Cordell Jackson (née Miller; July 15, 1923 – October 14, 2004)
was an American guitarist thought to be the first woman to produce, engineer, arrange and promote music on her own
rock and roll
Rock and roll (often written as rock & roll, rock-n-roll, and rock 'n' roll) is a Genre (music), genre of popular music that evolved in the United States during the late 1940s and early 1950s. It Origins of rock and roll, originated from African ...
music label.
Early life
She was born Cordell Miller in
Pontotoc, Mississippi, where her father led a
string band, the Pontotoc Ridge Runners.
As a child she learned guitar, piano, harmonica and
double bass
The double bass (), also known as the upright bass, the acoustic bass, the bull fiddle, or simply the bass, is the largest and lowest-pitched string instrument, chordophone in the modern orchestra, symphony orchestra (excluding rare additions ...
, and soon began performing in her father's band and on radio in
Tupelo.
In 1943, she graduated from high school
and married William Jackson. The couple settled in
Memphis, Tennessee
Memphis is a city in Shelby County, Tennessee, United States, and its county seat. Situated along the Mississippi River, it had a population of 633,104 at the 2020 United States census, 2020 census, making it the List of municipalities in Tenne ...
, where Jackson worked as a riveter, joined the Fisher Air Craft Band, and wrote songs. After installing recording equipment in her home in 1947, she recorded
demo records for
Sam Phillips before he set up
Sun Records.
[Cline, Cheryl]
Cordell Jackson Profile, ''Country Grrrl''
Retrieved 29 November 2019
Career
Jackson founded the Moon Records label in Memphis in 1956, and released her first single "Beboppers Christmas" under the label in the same year.
Unable to break into the Sun label's stable of male artists, she received the advice and assistance of
RCA Records
RCA Records is an American record label owned by Sony Music Entertainment, a subsidiary of Sony Group Corporation. It is one of Sony Music's four flagship labels, alongside Columbia Records (its former longtime rival), Arista Records and Epic R ...
'
Chet Atkins
Chester Burton Atkins (June 20, 1924 – June 30, 2001), also known as "Mister Guitar" and "the Country Gentleman", was an American musician who, along with Owen Bradley and Bob Ferguson (musician), Bob Ferguson, helped create the Nash ...
in forming this new label to release her music. She began releasing and promoting on the label singles she recorded in her home studio, serving as engineer, producer and arranger. The artists recorded included her and a small family of early
rock and roll
Rock and roll (often written as rock & roll, rock-n-roll, and rock 'n' roll) is a Genre (music), genre of popular music that evolved in the United States during the late 1940s and early 1950s. It Origins of rock and roll, originated from African ...
,
rockabilly
Rockabilly is one of the earliest styles of rock and roll music. It dates back to the early 1950s in the United States, especially the Southern United States, South. As a genre, it blends the sound of Western music (North America), Western musi ...
, and
country music
Country (also called country and western) is a popular music, music genre originating in the southern regions of the United States, both the American South and American southwest, the Southwest. First produced in the 1920s, country music is p ...
performers she recruited from several Southern states, such as Allen Page, Earl Patterson, and Johnny Tate.
In addition to running Moon Records, Jackson worked various day jobs throughout the 1960s and 1970s, including as an interior decorator, D.J., and printer.
and
Alex Chilton
William Alexander Chilton (December 28, 1950March 17, 2010) was an American musician, best known as the lead singer of the rock bands the Box Tops and Big Star. Chilton's early commercial success in the 1960s as a teen vocalist for the Box Tops ...
helped create new interest in her career in the 1980s when they began covering some of her Moon label's old singles such as "Dateless Night", a song she originally wrote in the 1950s for Florida artist Allen Page.
Jackson then began playing occasional shows in the 1980s with her signature red
Hagstrom electric guitar in Memphis, Hoboken, New York, and Chicago nightclubs.
Although she typically performed as a solo artist, she was occasionally supported by other bands, including the
A-Bones.
She recorded new material on her label with Memphis musicians Colonel Robert Morris and Bob Holden, becoming known as a "rock-and-roll granny" solo guitar instrumentalist. She appeared in 1991 and 1992 on national talk shows like ''
Late Night with David Letterman'' and in a
Budweiser
Budweiser () is an American-style pale lager, a brand of Belgian company AB InBev. Introduced in 1876 by Carl Conrad & Co. of St. Louis, Missouri, Budweiser has become a large selling beer company in the United States. Budweiser is a filte ...
commercial duelling with rockabilly artist
Brian Setzer
Brian Robert Setzer (born April 10, 1959) is an American guitarist, singer, and songwriter. He found widespread success in the early 1980s with the 1950s-style rockabilly group Stray Cats, and returned to the music scene in the early 1990s with ...
on guitar.
