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Wanda Jackson was and is the "QUEEN OF ROCKABILLY"- and the first female rock and roll singer in the U.S., since her first debut record in 1956. She dated Elvis for a while, who encouraged her to try rock n' roll. She developed her own distinctive style and could do any kind of vocals, whether it was folksy traditional tunes, high yodels, or throaty, suggestive ballads. She is a prolific singer of songs with wry lyrics- such as "Fujiyama Mama"-
You can say I'm crazy
So deaf and dumb
But I can cause destruction
Just like the atom bomb!
'Cause I'm a Fujiyama mama, and I'm just about to blow my top!"
The song contains many references to the World War II bombing of Hiroshima and Nagasaki; ironically, the Japanese loved it.
Wanda's distinctive style has been imitated by many, but only she can pull it off. Her diverse talent caused Europeans to embrace her with open arms. Sadly, America was not ready for Wanda to strut her stuff with such obvious and well-deserved pride, at a time when birthrates were soaring, and everyone from the government to home economics classes were reasserting traditional motherhood roles.
But Wanda, with trademark energy, zeal and Oklahoma spirit, shrugged off her lukewarm reception at home and reveled in huge success abroad, with colorful ditties such as "Riot in Cell Block 9", the subject of which is a women's prison in Florida. Accompanied by a catchy tune and Wanda's energetic, versatile voice, the song proceeds as follows,
On July 2, 1953
I was seventeen, into Hatchapee
Four o'clock in the morning, I was sleeping in my cell
When I heard a whistle blow, and I heard somebody yell.
There's a riot going on, up in cell block number nine..."
What she sings are realistic and universal tales of the human heart, relationships, and the American experience- women fleeing abusive husbands, sacrificing everything for "brown eyed handsome men"- New Orleans gamblers named Sammy Samson and Silly Millie, tough, independent prison gals called Two Gun Matilda and Marley- love and how it changes a person, ways to chide a fickle, philandering or absent lover, and the simple fun of just throwing a party!
Wanda Jackson, an innovative trailblazer, toured with Elvis Presley, Jerry Lee Lewis and Buddy Holly, all in the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame. But merely because she was a woman, fame and recognition came slow, and she is still not in the Hall, where she belongs with the male greats of her time. She is every bit of the same caliber as they, and as much, if not more, deserving of the honor.
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