Wanda Jackson in the '50s; Wanda and fellow rockabilly artist, Jerry Lee Lewis in 2009. Photo courtesy of myspace.com/wandajacksonmusic.

Wanda Jackson, the rockabilly queen who’s been enjoying a resurgence in attention, is about to follow in the footsteps of Country Music Hall of Famer Loretta Lynn. Wanda’s enlisted Jack White, the Nashville-based White Stripes rocker, to produce her next album.

He is “one of the biggest stars on the planet I guess right now,” Wanda told The Oklahoman.

Jack has found success not only with the Stripes, but also as a member of the Dead Weather and with the Raconteurs, who were Musical Event of the Year nominees at last week’s CMA awards for a collaboration with Ricky Skaggs and Ashley Monroe.

Jack produced Loretta’s 2004 album Van Lear Rose, which led to a pair of Grammy awards: Best Country Album and Best Country Collaboration honoring the track “Portland, Oregon.”

“They had a super album, but he didn’t have her do anything different,” Wanda noted. “She just did her little Loretta Lynn songs. But he told me he’s gonna stretch me some, so we’ll see. We’ll talk later.”

Noted for such late-‘50s and early-‘60s recordings as “Fujiyama Mama,” “In The Middle Of A Heartache” and “Let’s Have A Party,” Wanda’s rockabilly style landed her on both the pop and country charts. She was enshrined in the Rock & Roll Hall of Fame in April, and a street was named after her in Oklahoma City’s Bricktown district in September.

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