Jack White to play Cain’s Ballroom in Tulsa on March 15; tickets on sale Friday
Jack White (AP file)
Former White Stripes guitarist/singer Jack White will play March 15 at historic Cain’s Ballroom in Tulsa, the venue announced today.
Tickets will go on sale at noon Friday. Prices are set at $38 and $49. There will be a limit of four tickets per person.
For more information, go to www.cainsballroom.com.
White founded The Stripes in Detroit in 1997 with his then-wife, drummer Meg White, and in February 2011, the influential duo announced they had decided to part ways. Jack White has formed several other music projects over the years, including The Dead Weather and The Raconteurs. He also produced Loretta Lynn’s 2004 album “Van Lear Rose” and Oklahoma native Wanda Jackson’s 2011 album “The Party Ain’t Over.”
He recently announced that he will release his debut solo album “Blunderbuss” in April on own label, Third Man Records. “Love Interrruption,” the first single, has already been released:
-BAM
BAM’s all-Oklahoma top 10 albums of 2011
A version of this column appears in Wednesday’s Life section of The Oklahoman.
BAM’s top 10 albums of 2011
Column: Oklahoma recording artists from across the musical spectrum made beautiful music and reached impressive milestones in the year just past.
For fans of Oklahoma music, it’s hard to imagine a more exciting year than 2011.
Tulsa Sound pioneer Leon Russell finally made it into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame and then the Songwriters Hall of Fame for good measure, Owasso-based country star Garth Brooks joined Uncle Leon in the songwriters’ club, and Chockie ranch girl Reba McEntire and Pauls Valley native Jean Shepard were ushered into country’s hallowed hall.
Tishomingo denizens Blake Shelton and Miranda Lambert squeezed in their wedding between his reality TV breakout on NBC’s “The Voice” and the release of his latest LP and her launch of side project Pistol Annies and work on not one but two albums. On the red dirt scene, Cody Canada & The Departed arrived to soothe those saddened by the breakup of Cross Canadian Ragweed, while The Great Divide reunited after more than eight years after the original lineup split.
Maud native and rockabilly queen Wanda Jackson teamed with White Stripe Jack White to make a barn burner of a comeback record, former Tulsan Ronnie Dunn made his solo debut after two decades with country duo Brooks & Dunn, and teenage Internet sensation Greyson Chance of Edmond and country duo Thompson Square, featuring Miami, OK, native Keifer Thompson, released splashy debut albums.
Oklahoma City-based rock ’n’ roll mad scientists the Flaming Lips experimented the year away, recording six- and 24-hour-long songs; releasing music on USB drives encased in gummy fetuses, $5,000 real human skulls and strobe-light gizmos; and finally inviting Yoko Ono and Sean Lennon to ring in 2012 at their fifth annual New Year’s Eve Freakout.
With all those milestones, the decision to make my top 10 albums list of 2011 an all-Okie affair was easy. Figuring out who would make the final cut, now that was hard.
1. Miranda Lambert “Four the Record” (RCA Nashville) and Pistol Annies “Hell on Heels” (Columbia Nashville)
The Texas native not only fired off a fourth solo album even better than its Grammy-winning, game-changing predecessor (2009’s “Revolution”) but also lit the fuse on a doozy of a side project with her all-girl trio Pistol Annies. Between the two albums, she wrote or co-wrote 14 songs and cut a total of two-dozen, matching her impressive output with prodigious quality.
On “Four the Record,” she confidently covers a wide range of topics, emotions and musical styles, from the blazing bad-girl anthem “Fastest Girl in Town” and the galloping breakup freakout “Mama’s Broken Heart” to the affectionate celebration of diversity “All Kinds of Kinds” to the gorgeous ode to her adopted home state “Oklahoma Sky.”
With their first effort as the Pistol Annies, Lambert and fellow singer-songwriters Ashley Monroe and Angaleena Presley ignited the country charts with their old-school sound, sharp songsmithing and take-no-prisoners attitude. They’re pretty, they’re smart, and they’re going to say and do whatever they want. And they’re coming for you.
2. Cody Canada & The Departed “This Is Indian Land” (Underground Sound/Apex Nashville)
I can’t think of a better entrance for a new band so rooted in Oklahoma’s red dirt scene than this homage to the state’s songwriting greats. The Departed — former Cross Canadian Ragweed singer/songwriter/guitarist Canada, ex-Ragweed bassist/singer Jeremy Plato, Texas guitarist Seth James, Tulsa keyboardist/organist Steve Littleton and Yukon drummer David Bowen — tunefully pay tribute to the finely crafted story-songs of Tom Skinner, Bob Childers, Greg Jacobs and more with a debut that leaves you eager for more.
