "They were all smoky and smoldering." Was he a good kisser?
"Yeah," she said softly, dragging out the word. "Had to be if I was going to go with him." And what about that ring? "Oh, I still have it."
Source:http://www.wsj.com/articles/SB10000872396390444508504577595223112651902
For those interested, the full interview as appeared on the author's blog a day later
Interview: Wanda Jackson
(Published: October 03, 2012)
Rockabilly is nothing more than jazz, blues and country all mixed around. You can hear the jazz and blues influence in the Western swing artists of the
late '40s and early '50s. And like blues players, many original rockabilly artists came from poverty, trying to use music as a way out of their family's plight.
As I write in today's Wall Street Journal, there aren't many of these pioneer rockabilly artists left, particularly on the female side. One of the last ones still
performing is Wanda Jackson.
Wanda is considered the first female rockabilly recording artist. She toured with Presley in 1955, before he became nationally famous, and she dated him.
But she's no has-been. Bruce Springsteen and Bob Dylan have both praised her moxie and originality. And her 2011 album The Party Ain't Over was produced
by Jack White, while her new one—due on Tuesday—was produced by Justin Townes Earle.
I had the pleasure of interviewing Wanda in Memphis, at Graceland, where they graciously took down the velvet rope to the Jungle Room and allowed us to
sit and chat after tour hours. This was a two-fold honor for me, since the Jungle Room—Elvis Presley's Hawaiian-themed chill zone and in the '70s his recording
studio—is viewed as sacred ground by fans.
What was it like to sit in the Jungle Room at Graceland with Wanda Jackson? Pretty neat. If you've visited Graceland, you know that this room—with its
grass-green carpeting and Hawaiian theme—is off limits on tours. Small by today's McMansion standards—the Housewives of Any City, USA, have larger and
more elaborate homes—Graceland remains larger than life. It's the place where Elvis Presley lived after he won the American Dream lottery—and was consumed
by it.
Rockabilly star Wanda Jackson knew Presley up-close and personal between 1955 and the start of 1957. So sitting in the room meant quite a bit more to
her than to me. At first, Wanda seemed overcome by the space. But she also knew who Presley really was and what made him tick. The room made complete
sense to her as she looked around in wonderment.
-----
Marc Myers: Your family moved to Los Angeles from Maud, Okla., when you were four years old?
Wanda Jackson: Yes, we were Okies. There was no work in Oklahoma right after the Depression.
The economy was still in the gutter and there was plenty of work in California. There was an old song
written by Doye O’Dell about us called Dear Okie: “Dear Okie, if you see Arkie, tell 'im Tex got a job for
him out in Californy” [laughs].
MM: Did your father want to move?
WJ: Yes. After working backbreaking jobs in Oklahoma City, he wanted to move West. So me,
my mother and my father moved to Los Angeles. I was four years old, so I don’t remember much.
When we got there, my father decided to go to barber school and got a barbering job in Greenville,
a cotton town just outside of Bakersfield. I had no trouble fitting in. There were plenty of people like
us out there. [Pictured above: Wanda Jackson]
MM: Growing up, whose records were most influential?
WJ: One of my big influences was Kay Starr [pictured above], who was from Oklahoma. She had
such a clear voice, and her pronunciation was always correct. I’m big on that. I also listened to
Jimmy Rodgers. My daddy loved him and had a lot of his 78-rpm records. I also listened to Hank
Williams, and Hank Thompson and Rose Maddox. She was in the Maddox Brothers & Rose. They
were real big on the West Coast. She was feisty. She played the bass with her brothers. She wasn’t
a beautiful lady but she was so cute and confident.
MM: Did your father encourage your interest in music?
WJ: Very much so. One day he came home with this little old Stella, a cheapie guitar. It was new
and so pretty. I’m an only-child, and both my parents worked and held down good jobs. So they
weren’t so poor that they couldn’t afford a few nice things. The guitar had an Uncle Sam’s hat on
it with stars. I have a photo of me holding it, wearing a cowboy suit my mother had made me.
