Description
CELEBRATING THE QUEEN OF ROCKYBILLY’S 85TH BIRTHDAY
1-CD Digipak with 36-page booklet, 30 individual tracks. Total playing time approx. 70 min.
* On the occasion of her 85th birthday on October 20, 2022, Bear Family Records® congratulates
her with this unique compilation of originals and rare cover versions of classic Wanda Jackson hits!
* This edition from our ‘Connections’ series brings the songs in chronological order as Wanda
Jackson recorded them at the time, plus additional versions at the end of the CD.
* On 31 tracks from 1953-2007 we show the influences of the Queen of Rockabilly on the
international music scene.
* In addition to cover versions of Wanda Jackson titles, you can also listen to originals that Wanda
Jackson covered in the 1950s.
* Among them we hear a whole series of famous singers, such as Brenda Lee, Chuck Berry, The
Collins Kids, Roy Orbison and Bobby Bare.
* Wanda Jackson is also celebrated beyond the U.S., with performers from Australia, Great Britain,
Italy, and the Netherlands.
* Many rarities are included, including some recordings for the first time on CD, such as those by Bix
Bryant, Betty McQuade, and Shirley Jean Wiley.
* With Ray Campi, Rosie Flores, Lou Ann Barton and The Ladybirds, musicians of the recent past also
pay tribute to Wanda Jackson.
* The 36-page color booklet includes a foreword by Rosie Flores, the story on the subject written by
noted music journalist Bill Dahl, and of course many photos and memorabilia, some rare!
Queen of Rockabilly
Although Wanda Jackson is also a gifted country singer, she made a lot of rock ‘n’ roll noise in the mid-
1950s, which not only put her in the headlines as the first woman of the genre, but also catapulted her into the charts. She had a mega-hit with Let’s Have A Party that became a classic, as did Mean Mean Man, Fujiyama Mama and quite a few others. All her classics and more can be heard on this compilation in versions by other artists, with some real rarities.
Party
Let’s Have A Party is Wanda Jackson’s biggest success, a true Rock ‘n’ Roll classic and can even be heard
here in three different versions. Moreover, Wanda recorded this song several times during her entire career. Original versions of songs Wanda Jackson recorded later, such as Hot Dog! That Made Him Mad by Betty Hutton, The Collins Kids’ Party, or Annisteen Allen’s Fujiyama Mama, are also included.
We’ve also included interesting cover versions from the 1950s and 1960s on this CD, plus, for the first time, recordings from the more recent past by Ray Campi, Rosie Flores, Terry White, Lou Ann Barton, and others. Wanda’s career is highlighted from early 1956 (Joyce Hahn I Gotta Know) to 1965 (Ria Valk Santo Domingo).
Incidentally, Ria Valk sings Santo Domingo in Dutch, while Wanda Jackson’s original is sung in German, with which she had a huge hit in Germany. An additional and especially historic highlight is a Wanda Jackson cover by Rosie Flores with a previously unreleased live recording of the title I Gotta Know together with the German band Rumble On The Beach!
The CD is accompanied by a 36-page color booklet containing the background story written by Chicago
music journalist Bill Dahl, as well as a wealth of illustrations!
Track listing
01 I Gotta Know – Joyce Hahn
02 Honey Bop – Ray Campi & His Rockabilly Rebels
03 Hot Dog! That Made Him Mad – Betty Hutton
04 Hot Dog! That Made Him Mad – Sunny Gale
05 Cool Love – Terry White
06 Fujiyama Mama – Annisteen Allen
07 Fujiyama Mama – Eileen Barton
08 Just A Queen For A Day – Lydia & Her Melody Strings
09 Party – The Collins Kids (Larry & Lorrie)
10 Let’s Have A Party – Rikki Henderson
11 I Wanta Waltz – Thelma Blackburn
12 Long Tall Sally – Shirley Jean Wiley
13 Mean Mean Man – Terry White
14 Kansas City – Brenda Lee
15 Sparkling Brown Eyes – Shane Fenton & The Fentones
16 Riot In Cell Block No. 9 – Vicky Young
17 Right Or Wrong (I’ll Be With You) – Skeeter Davis
18 Funnel Of Love – Velvetone
19 Tongue Tied – Betty McQuade
20 Tongue Tied – Fabian
21 Fallin’ – Connie Francis
22 Stupid Cupid – Jenny Luna
23 Brown Eyed Handsome man – Chuck Berry & His Combo
24 So Soon – Bobby Bare
25 Candy Man – Roy Orbison
26 Santo Domingo (Fernando, Alfredo En José) – Ria Valk
27 Let’s Have A Party – Bix Bryant & The Raiders
28 Mean Mean Man – Lou Ann Barton
29 I Gotta Know (unissued live recording) – Rosie Flores with Rumble On The Beach
30 Man We Had A Party – The Ladybirds
GENRE: Vintage Rock N Roll/Rockabilly
BARCODE: 4000127176820