3. Wanda Jackson “The Party Ain’t Over (Nonesuch/ Third Man Records)
As he did with Loretta Lynn on her 2004 album, “Van Lear Rose,” producer/guitarist Jack White — the rocker best known for fronting The White Stripes — again demonstrates his masterful knack for celebrating a veteran performer’s storied past while still pushing her out of her comfort zone. This “Party” celebrates Jackson’s rock ’n’ roll trailblazing with smoking covers of Johnny Kidd and the Pirates’ “Shakin’ All Over” and Bob Dylan’s “Thunder on the Mountain” and recalls her country and gospel days with a funked-up version of “Dust on the Bible” and a stripped-down rendition of Jimmie Rodgers’ “Blue Yodel #6.” At 74, the Rock and Roll Hall of Famer is still “the sweet lady with the nasty voice.”
4. The Damn Quails “Down the Hatch” (598 Recordings)
After just two years of making music as a duo, Norman-based singer-songwriters Bryon White and Gabriel Marshall earned national and international acclaim with their debut album, which features a rootsy sound both distinctly Oklahoman and uniquely their own. As each of the 14 earthy tracks comes “Down the Hatch,” it becomes increasingly clear the fertile Oklahoma music scene has nurtured a pair of exceptionally talented country-folk performers. Get the binoculars; you’re going to want to watch these birds.
5. Broncho “Can’t Get Past the Lips” (self released)
Here’s what I love about Oklahoma music: It turns out The Damn Quails weren’t the only Norman-based upstarts who released a standout debut record in the year just past. Broncho, the side project for Starlight Mints keyboardist Ryan Lindsey, forcefully declared that punk was not dead with its brawny, frenetic “Can’t Get Past the Lips.” As a bonus, the manic standout track “Try Me Out Sometime” deservedly made NPR’s list of five garage rock favorites from 2011.
6. Stoney LaRue “Velvet” (B Side Music Group)
Warm, smooth and surprisingly mellow, the red dirt star’s long-awaited second studio album fulfilled the promise of its luxurious title. The follow-up to “The Red Dirt Album,” the Edmond resident’s 2005 debut studio effort, “Velvet” was more than worth the wait, showcasing a more mature, finely crafted sound that maintains its rootsy authenticity.
7. Other Lives “Tamer Animals” (TBD Records)
After 14 months of painstakingly sculpting their sophomore album in their Stillwater studio space, the orchestral pop-rockers were richly rewarded for the elegantly lovely fruits of their labor: The band toured with Bon Iver in 2011, and they are joining none other than Radiohead on the road in February. Catch them in concert Jan. 26 at Tulsa’s Fassler Hall or Jan. 27 at Oklahoma City’s Blue Note Lounge because we will soon be forced to love Other Lives and their evocative music from afar.
8. Colourmusic “My __ is Pink” (Memphis Industries)
Like Other Lives, experimental rock quartet Colourmusic spent months in its Stillwater recording lab conjuring up its second album. With “Pink,” the neo-psychedelic wizards tried out a distinctively different sonic formula from their fantastic 2008 debut “F, Monday, Orange, February, Venus, Lunatic, 1 or 13.” Although their sophomore effort featured a much tougher and more aggressive sound, it maintained those beautifully mesmerizing melodies. I still get goose bumps on my goose bumps hearing their 10-minute epic “The Little Death (In Five Parts).”
9. Vince Gill “Guitar Slinger” (MCA Nashville)
The Country Music Hall of Famer was never going to match the scope and audacity of his four-disc, 43-track box set “These Days,” which won the 2006 Grammy for best country album and earned an overall album of the year nomination. But the Norman-born, Oklahoma City-bred singer/songwriter/guitarist didn’t disappoint with his 12-track follow-up, which channeled Motown with “Tell Me Fool,” memorialized Billie Holiday on “When the Lady Sings the Blues” and passionately pondered life and mortality on the Grammy-nominated first single “Threaten Me With Heaven.”
10. St. Vincent “Strange Mercy” (4AD)
The Tulsa-born singer/songwriter/guitarist also known as Annie Clark continues to make music reminiscent of a diamond-bladed scalpel: The otherworldly vocals and lush melodies possess a delicate beauty, but St. Vincent’s pointed lyrics and finely honed guitar hooks will cut you open as ruthlessly as the “Surgeon” she pleads with on her third album.
-BAM
Video: VH1 Divas Wanda Jackson, Sharon Jones and Florence Welch pay tribute to Amy Winehouse
Looking back at 2011, one of the most tragic and sadly unsurprising deaths of the year almost past has to be Amy Winehouse’s passing July 23 of alcohol poisoning.