MM: What did your family do for fun there?
WJ: In the evenings, we didn’t have the kind of entertainment we have now. All we had was the
radio and ourselves. Daddy played guitar and taught me how to play. As an only-child, I had all
of their attention, which was a blessing. My parents sacrificed a lot for me, and I grew up to be a
stable, happy teenager. I was anxious to get out of school, though. I never liked school, even in
California. We had some family out here, and I played a lot with my cousins.
MM: Did you go out to see bands?
WJ: On Saturday nights—or as often as my parents could—they would take me out to a dance.
Everyone brought their kids. Unlike today, there were no babysitters. We would also go see Bob
Wills and His Texas Playboys, Spade Cooley, Tex Williams—all those great Western swing bands.
They toured in California just like the big bands did. But they appealed mostly to country folks
who had moved there for work.
MM: What do you remember most about those evenings?
WJ: My very first remembrance is of those beautiful girls in gowns and flashy clothes who came
out on stage and yodeled while they played. That’s when I knew what I wanted to do with my life.
I told my parents that I was going to be a girl singer. I guess I thought I had a choice [laughs].
I never once wavered while pursuing my goal.
MM: Why did you move back to Oklahoma when you were 9 1/2?
WJ: We moved back because my mother was getting homesick and she had an invalid mother.
Her brother and sister were caring for her, but my mom started feeling guilty that she wasn’t
pulling her weight. My mom insisted we return. [Pictured above: Maddox Brothers & Rose]
MM: What did your father think?
WJ: He wasn’t as keen on returning, since he’d need to find new work. My daddy loved his
white gravy—what we put on most things. He said to my mother, “We’ll go back to Oklahoma City,
but the first time you have to make gravy with water instead of milk, we’re moving back.” After we
got back, my mother always kept milk on hand to make his gravy [laughs].
MM: What did you think about moving back?
WJ: I was a little upset. I had become close to my cousins out there. They were fun to be with, and I hated
to leave them. But wherever my mother and dad went, I was happy. That’s the kind of family we had.
MM: How did you spend your time fitting-in after being out West?
WJ: When we moved back, my mother joined a church and she always took me with her. Daddy wouldn’t
go to church with her, but he was always for her going. She’d take me to Sunday school, and I made friends
quickly. Soon, the people at the church found out I could play guitar and piano and sing pretty well. I had
learned to play the piano while we were in California.
MM: Did you play at events?
WJ: Yes. There was a radio show on KLPR. It broadcast to an area called Capital Hill, in southwest Oklahoma City.
They would play different kinds of music in different segments, and there would be preaching and the news.
The last 15 minutes of the show was devoted to local talent. My friends at church kept asking me why I didn’t try
to get on the show. But I wouldn’t do it. Then they dared me—a double-dog dare.
MM: Is that a big deal?
WJ: Oh yes. You don't back down from one of those.
MM: What happened?
WJ: The disc jockey put me on, and I won the contest [laughs]. Not long after, in the early ‘50s, Hank Thompson
heard me and asked me to sing with him and his Western swing band, the Brazos Valley Boys [pictured above],
whenever he was in Oklahoma City.
MM: Did he help you get a record deal with Decca?
WJ: Yes. Capitol didn’t want me. They said that girls didn’t sell records. It wasn’t until Kitty Wells had a hit on Decca
in 1952 that they changed their minds. As soon as I started working with Hank after high school in 1954, my daddy
quit his job driving a cab to manage me. By then, his feet had been played-out barbering. My mother worked for the
government, so she kept her job.
MM: Did RCA's signing of Janis Martin [pictured above] have anything to do with Capitol signing you in ’56?
WJ: I don’t think that was their intention. Capitol signed me as a pure country artist. Producer Ken Nelson was just
doing country stuff. On my very first session, I brought in I Gotta Know and Hot Dog (That Made Him Mad). When I
started playing them, Ken’s head went spinning. I told him, “This is what I want to do.” Ken, bless his heart, let me be.
