One of the first bands that I found myself to really get into was The White Stripes, Jack White's blues/garage rock duo with his sister/wife Meg. I loved what he was doing then, and I absolutely love what Jack's doing now.
In March 2009, Jack White opened Third Man Records & Novelties, a building in downtown Nashville that houses a record shop, label offices, photo studio, and venue. With this label, Jack set out to create for his fans something tangible, something other record companies seemed to ignore or put on the backburner. Most releases on Third Man are either related to Jack's several bands (The White Stripes, The Raconteurs, The Dead Weather...), or they are 7" singles of bands that Jack has found and enjoyed, ranging from Transit- a band made of members of the Nashville Transit Authority- to Dungen- a psychedelic quartet from Sweden. Everything is released first on vinyl, and most of the singles are released digitally on iTunes as well.
Third Man's latest release, though, is none other than rockabilly legend Wanda Jackson's new LP "The Party Ain't Over." Honestly, I was not too excited about this release until I heard her roaring cover of Bob Dylan's "Thunder On The Mountain," at which point I immediately ordered the record. Wanda rips through originals like "Funnel of Love," but also pulls out wonderful covers, including Amy Winehouse's "You Know I'm No Good," sounding better than ever even though she's 73 years old.
I read a pretty fantastic article over at The Huffington Post today that brings up a very good point- Wanda was the pioneer of women in music, influencing everyone from Debbie Harry to Lady GaGa. She toured with- and dated- Elvis. So why had I never heard of Wanda Jackson before Jack White brought her back into the limelight? It's kind of frightening to think that the people who have had the most influence in the music industry have gone almost unnoticed. Honestly, if Jack wasn't doing all he is to promote this album (limited Fuschia colored vinyl, performing shows with her in L.A., New York, and Nashville, as well as Conan and Letterman), it would probably be a near flop. But this guy knows how to work the business and get stuff out there (plus, he's a great guy. Watching him play with Wanda and then in the interview afterwards on Conan last night made me smile).
The fact of the matter is, we need more people like Jack White in the record business.
Do you think you never heard of her before is because at the time of her original foray into music she was just seen as a "girl" and not an artist? When she started, men controlled the biz.
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