Wanda Jackson will release her final studio album, Encore, on August 20, and the rockabilly queen has enlisted fellow Rock & Roll Hall of Famer Joan Jett — and Jett’s longtime collaborator Kenny Laguna — to help with the project.
Jett and Laguna co-produced the record, and Joan is featured on three tracks on the eight-song collection. In addition, Encore includes a cover of the 1976 Runaways tune “You Drive Me Wild,” which Joan wrote.
Wanda co-wrote four tracks on Encore, including two featuring Joan — “Treat Me Like a Lady” and “That’s What Love Is.” Jett also appears on “Two Shots,” which was co-written by and features Elle King.
“Real, authentic rock and roll is something you have to have inside. It can’t be taught, it can’t be faked,” says Laguna. “Wanda Jackson has it. Joan Jett has it. Encore has it.”
Jackson, meanwhile, says of the album, “Right around the time I retired from performing [in 2019] and what I thought was the end of my career, I found myself back to writing songs with some of the great writers in Nashville. The songs you hear are truly my life story.”
She adds, “This is the first time I have ever inserted so much of my personal life into my music…I’m happy to share this with all of you.”
Wanda has released one of Encore’s tracks, a rendition of the 1962 Johnny Tillotson hit “It Keeps Right On a-Hurtin’,” as an advance digital single.
The 83-year-old Jackson is known for such early-1960s pop hits as the rockabilly rave-up “Let’s Have a Party” and the ballads “Right or Wrong” and “In the Middle of a Heartache.” She also scored many country hits from the 1950s through the early 1970s.
Here’s Encore’s track list:
“Big Baby”
“Two Shots” — featuring Elle King and Joan Jett
“You Drive Me Wild”
“Good Girl Down” — featuring Angaleena Presley and Candi Carpenter
“It Keeps Right On a Hurtin"”
“We Gotta Stop”
“Treat Me Like a Lady” — featuring Joan Jett
“That’s What Love Is” — featuring Joan Jett
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