SHOW REVIEW: Wanda Jackson Brings House Down In Little Rock

Last Wednesday night, May 25, was a definite highlight of my year as it brought Wanda Jackson, the First Lady of Rock And Roll, to Rev Room in Little Rock.
Jackson, believed to be the first female to star on a rock-n-roll record, toured with Elvis back in the day and even talked during her show Wednesday night of performing with him in Camden in 1961. (My friend John Davies' mom and sister were there! How cool is that?!)
Jackson — a tiny, stately lady sporting a dark brown, beautiful, "set" Grandma-type hairdo and a white sparkly jacket with layers of sexy fringe — truly held court while on stage, sharing stories from her long and varied career in between her old and new hit songs.
The 2009 Rock And Roll Hall of Fame Inductee performed "Let's Have a Party," "Mean, Mean Man," "Rock Your Baby" and several other big hits from the late 1950s and early '60s, as well as a few covers from her old pals Elvis and Jerry Lee Lewis. She also did a couple of her more country hits and rocked out the gospel tune "I Saw The Light," sharing a brief but not-too-preachy mention of her conversion to Christianity in the early 1970s.
She then transitioned into some tunes off her brand new album, "The Party Ain't Over," produced by none other than Jack White of the White Stripes, previously mentioned. (His presence was felt all over Little Rock this week, LOL.)
Now, I have to say I was a little skeptical about what these new (rock? is that what they would be classified as?) songs would sound like coming from a 73-year-old former rockabilly singer — despite the fact that "The Party Ain't Over" has already reached No. 17 on Billboard's Top Rock Albums chart. That's pretty damn good!
But my skepticism had waned early in the night — the minute she'd begun singing. Her voice is just awesome, still, and it has an edginess and purity that probably any 20-something alt-rock or pop singer would give a limb to have as their own. It's an unusual vocal sound, not your everyday American Idol voice, and it certainly doesn't sound like your Grandma up there singing old songs.
My favorites off the new album were her cover of Bob Dylan's "Thunder On The Mountain" and her cover of Amy Winehouse's "You Know I'm No Good."
If you can't tell, I was highly impressed. We all were.
The couple of hundred or so people in the crowd — which included Hollywood actors and Little Rock residents Mary Steenburgen and Judge Reinhold, I might add — were all dancing and/or tapping their feet, and the dance floor stayed full all night with folks of a broader range of ages than any other show I can remember at Rev Room. It was a pretty cool sight to see. Everyone had a blast and was thrilled with the Queen of Rockabilly, Wanda Jackson. What a lady.