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Various Artists
HARD-HEADED WOMAN: A CELEBRATION OF WANDA JACKSON
(Bloodshot)
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In the 1950s, lady singers were not belting out sexy country and rockabilly numbers like Wanda Jackson. A true original, Jackson was paired on her first tours with Elvis, and the two dated briefly. She had some hits in the States, but they really took a liking to her overseas, where her Japanese-themed kitsch tune "Fujiyama Mama" was #1 for six months in Japan in 1959 and her German recording of "Santo Domingo" went to #1 in six European countries. Jackson billed herself as "Hurricane Wanda" on a tour of France, and at the time she sported a mountain of black hair. Later in life, she became a devoted Christian and recorded several gospel albums. It wasn’t until Rosie Flores encouraged her to join her tour in 1996 that Jackson again began performing her classics to American audiences. The majority of the 21 acts contributing to this tribute are young folk who show the clear influence of Jackson’s music, attitude, and style. The Ranch Girls give an old-time roadhouse feel to the cute "If You Don’t Somebody Else Will," which features some fine mandolin playing. Flores delivers a flawless rendition of Jackson’s "In the Middle of a Heartache," a song about being torn between two lovers. Kelly Hogan sings another Jackson original, "Right or Wrong," a romantic number where Jackson, in the country tradition, swears that she’ll stand by her man "right or wrong." "This Should Go On Forever," which Kristi Rose powers with a full-throated roar, is a dreamy blues number with the familiar "Don’t leave me/Is it wrong to love you?" theme. These are all bang-up tunes that hark back to the traditional torch songs of the ’40s and ’50s, but with a country accent that places them in small rural honky-tonks, where Wanda Jackson first bowled over audiences.
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