Rock Pioneer Wanda Jackson Tells Her Tale in New Doc, Plus Video

Fifty years after Wanda Jackson unleashed her country snarl on the world with her breakout hit "Let's Have a Party," the first woman of rockabilly (a.k.a. the Queen) is telling her story. Jackson — who has dated Elvis Presley, toured with Buddy Holly and Johnny Cash, and recorded with Elvis Costello and the Cramps — is the star of The Sweet Lady With the Nasty Voice, a documentary that will make its TV debut on the Smithsonian Channel on May 18th (see clip, above). The film follows the singer, 70, over the past two years as she tours Europe and the U.S. and includes vintage clips of her live shows, as well as interviews with Costello, Bruce Springsteen and Patti Scialfa, who give props to Jackson for influencing their music. So how did the mild-mannered girl from Oklahoma break into the rock & roll boys' club? "The guys I was working with — Elvis, Jerry Lee Lewis, Johnny Cash — I felt like if they can do it, I can do it," says Jackson. "Sometimes I did it better."

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Song Stories

“Weird”

Hanson | 1997

Accomplished tunesmith Desmond Child co-wrote "Weird" with the three brothers that make up Hanson. Credited for dozens of cuts, including songs by Kiss, Cher, Bon Jovi and Aerosmith, Child told Rolling Stone that "Weird" holds a special place in his heart, "because it's about being different--and I grew up poor, I grew up being Latin, I grew up being gay, and now I'm fat!" The song was included on Hanson's 1997 album Middle of Nowhere, which sold more than ten million units.

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