He had faith in his artist. He said, “If that’s what you want to do, go right ahead, honey.”
MM: Who came first, you or Martin?
WJ: I was first female artist to sing rockabilly—even though she had a crossover hit [with Drugstore Rock 'n' Roll in 1956]
before my Let’s Have a Party [in 1960]. I was the renegade. I could stand up and see eye-to-eye with any of the guys.
The other gals just sang the song.
MM: You were also marketed a little differently, weren't you?
WJ: Yes, I wasn't positioned as a wild gal or trouble like many of them were. I’ve been taught all my life
to always be a lady. That was very important to my dad and mom. Daddy had a lot of rules for me in those days,
and he made sure my reputation stayed intact. All the guys knew that Wanda’s daddy was on board, so they
didn’t make trouble.
MM: Are the guitar solos on your records yours? Or were you simply playing rhythm guitar?
WJ: At Decca, my guitar playing was bleeding into the vocal mike because I played so hard. So they gave me
a felt pick or had me use my thumb. I had to learn to sing without the guitar, which was hard, since I was so
used to it being in my hands. Instead, they slid a wooden chair in there, and I’d hold onto the back. But I continued
to play the guitar in concerts until I was married in 1961 and began recording country.
MM: Did you ever play guitar in the studio?
WJ: The only time I played guitar in the studio was when I taught guys a song I had written. But when you
have guys like guitarist Chet Atkins and steel guitarist Jerry Byrd in the studio, there isn’t much teachin’ to do.
MM: After you graduated from high school, what did your father do as your manager?
WJ: When I graduated in 1955, my daddy drove me to performances and kept an eye on me. He also found a promoter,
Bob Neal, who also turned out to be representing a young man named Elvis Presley.
MM: How did your father find Neal?
WJ: Pure accident. My daddy got hold of a Billboard magazine and found Bob’s name in there. He called him in Memphis,
where Bob was based. My daddy told him who I was over the phone and that I was ready to go out on tour and asked if
he was interested. [Pictured above: Bob Neal and Elvis Presley]
MM: What did Neal say?
WJ: Bob said, "You know, I'm managing a young man now who's getting popular real fast.
I'd like to book a girl on those shows, too." The following week we signed with Bob.
MM: What did Presley think when Neal told him?
WJ: I don’t know, but I heard later that Elvis wasn’t happy initially. He said, “Bob, we don’t need no country girl singer
on these shows [laughs].” After we met and did those first couple of performances in July 1955, Bob said to him,
“So what do you think now?” Elvis said, “Well, you didn’t say she was a knockout.” [Pictured above: Wanda Jackson and Elvis Presley]
MM: Where did you first meet Presley?
WJ: Bob Neal introduced me to Elvis in July 1955 at radio station KCMO in Cape Girardeau, Missouri.
MM: What did you think?
WJ: I was impressed. Elvis was dressed real nice. Most musicians, even in those days, didn’t dress up.
Here was Elvis all spiffy. Of course, I had cleaned up, too. I had on a yellow skirt and sweater and big
black flower on my sweater. He walked in wearing black slacks, a black shirt and a yellow sport coat.
I thought, man, that’s different. But you know, he was a good-looking guy, and I was 17. My first impression
was he looked rather different being dressed that way and his hair being longer than most guys wore it
back home in Oklahoma City. [Pictured above: Wanda Jackson and Elvis Presley]
MM: What color was his hair?
WJ: It was sandy blond. This was before he started dying it black. He had just gotten his blond hair permed.
It was real kinky in the front. I thought that was unusual, too. Then we did our interview together at the station.
As we were leaving, he got into a pink Cadillac. I had just graduated from high school a month earlier, and five
days later I was performing with Elvis. It was the first tour I did after being out of school.
MM: What did Elvis like about you?
