Sister Rosetta Tharpe

Sister Rosetta Tharpe – born Rosetta Nubin in Cotton Plant, Arkansas on March 20, 1915 – was a gospel singer, guitarist, and songwriter who is acknowledged as a big influence on R&B and early rock and roll. A child prodigy, she began performing as Little Rosetta Nubin when she was six years old. Alongside her mother, she performed in an evangelical troupe, relocating to Chicago, Illinois. In 1934, she married preacher Thomas Thorpe when she was 19 years old. While the marriage only lasted a few years, it inspired her new stage name, Sister Rosetta Tharpe. With her unique blend of passionate singing and raw guitar playing, she began to attract the attention of music fans and labels, signing with Decca Records in 1938. Backed by Lucky Millinder’s jazz orchestra, she recorded several songs – “Rock Me,” “That Lonesome Road,” “My Man,” and “That’s All” – that were embraced by secular (non-religious) music. These hits were a major influence on several artists – Elvis Presley, Jerry Lee Lewis, and Little Richard – who would become pioneers in early rock and roll. However, her mix of religious lyrics and music influenced by the blues, folk, and jazz was not immediately embraced by the gospel community and she was shunned by many in the gospel community. High profile performances at the Cotton Club (in Harlem) and Carnegie Hall caused even more controversy, upsetting religious audiences unaccustomed to seeing a female vocalist on stage playing the guitar. In 1944, she released “Strange Things Happening Every Day,” which reached Number 2 on Billboard’s R&B chart and is now acknowledged as the first rock and roll single. Sister Rosetta Tharpe’s popularity continued to grow, and she would perform alongside artists such as the Jordanaires (later known for their work with Elvis), the Dixie Hummingbirds, and her frequent collaborator, Marie Knight. In 1949, with the popularity of fellow gospel singer Mahalia Jackson on the rise, Sister Rosetta Tharpe’s popularity began to decline. She continued to tour and record and, in 1952, her collaboration with country music singer Red Foley – “Have a Little Talk with Jesus” – is now acknowledged as the first interracial duet recorded in the US. Sister Rosetta Tharpe continued to tour and record throughout the 1950s and 1960s, finding new and appreciative audiences in Europe. Her career suffered greatly in 1970 when she suffered a stroke and then had a leg amputated because of diabetes. Sister Rosetta Tharpe died on October 9, 1973, as a result of a second stroke at the age of 58. While she was no longer popular in the US at the time of her death, her career has been reappraised and she is now considered a huge influence on the birth of rock and roll. Her music was reissued many times in the decades since her death and her finest recordings can be found on compilations such as The Gospel of the Blues (2003), Gospel Feeling (2005), Shout Sister Shout (2006), Pure Religion (2009), The Original Soul Sister (2010), Gospel Train (2013), and several volumes of The Complete Sister Rosetta Tharpe.