Jackson also produced a contemporary Christian radio show, ''Let's Keep the Family Together America.''
In the late 1990s, Jackson co-wrote and played with
rockabilly
Rockabilly is one of the earliest styles of rock and roll music. It dates back to the early 1950s in the United States, especially the Southern United States, South. As a genre, it blends the sound of Western music (North America), Western musi ...
icon
Colonel Robert Morris in Memphis. Colonel Robert also helped edit the book based on her life and career. She appeared as "Bathroom Lady" in the 1992 ''The Gun in Betty Lou's Handbag'', and as an extra in
''Great Balls of Fire''!
Her Moon Records label was the oldest continuously operating label in Memphis at the time of her death in 2004. ''The 50s Rock on the Moon of Memphis, Tennessee + an Oddity'', a compilation album of the label's 1950s singles, was released on vinyl in the early 1980s and was later sold on compact disc until her death in 2004.
The original 1950s vinyl singles compiled on that album have been displayed at the
Rock and Roll Hall of Fame
The Rock and Roll Hall of Fame (RRHOF), also simply referred to as the Rock Hall, is a museum and hall of fame located in downtown Cleveland, Ohio, United States, on the shore of Lake Erie. The museum documents the history of rock music and the ...
in
Cleveland, Ohio
Cleveland is a city in the U.S. state of Ohio and the county seat of Cuyahoga County, Ohio, Cuyahoga County. Located along the southern shore of Lake Erie, it is situated across the Canada–United States border, Canada–U.S. maritime border ...
. She also released video singles through her label in the 1990s, including "Football Widow" and filmmaker Dan Rose's production of "The Split." Her marketing of her own video singles, as opposed to marketing them in multiple-song video collections, is reputed to be another first in her innovative lifetime of doing things her own way, bucking the trends of standard industry practice.
Jackson's only solo full-length album to date, ''Cordell Jackson — Live in Chicago'' was released by
Pravda Records in 1995.
Information and memorabilia about Jackson is included in the
Memphis Rock N' Soul Museum in Memphis, as well as the
National Museum of American History
The National Museum of American History: Kenneth E. Behring Center is a historical museum in Washington, D.C. It collects, preserves, and displays the heritage of the United States in the areas of social, political, cultural, scientific, and m ...
.
Death
Jackson died of pancreatic cancer in Memphis on October 14, 2004, aged 81.
[ Cordell Jackson Biography, ''Allmusic.com'']
Retrieved 29 November 2019
Discography
Singles
;Cordell Jackson
* "Rock And Roll Christmas" / "Beboppers' Christmas" - Moon Records G80W-6407/8 - (1956)
;Cordell Jackson and her Guitar
* "Football Widow" / "I'm at Home Again (In the Memories of My Mind)" Moon Records EP-311 - (1983)
[Country Music Showcase Internationa]
* "Rockin' Rollin' Eyes" / "Memphis Drag" - Sympathy for the Record Industry SFTRI 50 - (1990)
[Discog]
Cordell Jackson Discography
/ref>
EPs
;Cordell Jackson
* ''The Split'' - Moon Records MR 333 - (1980s)
Albums
;Cordell Jackson
* ''Live in Chicago'' - Bughouse 3 - (1997)[All Musi]
Cordell Jackson ''Live in Chicago''
/ref>
;Various artists compilations
* ''The 50s Rock On The Moon of Memphis, Tennessee + an Oddity'' - Moon Records LP-MR 3010 - (1979)
Song sample
* Johnny Tate: "Bop With Me Baby" / "Keeping Your Memories" / "Kind And Gentle '57" Cleveland Rock-n-Roll Hall Of Fame
Musical references
''Rockabilly Hall of Fame website''. Accessed May 3, 2005.
* Gordon, Terry (2004)
''Rockin' Country Style Artist Discography''. Accessed May 3, 2005.
* Gordon, Terry (2004)
''Rockin' Country Style Artist Discography''. Accessed May 3, 2005.
* Hanas, Jim (August 4, 1997)
''Weekly Wire''. Accessed May 3, 2005.
* Hoppula, Peter (1998–2005)
''Wang Dang Dula!'' Accessed May 3, 2005.
References
External links
(arch.)
* Allmusic
AllMusic (previously known as All-Music Guide and AMG) is an American online database, online music database. It catalogs more than three million album entries and 30 million tracks, as well as information on Musical artist, musicians and Mus ...
Country GRRL page
Legends of the Memphis Music Scene ''Billboard'' article few Cordell Jackson
{{DEFAULTSORT:Jackson, Cordell
1923 births
2004 deaths
People from Pontotoc, Mississippi
American rock guitarists
20th-century American guitarists
Women audio engineers
Guitarists from Mississippi
Record producers from Mississippi
American women record producers
20th-century American women guitarists
21st-century American women
American audio engineers