WJ: My dark hair and looks [laughs]. But it wasn’t just that. In early 1956, he talked me into trying his brand of
rock and roll. Everyone knew he was trying a new kind of country rock-and-roll, but no one knew how long it was
going to last. Maybe it would be a fad. But you knew right away when you heard it that his style was fresh and new,
and the young kids were just loving it—and loving him. [Pictured above: Wanda Jackson and Elvis Presley]
MM: What did your father think of Presley?
WJ: My daddy liked Elvis. Elvis was very polite. He told my daddy that he wanted me to do well. He said,
“The music business has always aimed records at adults, and they bought them. But singles are the big thing now,
and young people are buying them. You need stuff out there that young people like.” Daddy turned to me and said,
“Elvis is right.”
MM: Did you think of Elvis' music as rockabilly?
WJ: Not then. Rockabilly was just a name for country and the blues. Country and the blues were kissin’ cousins.
Elvis started with country and gospel and his music evolved into blues with a kick. For the delivery to work, you
kind of had to sound a little out of control.
MM: How so?
WJ: Like you’re caught up in it and can’t help how you’re reacting.
MM: The fiddle disappears, too, doesn’t it?
WJ: Yes, the fiddle was exchanged for the electric guitar, and the blues set songs right. You know, it’s amazing
how you can control an audience with the songs you choose. If an audience is rowdy, a blues settles people down.
Sing a gospel song, and people get very serious. They really start thinking.
MM: Were you and Presley an item?
WJ: We liked each other a lot. We couldn’t really traditionally date working a job like ours on tour all the time.
But when we could, we’d escape to get a burger and Coke. Most of the time, it was Scotty [Moore, guitarist] and
Bill [Black, bassist] and daddy and Elvis and me. Elvis asked me to be his girl and gave me his ring. It wasn’t any
big romance. We were both wrapped up in our careers. It was just nice.
MM: What was Presley’s appeal?
WJ: Elvis had so much charisma and was so nice and gentlemanly. I thought the world of him. But with Elvis,
you couldn’t get a serious word out of him. He was always horsing around. In fact, that behavior got on my nerves.
I remember remarking to him, “Elvis, don’t you ever take anything serious?” He just laughed it off.
MM: Did Presley have stage fright then?
WJ: Oh yes. I remember him getting so nervous before performances. He’d walk a mile back and forth wringing
his hands. I never had that problem. I was just anxious to get out there and sing. I asked Elvis, “Why do you still
get so nervous? The place is full of people who have come to see you?”
MM: What did he say?
WJ: He said, “This is the first time most of those people are seeing me live. I want to live up to their expectations.
I don’t want to let them down.” It’s funny, in all the time we spent together, I never heard him talk seriously about
his career. He was excited, of course. He had money for the first time and was able to buy his mother things and help
his folks. But he was still only a child.
MM: Did you pick up other performing pointers from Presley?
WJ: I studied Elvis from the stage. You could see the excitement that the music was causing. It was such a fresh wind.
Young people were so excited by his music. The big lesson for me from Elvis is not to take yourself too seriously.
MM: Isn't that hard to do?
WJ: Very. Even though I looked so casual on stage, I was always concerned about what I was doing and
how I was looking. To this day, I tell myself, “Get out there and be a free spirit and have fun and do like
Elvis did.” I still flirt and play with my audience. That’s why I like them to be down close to the stage.
I look at everyone in first few rows, looking everyone in the eyes at least once. I want that personal contact
with them. [Photo above of Elvis Presley by Robert W. Dye]
MM: Did Elvis believe in what he was doing with his new music?
WJ: Absolutely, yes. I was a pure country singer at the time and had been recording country since 1954.
In early 1956, Elvis said to me, “If you want to sell records, if you want a hit, you have to record what kids want to hear.”
MM: What did you say?
WJ: I said, “I don’t think I can do it.” He said, “If I can, you can, you can." I said, “But Elvis, I’m a girl. I’m just country.”
MM: How did he change your mind?