Amy Winehouse (AP file)
Oklahoma’s own Queen of Rockabilly Wanda Jackson, soul/funk band Sharon Jones & The Dap Kings and English singer-songwriter Florence Welch of Florence + The Machine paid tribute to the late, great British neo-soul chanteuse earlier this month during “VH1 Divas Celebrates Soul.” (To see more of the concert special, click here.)
Other notable 2011 deaths in the music world: rapper Heavy D, Bruce Springsteen’s E Street Band saxophonist Clarence Clemons, Songwriters Hall of Famer Jerry Leiber and country music greats Charlie Louvin and Ferlin Husky.
-BAM
13 Days of Oklahoma Music: Wanda Jackson’s “Party Ain’t Over”
Starting today, I’m rounding off the rest of the year with a look back at some of the memorable Oklahoma music milestones in 2011.
Since we’ve got 13 days left in 2011, I’m cunningly naming this series the “13 Days of Oklahoma Music.” Through next Saturday, Dec. 31, look for a video or two each day from a performer with Oklahoma ties who experienced a major milestone in this year almost gone.
In the first installment, let’s flash back to January, when Oklahoma’s own Queen of Rockabilly Wanda Jackson released her latest album “The Party Ain’t Over,” produced by rocker Jack White. In appearances on “Late Night with David Letterman” and “Conan,” the Maud native showed that she may be a septuagenarian but she can still flat-out rock.
Also in 2011, the longtime Oklahoma City resident was included in the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame’s “Women Who Rock” exhibit, played the Bonnaroo and Stagecoach festivals and celebrated her 50th wedding anniversary with her husband/manager Wendell Goodman.
Jackson will perform on “VH1 Divas Celebrates Soul,” airing at 8 tonight on VH1. For more on the show, click here.
-BAM
Wanda Jackson to perform tonight on “VH1 Divas Celebrates Soul”
Oklahoma’s own Queen of Rockabilly Wanda Jackson will perform on “VH1 Divas Celebrates Soul,” airing at 8 tonight on VH1.
Performers also include Anita Baker, Mavis Staples and Ledisi, Chaka Khan, Erykah Badu, Boyz II Men, Estelle, Marsha Ambrosius and Travie McCoy.
The headlining divas will be Mary J. Blige, Kelly Clarkson, Florence + the Machine, Jennifer Hudson, Jessie J. and Jill Scott.
Dolly Parton, Queen Latifah, Terrence Howard, Nas, Common and La La Anthony will serve as presenters for the show.
Jackson will join Sharon Jones with The Dap-Kings in performing her cover single “You Know I’m No Good” as part of a tribute to the late Amy Winehouse. Florence Welch of Florence + the Machine also will sing Winehouse’s “Back To Black” as part of the homage.
To see the full list of performance for tonight’s show, click here.
-BAM
Wanda Jackson to perform Dec. 19 on “VH1 Divas”
Wanda Jackson (AP file)
Oklahoma’s own Queen of Rockabilly Wanda Jackson has been added to the list of performers for “Vh1 Divas Celebrates Soul,” airing Dec. 19 on VH1.
Newly added performers also include Anita Baker, Mavis Staples and Ledisi, reports CMT.com. Previously announced performers include Chaka Khan, Erykah Badu, Sharon Jones & the Dap-Kings, Boyz II Men, Estelle, Marsha Ambrosius and Travie McCoy.
The headlining divas for the show will be Mary J. Blige, Kelly Clarkson, Florence + the Machine, Jennifer Hudson, Jessie J. and Jill Scott.
Dolly Parton, Queen Latifah, Terrence Howard, Nas, Common and La La Anthony will serve as presenters for the show.
-BAM
Video: Wanda Jackson to appear on “Women Who Rock” special on PBS tonight
Wanda Jackson (AP file)
Oklahoma’s own Queen of Rockabilly Wanda Jackson will be featured tonight on the PBS Arts from Cleveland TV special “Women Who Rock,” airing at 8:30 p.m. on OETA. The OKC PBS station also will rebroadcast the special at 1:30 a.m. Saturday.
Here’s the synopsis:
Women are the 21st century’s top-grossing recording artists. This film tells the story of how we got here, tracing the earliest women musicians from the 1920′s to the mega stars of today.
The TV special has been put together in conjunction with the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame’s ““Women Who Rock” exhibit, which opened in May and is on view through Feb. 26. The Cleveland, Ohio, institution has billed it “the world’s first museum exhibit dedicated to the most influential female artists,” a groundbreaking and provocative exploration of the vital roles women have played throughout the history of rock ‘n’ roll, from the genre’s inception to today.
