God Bless Cordell Jackson

On a sad note, I must report the passing of one of america's great unsung heroines. Cordell Jackson is best known as the rockin' grandma who plays rings around rockabilly guitarist Brian Setzer in a 1991 Budweiser ad. But to rockabilly and roots-music aficionados, she's better known as an early rockabilly pioneer, the first woman recording engineer in the U.S., an early woman record label owner, the first woman to write, sing, accompany, record, engineer, produce and manufacture her first record, and of course, the rockin' grandma who can play rings around Brian Setzer. I had the pleasure of spending a few days with her in Memphis TN. She had invited me to a steak dinner at her place. I remember her favorite color was yellow. She wore a yellow dress, lived in a modest yellow ranch house and drove a yellow caddilac. In Panther Burns we used to perfom 'Dateless night" and "She's the One That's Got It" which she had written in her youth. She started Moon Records as an answer to the dominant label of its time, Sun Records. How cool was that! She was a great spirit, a true americam original and she will be missed by all who knew her.