WJ: He brought me out to where he was living with his mom and dad on Audubon Drive. We spent an innocent afternoon
in his bedroom. His mom was in the kitchen. He put on records for me and played his guitar and sang. It wasn’t a formal
lesson but he did exactly what he needed to do. He gave me the courage to try. He said, “You’ve got the spunk and the voice
—so do it."
MM: Was it hard for you to find that kind of material?
WJ: Yes, because the music was so new. And I didn’t want to cover anything he was doing. My first rockabilly venture
came when Bob Neal got me signed to Capitol in 1956. I sang a song that was written for me by Thelma Blackman called
I Gotta Know. It’s a transformation song that shifts back and forth between country and rockabilly. I didn’t want to lose
my country audience. I had a little name going for myself then. So this song straddled both styles.
MM: What’s the difference between rockabilly and country?
WJ: Country is very life-like. It’s about hard times—you cheated on me, I’m going to cheat on you, you drank, and so on.
Real-life stuff. With rockabilly, you’re just set free, especially as a young person. You can sing about anything you want—a hot dog,
riding in a convertible, a Coke date, or going to a movie or sock-hop. The music is about the energy and excitement of being young.
I was a teenager myself at the time. In these parts, it was my generation’s music.
MM: What does a convincing rockabilly song need?
WJ: Sass and a certain explosiveness to excite audiences. When you’re excited, teen audiences get excited, too.
Such excitement grew fast in the songs that were aimed at young audiences in the South then.
[Pictured above: Capitol producer Ken Nelson and Wanda Jackson]
MM: When did Elvis tell you he liked you?
WJ: Oh I don’t know [laughs]. We hung out together a lot. He’d call me every day when we weren’t on tour.
My mother remembered that just about every afternoon around 4:30, Elvis would call. She said I always made
sure I was by the phone when he rang the house. When he called, we’d talk like teens about what we had been
doing. It was like teenagers do even though he was no longer a teen by then.
MM: Why did he call you so much?
WJ: I just thought it was ‘cause he liked me [laughs]. I don’t know. Maybe it was more than that. Oh, we had fun talking.
We had a lot in common. We were both only-children, we both had music careers—though his was, of course out of sight
and mine was barely hanging in there. That’s why he was concerned with me stretchin’ myself. I thought that was so kind of him.
MM: How serious did things get?
WJ: I wore his ring. But I never thought I was his only girl. It didn’t bother me though. I got to work with him and
they didn’t. He was growing so big, it would have been foolish of me to feel as though he could be held onto by only
me. I was smart enough, and he was too.
MM: Was it love?
WJ: No. This wasn’t a love affair. I was not in love with Elvis. I thought the world of him. I had a crush on him.
We liked each other. And that was it.
MM: What was it?
WJ: We were happy-go-lucky kids having the time of our lives and we enjoyed each other’s company. He and
my dad got along great, so my daddy let me go to his house that day to hear him play and sing or to go driving
after a show.
MM: What do you remember most about his face?
WJ: His eyes.
MM: What color were they?
WJ: I don’t recall. They were just dark. Smoldering. Dark almost like circles but smokey. His mother had that too.
MM: If you’re teaching me what Elvis taught you, what would you say? What tips?
WJ: I’m not sure. He didn’t give me lessons in so many words. I worked with him long enough and watched every
performance. I said to myself, “That’s the secret: He’s just having fun and flirting with the girls.” He knew they were
going to pull on his leg, so he’d give them a foot out there so they could get him. There was just a lot to learn from him.
And yet his charm was his shyness.
MM: What did you think of RCA when he signed with the label at the end of ’55?
WJ: At first I thought they just ruined him. Everything sounded too right, too perfect. I thought Heartbreak Hotel was
too contrived. Of course now it’s my favorite song of his. His performance is just so good on there. But at the time,
the music I heard on those records just wasn’t Elvis. [Pictured above, Elvis Presley signs with RCA in November 1955]
MM: How so?