A longtime Oklahoma City resident and 2009 rock hall inductee, Jackson, 74, not only is featured in the exhibit and TV special, she also was part of the star-studded lineup earlier this year at museum’s annual “It’s Only Rock and Roll Spring Benefit Concert,” which tied into the “Women Who Rock” theme.
“I supposed that after they inducted me, they decided they’d better do this,” quipped Jackson, who is widely regarded as the first woman to record rock ‘n’ roll music, in an interview with me earlier this year. “It’s exciting certainly. … I know if they do it, it’ll be done right.”
Check out this clip of Jackson from tonight’s TV special:
Watch Women Who Rock: Wanda Jackson on PBS. See more from THE ARTS.
-BAM
Video: LookatOKC’s “Got It Covered” – Justin Witte plays Wanda Jackson’s “Fujiyama Mama”
My excellent colleagues George Lang and Kyle Roberts have launched a new video series for LOOKatOKC called “Got It Covered.” In the third installment, Justin Witte performs a horn-tastic cover of Oklahoma rockabilly legend Wanda Jackson’s hit “Fujiyama Mama”
“Got It Covered” will feature 12 local musicians covering classic songs by Oklahoma artists. The series will last for 12 weeks and will shoot at 7 p.m. each Thursday at Saints, 715 NW 16 in the Plaza District. The pub is sponsoring the series.
Audiences are encouraged to show up 30 minutes before taping to enjoy each performance. Each video will debut the following Monday.
The singers, bands and musicians participating in the series select one of 12 songs to perform — first come, first served. The last musician to schedule a performance has to play the last song on the list, which includes signature songs from The Flaming Lips, Reba McEntire, the GAP Band, Leon Russell, Color Me Badd and other famed Oklahoma music stars. To see the full list, go to http://lookatokc.newsok.com/got-it-covered.
The next “Got It Covered” performance will be at 7 p.m. this Thursday at Saints, Jabee performing Hanson’s “MmmBop.”
-BAM
Happy 50th anniversary, Wanda Jackson and Wendell Goodman
In this 2009 file photo, Mayor Mick Cornett reads a proclamation with Wanda Jackson and her husband/manager Wendell Goodman as the mayor proclaims March 24, 2009, " Wanda Jackson Day" in Oklahoma City during a city council meeting. (Photo by Paul B. Southerland, The Oklahoman Archives)
The fun fact that Wanda Jackson once dated Elvis Presley often comes up in biographies and news stories about the Queen of Rockabilly.
As a matter of fact, though, the first lady of rock ‘n’ roll has been Wendell Goodman’s sweetheart for more than half a century.
Jackson and her manager/husband Goodman are celebrating their 50th anniversary Friday. The Oklahoma City couple will mark the milestone in the Bahamas, Goodman said in an email to The Oklahoman.
We hear so much about short-lived show-biz marriages, but both Wanda’s career and marriage are now into their fifth decades and by all accounts seem to be going strong.
After their golden anniversary trip, the Rock and Roll Hall of Famer will spend much of the fall touring the U.S. and Europe in support of her new album “The Party Ain’t Over,” which was produced by rocker Jack White and released in January on Nonesuch/Third Man Records.
Happy anniversary to Wanda and Wendell!
-BAM
Smithsonian Channel to rebroadcast “Wanda Jackson: The Sweet Lady with the Nasty Voice” Saturday
The Smithsonian Channel will rebroadcast “Wanda Jackson: The Sweet Lady with the Nasty Voice,” a great documentary about the Oklahoma rockabilly legend, at 7 p.m. Saturday, according to NewsOK TV blogger Melissa Hayer.
Here is the film’s description:
The story of the first lady of rockabilly and one of Elvis’s girlfriends – rock ‘n’ roll pioneer Wanda Jackson. As Rolling Stone said: “Jackson was the first to bring a woman’s intuition into the boy’s club of early rock-n-roll.” The film follows the Grammy Award nominee and legendary singer as she performs in Maine, Austin, New York City, Oklahoma City, Washington, D.C., and overseas in Sweden and Finland.
The “Inside the Music” documentary features interviews Elvis Costello, Patti Scialfa, Bruce Springsteen, Lemmy Kilmister of Motorhead and Slim Jim Phantom of The Stray Cats. It also chronicles the long efforts of these rock stars and others to get Wanda Jackson inducted into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame. The Maud native and longtime Oklahoma City resident was ushered into the rock hall in 2009.
The Smithsonian Channel will be premiering three new “Inside the Music” documentaries in October: “Phil Collins: Going Back to Detroit,” “Real World of Peter Gabriel,” and “Hip Hop: The Furious Force of Rhymes.” Click here to see when they will air.
-BAM
