New Orleans Film Society

The Sweet Lady with the Nasty Voice

The Sweet Lady With the Nasty Voice, is the story of Wanda Jackson, a country singer who turned into the queen of rockabilly. Her wild and raw style paved the way for female rock stars that includes the likes of Janis Joplin and Chrissie Hynde. During the 1950’s she toured with Elvis Presley, Jerry Lee Lewis and Buddy Holly. Her story is told through vintage films of her as a teenager strumming her guitar with a vengeance and snarling lyrics of songs like her biggest hit “Let’s Have a Party” and through interviews with Bruce Springsteen, Elvis Costello, and Jim Phantom. Sweet Lady documents the recording of Jackson’s new CD release I Remember Elvis, and follows her tour across the U.S. and Europe. Another Elvis, Elvis Costello, is also featured, as an advocate of inducting Jackson into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame. Costello penned a letter urging it to induct Jackson, who, he said, “was making a sound that was wild and raw as any rocker, man or woman, when other women were asking for the doggie in the window.” Performers Jackson toured with, highlighted in archival footage throughout this tour doc, include: Elvis Presley, Johnny Cash and Jerry Lee Lewis. Presley, whom Jackson dated, was influential in Jackson’s choice to move from country music to the male-dominated world of rockabilly.