WJ: It wasn’t free. It felt spelled out. I’m sure I didn’t tell him that to his face. I was just a backward country Okie girl
and he was becoming a big star. I was in awe of him and had a crush on him.
MM: What did you think when Colonel Tom Parker took over as Elvis’ manager?
WJ: Well, I had signed with Bob Neal and couldn’t understand why Elvis would leave Bob for this guy who didn’t have
the look. [Pictured above, Colonel Tom Parker and Elvis Presley]
MM: The look?
WJ: He didn’t look like he was for Elvis. He seemed too showy and slick. He was going to make Elvis into something
he wasn’t deep down—and he did. Soon after he took over, they had Elvis stop autographing or having contact with
audiences after. This isolation was already starting in late ‘56 because the crowds were pawing at him and we didn’t
know anything about security back then. The Colonel got that interacting stopped.
MM: What did Presley think?
WJ: Elvis didn’t like it. He told me he really missed interacting with his fans, shaking their hands and having pictures made
with them. He loved his fans. That’s another thing I learned from Elvis: love your fans. They make you what you are and allow
you to enjoy this life you’re living.
MM: You stopped touring with Presley in January 1957, when he started making movies, yes?
WJ: Yeah he was getting ready to go to California. He was going to take a train and he did. People told him, “Elvis you can fly
out there now and be there in a few hours.” But he didn’t want to fly.
MM: You also toured with Jerry Lee Lewis.
WJ: [Laughs] Oh my gosh, he was just a wild man. Crazy, wild, always up in the air, always boisterous and loud
and horsing around. All the guys seemed to play around all the time. That’s how they let off steam. I was more serious.
But that’s what I eventually learned from Elvis. Lighten up. Have fun. [Photo above of Jerry Lee Lewis and Wanda Jackson]
MM: How did you teach yourself to do that?
WJ: It’s just a matter of inward talk. And getting the confidence you need to do it. You have to have confidence before
you can pull that off. I always seemed confident when I sang, but in other ways, I don’t think I was. I still don’t have a
lot of confidence.
MM: What do you mean?
WJ: I have to be pushed and nudged. Is that strange? When I’m on stage, that’s my world, that’s my kingdom and
I know what I’m doing. You put me in a household situation and tell me to cook for six people and I go berserk.
I don’t know what to do [laughs]. [Photo above of Wanda Jackson on August 5, 1955 at the Overton Park Shell in Memphis
by Robert W. Dye]
MM: When did you give back Elvis’ ring?
WJ: Oh I didn’t. I still have it. It’s just a guy’s dinner ring. There’s kind of chipped diamond and chips around it.
It’s a pretty ring. I had it checked out later. It’s all real.
MM: Was Elvis a good kisser?
WJ: Yeah, he was.
MM: How so?
WJ: Well, you don’t have to explain that to girls. He was very comfortable. He loved girls. He really did.
Some men do, some men tolerate them. He loved women, loved his mother and grandmother—which are
good indications.
MM: Being an eyewitness to the start of rockabilly, what do you think?
WJ: We weren’t trying to turn country music into something else. In fact, I straddled both forms for a long time to survive.
There was no strategy laid out. No plans being set. It was just a phenomenon that just happened. A new wind came along,
a fresh wind. Elvis turned the music industry upside down. Him and Carl Perkins, Jerry Lee, Johnny Cash and the others
who came along.
MM: Not as many female rockabilly pioneers. Why not?
WJ: Girls buy more records and they love boy singers. Back then, guys were the ones singing rockabilly at first.
I fell in line because of Elvis. I don’t claim to be an instigator of a new movement or anything. I just wanted to get on it.
MM: But you come at the music as a good girl.
WJ: And I’m proud of that fact. I was an innocent, sweet sexy gal. It’s not anything new. I had to always be a lady.
I was taught to sit like a lady, speak like a lady and be a lady on stage at all times. That while I’m singing a rock and roll song.
