OETA to premiere Wanda Jackson special Tuesday, Oct. 6
Wanda Jackson (Associated Press photo)
“A Conversation With … Wanda Jackson,” an intimate, in-depth interview with the Queen of Rockabilly, will premiere at 9 p.m. Tuesday on OETA, the network announced today.
Hosted by Dick Pryor, “A Conversation With …” features up-close and personal discussions with the state’s history makers.
Jackson, 71, was there at the beginning of rock ‘n’ roll, and she’s still going strong. From the time she was young, Jackson wanted to be a “girl singer.” She regularly sang on a radio show in her hometown of Oklahoma City while in junior high school and had her first hit record by the time she was 17.
Jackson sang country songs until Elvis Presley encouraged her to try a new form of music called rockabilly – a combination of country, rhythm and blues, gospel and swing. She toured with Elvis, Carl Perkins, Johnny Cash and Buddy Holly and became the “Queen of Rockabilly” and the “First Lady of Rock ‘n’ Roll.” In April, 2009, this music pioneer and native Oklahoman was inducted into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame.
Today, Oklahoma City officials dedicated Wanda Jackson Way, an alley running parallel to Reno and connecting Oklahoma Avenue and Mickey Mantle Drive, in the singer’s honor.
Hosted by Emmy Award-winning journalist Dick Pryor, “A Conversation With …” features discussions with the state’s prominent residents. Guests have included former Principal Chief of the Cherokees Wilma Mankiller, Gov. Henry Bellmon, Gov. George Nigh, civil rights activist Clara Luper and producer/promoter Lee Allan Smith.
-BAM
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