Fact: Without Wanda Jackson, there would be no Taylor Swift, no Pistol Annies, no Carrie Underwood. Dubbed "the queen of rock," Jackson started her career when she was barely a teenager, touring with Elvis and tearing up the charts. Soon, she had established herself as the country's first female rockabilly star and an all-around badass. In '09, a buzzy, critically lauded collaboration with Jack White landed her on the Billboard Top 200 LP chart, and at 75, she's still touring — how's that for longevity?
She plays The Hamilton tomorrow night, and we caught up with her by phone before a show in Nashville last week. We could have chatted with her all day, getting the scoop on her style, tour life, and how she changed the role of women in rock.
What do you think when people call you an icon? What does that mean to you?
"Well, I was hoping you could tell me! I guess it means someone who's old enough to have been around a long time. But I think of an icon as someone who's bigger than life — I don't think of myself as an icon. To me, that would be like Elvis, Jerry Lee Lewis, Elizabeth Taylor. But I'm flattered, so I'll go along with it."
Photo: Courtesy of Wanda Jackson