Bill Holden

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September 20, 2009
Wanda Jackson and Becky Hobbs Perform at the Poncan Theatre



Another good show at the Poncan Theatre last night, this one with Rock and Roll Hall of Famer Wanda Jackson headlining. There was a good crowd - the bottom part of the theatre was about three-quarters full and there were folks in the balcony so I would say there were about 400 people in the audience. The interesting thing, Dave May told me, is that a lot of people came up from Oklahoma City to see Wanda perform. She has a big following and she doesn't perform that often any more so folks are willing to make a pretty long drive to see her.

Jackson at 72 was still in good voice and put on a good performance. Wanda brought her two granddaughters to the stage and one of them performed a version of Willy Nelson's "Crazy." I especially enjoyed her backup band with Bill Holden and the Nighthawks. Bill was a dynamic guitarist who also does a Roy Orbison Tribute that I wouldn't mind seeing appear at the Poncan at a future date. As I've mentioned before, at this point I would rather see a good tribute show at the Poncan than spend the time and effort to get seats on the 142nd row for the Rolling Stones or U2 when they go on tour.




When I looked Jackson up on Wikipedia it was interesting to find that she began performing inn 1952, when she was 15, after her family moved back to Oklahoma from California and that in 1952 she won a talent contest which led to her own radio program out of Oklahoma City. After graduating from high school, she began to tour with her father as manager and chaperon and often shared the bill with Elvis Presley and at one time briefly dated Elvis while she was on tour with him. During her performance she talked about how one time she found herself in Elvis' bedroom with Elvis singing to her and ladies in the audience swoomed.

The best part of the evening for me though was the supporting act - Becky Hobbs. I had never heard of Becky before but she is a singer-songwriter born in Bartlesville who has written songs for such artists as Helen Reddy, George Jones, Loretta Lynn, and Shelly West. Her best known song is "Angels Among Us" that charted in 1994 for Alabama. The amazing thing about Becky was that her band didn't show up so she took to the stage and sang and accompanied herself on keyboards putting on a one woman show. The crowd gave her a standing ovation after she performed "Angels Among Us" at the end of her show and brought her back for more. She is another performer that patrons of the Poncan wouldn't mind seeing again - next time with her full band.
- Hugh Pickens

The last time Bill Holden fronted a band, it was in the early days of the long-lived band the Bop Cats, known then as Billy and the Bop Cats. And, yes, Holden was the "Billy."

"That was back with John Henry, in '82 or '83," Holden recalls.

From there, he worked solo or with other groups, spending some time in Branson a few years ago with a band, "trying to make a Goldie's work up there. That kind of dissipated, and then Tony Orlando hired me to be in his show. I did Roy Orbison impersonations and played a little rhythm guitar for him."

Mostly though, he's worked through the years as a single. It was on the advice of singer and casino entertainment director Rusti Love that he decided to put a group together again.

"I sat in with Brian Capps over at Blues City a few months ago," Holden says. "He had
Billy Berkenbile working with him, and Rusti Love was there. She said if I ever wanted to get a little combo together to let her know. My wife said, 'Well, if you put a band together, you need to get Billy. He's the best drummer I've ever seen and he looks cool.'"

For his bassist, Holden chose a musical compadre from several years ago, Tulsa Sound figure Don Sullivan, who's worked with the likes of Roy Clark and J.J. Cale. (Sullivan has since been replaced by Casey Van Beek, formerly of The Tractors and The Righteous Brothers.)

"It's kind of full-circle," he notes. "We're doing about an original song a set, and old rockin' stuff, old country songs, that I've been wanting to do with a band for years. It's just fun stuff." - Tulsa World

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Wanda Jackson still tearing it up
By Luke Harrington
Tuesday, 17 March 2009
“I’ve been coming to Cain’s and singing since—I don’t know, it was a long time ago—1955? It kinda hurts that they don’t have my picture up here,” Wanda Jackson noted with a smile when she took the stage in Cain’s main ballroom Friday night. “It looks like they replaced the dance floor, though. We used to get everyone boogieing back in the day, and that really tore it up.”

For the uninitiated, Jackson is a legend in the world of early rock ‘n roll—essentially the first woman to sing rockabilly music—a Tulsa native, and schedule to be inducted into Cleveland, Ohio’s Rock and Roll Hall of Fame come April 4 this year. To celebrate this latest achievement, she sang at Cain’s Ballroom and mayor Kathy Taylor declared the day “Wanda Jackson Day” (no, seriously)—which Jackson wryly pointed out meant that her special day was Friday the Thirteenth.



With more than 50 years’ worth of achievements under her belt, Jackson has very little left to prove, and her show served simply as more evidence of that. Jackson was completely at ease on the stage, effortlessly leading the band with the same pleasantly throaty voice she’s had throughout her entire career (occasionally—and amusingly—even stopping songs a few measures in to tell her band to tune up and start over). To use the old cliché, she was there to rock. And yes, she did.



Taking the stage with rockabilly band Bill Holden and the Nighthawks (who also functioned as an impressive opening act), Jackson picked up a bouquet of roses from the stage. “Who gave me these?” she asked. Upon finding the culprit—a boy in the audience—she asked “Do you like rock ‘n roll?”



“Yes,” he responded.



“Good,” she said. “Your parents are raising you right.” Then, thinking better of her comments, added, “Well—I hope you only listen to 50’s rock.” Jackson then launched into several of her early hits, including “Mean, Mean Man,” “Rock Your Baby,” and “Hard-Headed Woman,” before sharing some of her memories of Elvis Presley.

- Tulsa Today