Wanda Jackson Talks Elvis, Jack White & Amy Winehouse

In a new interview with BlackBookMag.com, Wanda Jackson “the Queen of Rockabilly” shares her memories of Elvis Presley and talks about her new project with Jack White.
Jackson credits Elvis with shaping her as a performer. “He challenged and encouraged me,” she said. “He said, ‘You can see that it’s the young people that have money now and they don’t want to buy their parents music, they want their own kind, and they like what I’m doing and that’s what you need to get in on.’ So my dad and I thought on that a while, and we realized he was right, and luckily my producer was open-minded and let me record whatever I wanted.”
Lately, Jackson’s been working with White on a new album. She was hesitant to record White’s first suggestion: a cover of Amy Winehouse’s “You Know I’m No Good.”
“That was Jack’s idea. I wasn’t going to sing it, and my husband thought I was wrong,” she said. “Jack was very firm about it and wanted me to do that song. So it was kind of a tough situation for a little while there. But I realized what Jack was wanting to do for me – to bring me into the 21st century.
“I finally just gave in. I realized I haven’t had much luck selecting songs in my career, and I haven’t had that many hits. I realized this young man knows what he’s doing, and he’s got the pulse of the public. He had done an album with Loretta Lynn and she had four Grammy nominations and won two for that album. So I said, ‘Young man, I’m putting myself in your hands. You tell me what songs you want me to do and how you want me to sing them. If it’s different than what I’m naturally doing, then tell me because I want to do it your way.’ So that gave him a lot more freedom.”
Jackson’s new album, produced by Jack White, is called The Party Ain’t Over and will be released on January 25.