I can become whoever I want—as long as I keep it lady-like. I was sassy, but I was more feisty than vulgar. My daddy would
never allow that. And I wouldn’t have thought of it anyway. Women were ladies in my day. I wish they still were.
MM: Excited about your success now?
WJ: Very [laughs]. It truly is exciting. After Jax [Jack White] happened, everyone looking forward to the next album.
I’m just blown away, frankly.
MM: Why do you think you and the music are being rediscovered?
WJ: Because of the innocence and the good pure unadulterated music. The music sounds innocent. And it is.
It’s simple music. Today’s music gets so complicated. Everyone’s trying to make a statement, you know, to
tell the government this or that or people should do this or that. We didn’t do that. For us, we were just kids
and we were going to sing about what we do. We dance, we drive fast, we play chicken—we have fun. Young
adults today wish they could enjoy a more innocent time, like we were able to when I was a teen.
MM: Did Elvis ever call you in later years?
WJ: We didn’t have any contact. I saw him in ‘64 by accident. We were staying at the same hotel. He had the whole
floor of the Sahara except the room my husband and I shared and another room where our friends stayed. The rooms
were up front by the elevator so they weren’t desirable and were given to us when we checked in. But we didn’t know
that Elvis was there on that floor.
MM: What happened?
WJ: One night my husband and I came in early and when the elevator opened, a hotel security guard was standing there.
We thought he wanted to see our key. We said what’s the deal? He said, “Well, Elvis and his entourage are on this floor.”
I said, Elvis? Really? Well, if you’re on duty when Elvis gets in, would you please tell him that Wanda Jackson would like
to say hi to him. The security guard got excited. “Wanda Jackson?” Turned out he was a fan of mine, too, so that helped.
MM: Did he call?
WJ: We went to our rooms, and it wasn’t 20 or 30 minutes before the phone rang. The person on the other end
asked if it would be alright if Elvis came to our room to say hi. I said, “Yeah.” He came down and spent 10 minutes
with us and met my husband and the other couple with us. We just talked about what we were doing there.
And that was it.
A big JazzWax thanks to Kevin Kern, Alicia Dean and the entire team at Graceland and Elvis Presley Enterprises.
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+IN HOC SIGNO VINCES+
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Edited by - Tutta on 30/09/2018 10:24:24 |
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Tutta
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Posted - 08/09/2018 : 10:34:43
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THE 58th ANNIVERSARY OF "PSYCHO" - OFFBEAT TRIBUTE: Bernard Herrmann - Psycho film score (1960)
MUNROWS RETRO
Happy anniversary! It was exactly 58 years ago on this day, September 8, 1960, that Alfred Hitchcock's legendary thriller, Psycho, was
released to theaters throughout the United States. This mega-mash film tribute uses OTHER films with certain themes or subplots reminiscent
of Psycho, from glimpses of the shower scene to the "hook" (the sudden possession of $50,000 or, in this case, a book with a seal that can't
open be opened) that leads our heroine to her destiny (the shower again), from a concerned, snoopy sister investigating the scary mansion
that holds the secret of her sister's plight to the deceased heroine's former boyfriend entering the motel office to chat up the manager, with
a surprising and delightful twist. The video is presented using the original score by Bernard Herrmann, who also created the memorable score
for Vertigo two years earlier. in glorious black and white. Enjoy.
Crimes of Passion (1984)
Bug Buster (1998)
The Big Bang Theory: Serial Ape-ist (2013)
Fade To Black (1980)
Evilspeak (1981)
Sisters (1973)
Vacancy In The Night (2016)
 ...
Wiki: Psycho (Film/1960)
https://de.wikipedia.org/wiki/Psycho_(1960) |
+IN HOC SIGNO VINCES+
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Edited by - Tutta on 30/09/2018 11:39:53 |
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Posted - 09/09/2018 : 23:10:11
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(Picnic with giraffes in the Soviet-built Lada 2101, 1970s) |
+IN HOC SIGNO VINCES+
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Edited by - Tutta on 30/09/2018 18:01:24 |
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Posted - 09/09/2018 : 23:14:34
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Sexy Prophets
2012 is a scary year for some, since it's in that same year (December 21, 2012 to be exact) that the Mayan calendar suddenly comes to an end,
which would eventually mean the Apocalypse. Of course, that doesn't necessarily has to happen (a new discovery proved that wrong) but, what
if it IS true?
