Recordings Inducted Into Grammy HoF

[rick]

Recordings by Guns N’ Roses, Lauryn Hill, Donna Summer and More Inducted Into Grammy Hall of Fame: Complete List

[Partridge]

Wanda Jackson, Let's Have a Party

That's one of the first songs I liked as a child. That, and also Mean Mean Man by Wanda Jackson, in which she does a pretty good Elvis impersonation. I'm certain I heard this song by her before 1960,as I had not yet started going to school. Wanda Jackson was my first favorite female singer. I liked her and Ricky Nelson.

[erik]

Wanda was really the closest thing there was to a "female Elvis" in the day, at least in terms of style, image, and song acumen. They point out how Tanya Tucker, Miranda Lambert, and Elle King (especially when it comes to her 2015 hit "Ex's And Oh's") have been influenced by her--and I don't think that's a stretch.

Of course it should be mentioned that Wanda was also the first one to record "Silver Threads And Golden Needles" (in 1956) as well. Linda likely knew this, although neither version of that same song she recorded in 1969 and 1973 seems to have been influenced by Wanda's. However, Linda's vocals on "The Only Mama That'll Walk The Line" and "Break My Mind" have a growl to them that is, for lack of a better term, "Wanda-esque" (IMHO).

[RobGNYC]

In this discussion, must include a bow to Miss Lou Ann, about whom Linda said "This woman scares me to death." I saw Lou Ann at the Bottom Line with Marcia Ball and Angela Strehli on their Dreams Come True album tour. Lou Ann's tube top kept slipping and when she pulled it up, some yahoo in the audience yelled out "Get a strap!" Lou Ann: "Get outta town."



  

[Partridge]

Yes, I like that Lou Ann Barton album. A couple of Wanda Jackson songs on that CD. You've convinced me to take it down off the shelf. Haven't listened to it in years. I would recommend her album Old Enough, on Asylum Records, also.

[RobGNYC]

Vastly underrated singer--so many great Lou Ann tracks—“Maybe” on Old Enough (produced by Jerry Wexler and Glenn Frey) could almost make you forget the Chantels. Favorite on Read My Lips—“Can’t Believe You Want to Leave” (co-written by Little Richard)--nobody pronounced "hands" like Miss Lou Ann. The entire Dreams Come True album is a lost gem. Austin/Antones girl group masterpiece. The Texas Trio. Just check out "Bad Thing" and the bonus track "Hurtback"--giving Lou Ann “Your virtue is all in vain" was inspired—her reading is just perfect. Even Christgau liked the album:

Dreams Come True [Antone's, 1990]
Wrapping her warm, slinky voice around lyrics borrowed and dreamed up, Marcia Ball earns top billing in this ad hoc Austin blues trio. Lou Ann Barton, a professional tramp who's done her share of rehab, and Angela Strehli, a sensible sort who runs the label, must have figured it would be neighborly to help their old pal turn in a decent followup to Soulful Dress, which is eight years old now. Sure they did--they love each other like Ike and Tina, whose "A Fool in Love" they covered to initiate this mission impossible in 1985. Congratulations to coordinator-bassist Sarah Brown for getting a record out of them, and to producer-pianist Dr. John for easing it up toward the sum of its parts. A-