Friday, January 28, 2011

I Can Cause Destruction Just Like the Atom Bomb

"Since she was discovered at 15 in Oklahoma City, Ms. Jackson’s career has been etched by men: Hank Thompson, the country star who got her signed after hearing her on local radio; Elvis, who encouraged her to wield her singular voice—a graveled purr—in rock instead of country; Wendell Goodman, her husband of 50 years, her tour manager and constant companion; and now Mr. White. But through it all she has become a shimmying emblem of female independence in a male-dominated industry, testing boundaries with her forward style and lyrics about mean men and hard-headed women (and those are the love songs). As she allowed, winkingly, at the Knitting Factory show, 'No wonder I have a bad-girl reputation.'"

Melena Ryzik in The New York Times profiles Wanda Jackson.

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