If anything, we've been warned a long time ago. And no, it wasn't when Whitney met Bobby. Or when the boys and girls from Jersey Shore actually
met. It was circa 1982 and the messengers were two blazing hot sisters sporting heavy makeup, dangerous hairdos, tight hot pants and long hooker
boots. These weren't your average sisters: one was the runnerup for Miss Venezuela 1979 and became a bonafide sex symbol afer an accidental topless
got her disqualified in that year's Miss World peagant. The other was a soap-opera actress and ocassional singer.
So how did these two women, Tatiana and Marita Capote, jointly anticipate the end of the world? It happened as soon as they grabbed a mic and
started butchering a New Wave tune from Frida Lyngstad, post-ABBA. They were invited to a variety television show in Venezuela and performed
a half-dead version of Frida's "I Know There's Something Going On". Singing to a virtually mute and possibly baffled audience, the Capote singers
strutted around the set, worried about the end of love and latching scary eyes at the cameramen. Something was indeed going on! (the source of
the original video got cut off at the very end. Maybe the guy who was taping it was scared enough.)
Before that zombie rendition, the girls took on another Frida single, the rockier "Tell Me It's Over" and their attitude was just the same: they claimed
that life without their men "is phony" and that they didn't want to be alone. Those lyrics carried such emotion, but the Capotes didn't care a bit, as
they turned their backs to the audience to show there was little to the imagination of those nasty 1980s glittery hot pants.
After this experience, the world carried on and so did Tatiana and Marita. But shall we ask, for how long? Frida has not expressed any concern at all,
and neither the state of Truman Capote, who has no relation to the girls whatsoever. But I just watched the whole thing and I'm left wondering...how long?
MARITA Y TATIANA CAPOTE CANTANDO EN HOT PANTS. wmv (1988)
Tatiana Capote en el Miss Mundo / 1979
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+IN HOC SIGNO VINCES+
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Edited by - Tutta on 30/09/2018 23:08:24 |
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Tutta
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Tutta
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Tutta
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Tutta
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Posted - 10/09/2018 : 08:44:43
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American Bandstand 1968 – Surf City, Jan & Dean
American Bandstand 1967 – Somebody To Love, Jefferson Airplane
YouCanDanceToit!
“Turn On, Tune In, and Drop Out”. It‘s the beginning of the “Summer of Love” here in May of ’67 and Grace Slick’s “scorching” rendition
of “Somebody To Love”, one of the first songs to come from the San Francisco counter-culture scene, is currently in the top 10, peaking
at #5. The song has been out since April 1st (almost 2 months) and you can tell the dancers know it well as many are singing along.
AB Regulars Spotted: There are a lot of great regulars in this clip. We see Frank Vanderpuil with Marcia Silverman, Don Sanuskar with
Peggy Waggoner, Olivia Favela with Buddy Schwimmer on the riser, and brief glimpses of Stan Sobern, Famous Hooks, Frank Herrera,
and Don Pollard (the young man with glasses raising up his hands in center of the floor)
…..And with the “Summer of Love” gathering only 350 miles north in San Francisco, I wonder if any of these kids put away their dresses
and suits and joined in - “with flowers in their hair”….or if they even wanted to.
More:
http://forum.stripovi.com/topic.asp?whichpage=-2&TOPIC_ID=47499&REPLY_ID=1939462 (P.1) |
+IN HOC SIGNO VINCES+
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Edited by - Tutta on 30/09/2018 17:48:43 |
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OLDIES FOREVER / MUSIC / CARS / MOVIES & Chicas!
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