Wanda Jackson special premieres tonight on OETA

Posted by brandy

on October 6, 2009M at 4:37 pm

wanda jackson 2009 - jim beckel

Wanda Jackson (Photo by Jim Beckel/The Oklahoman)

“A Conversation With … Wanda Jackson,” an intimate, in-depth interview with the Queen of Rockabilly, will premiere at 9 tonight on OETA.

Hosted by Dick Pryor, “A Conversation With …” features up-close and personal discussions with the state’s history makers.

Jackson, who turns 72 this month, 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.

Oklahoma City officials last week 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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