Sister Rosetta Tharpe is an inevitable figure in music, especially when it comes to gospel music. Considered as “the Godmother of Rock and Roll”, Sister Rosetta Tharpe played a significant role in the further development of these genres and was a great influence on music stars such as Elvis Presley, Johnny Cash, Little Richard and many more (Graham, para. 2).
Born in Arkansas in the year of 1915, Rosetta was an African-American and was raised by her evangelical mother, Katie Bell Nubin, who was incredibly passionate about the church. In fact, the passion was so great that Katie would go outside, play any instrument that she had on hand and sing to spread the Word of God and try her best to convert others to her faith. Rosetta’s unique style to her music and songs was developed at a very early age when she was just six years old when attending Roberts Temple Church of God in Christ. At Church Service she would sing and play guitar, worshiping the Lord. Soon, she became a nationwide celebrity within the Church.
Not long after, both she and her mother moved to Chicago, where she adopted jazz and blues as her other styles. “In 1934, at the age of 19, Rosetta Tharpe married a COGIC preacher named Thomas Thorpe” (Biography.com Editors, para. 6). For the next four years they both served in the Church of God in Christ - she drew the crowds, he preached to them. Despite her mother’s good intentions, the marriage resulted in a divorce. In 1938, at the age of twenty-three, Tharpe decided to move to New York “where the great talent scout John Hammond included her – alongside Big Joe Turner, Big Bill Broonzy, Count Basie and others – in his celebrated From Spirituals to Swing concert at Carnegie Hall” (Williams, para. 5), and was signed by Decca Records (Graham, para. 4). She gave many performances and became a rising star.
Despite holding on strongly to her faith, she began to sing in clubs like Cotton Club, which was not something anyone was waiting to see from such a person as she was. No longer did her performances include or even mention God in them, since she was ordered to sing songs, not chosen by herself. Having discovered that she loved serving God and at the same time performing at night clubs, Rosetta decided to do both. She sang gospel in Church and joined the secular world of show business. After signing a contract, her fellow friends from church were shocked to hear her performance of “Tall Skinny Papa”. When questioned why she sang the song, she said she saw that the contract was signed for seven years and she had to sing whatever her contractor, Lucky Millinder would tell her to. After the controversy, she decided to stick with her favorite and best-known songs – gospel songs. She was accepted back at Church. Despite her deep conversion back to Christianity, people out of the Church admired her and she remained popular throughout the country even though her songs were about God. Her fans did not mind and continued to listen to her wonderful compositions. For the next thirty years, she achieved her dream and recorded over a dozen of albums. She played the guitar better than anyone has ever known. At Rosetta’s performances, you would mostly see her rock and rolling with a Gibson SG in her hands. “It’s that magical moment when a really fine musician becomes lost in her music and yet remains utterly in control of its effects on her audience” (Gibson Editors, para. 3). She was able to gain much fame and that was before anyone has heard her other incredible talent – her voice. This woman was known as a woman of God, which would preach the Gospel through her songs. By the age of 25, she was ranked as one of the top popular musicians of the day. She began recording songs she wanted to sing, using her own distinctive style. She became rich, famous, was praised by her fans, and became gospel’s first superstar. Throughout the 1940s, she spent much of her time on the road, playing at many places accompanied by different gospel musicians and groups such as the Dixie Hummingbirds and would tour together (All Music Editors, para.3). Another group she played with was The Jordanaires. Since she was African-American, but the group was white in skin color, for the country these days, such a scenery was taboo. By playing in such order, Rosetta began to show equality between races and was happy to defy convention. The biggest hit in Rosetta’s entire career was the song “Strange Things Happening Every Day” which she recorded with boogie-woogie pianist Sammy Price (Ross, para. 4). Recorded after the war in 1945 when prosperity and freedom were being proclaimed as the right of all Americans. The song expressed what she faced being a star, but at the same time being black. Food, restaurants, bathrooms, hotels, water fountains and mostly all things one can imagine were segregated. On the road, The Jordanaires would stop at restaurants, order themselves food as well as Rosetta and bring it out to her bus which she toured in.
Even though there is not much footage left of Sister Rosetta Tharpe, the videos and all existing clips are highly cherished today. She played a highly remarkable role in the creation of specific music styles such as rock and roll, gospel, blues, and jazz. The Godmother of Rock and Roll portrayed a woman of no fear, which showed what equality was. Even though she stood in front of crowds of people, through her music, and songs she spoke deep to each heart and soul separately.
Works Cited
All Music Editors. "Artist Biography by Jason Ankeny." All Music. N.p., n.d. Web. 26 July 2016.
Biography.com Editors. "Sister Rosetta Tharpe." Bio.com. A&E Networks Television, n.d. Web. 26 July 2016.
Gibson Editors. "Sister Rosetta Tharpe: The Untold Story." Sister Rosetta Tharpe: The Untold Story. N.p., 23 Apr. 2007. Web. 26 July 2016.
Graham, Jonathan. "Forgotten Guitar: Before Hendrix, Elvis and Chuck Berry, There Was Sister Rosetta Tharpe." Guitar World. N.p., 18 Nov. 2015. Web. 25 July 2016.
Ross, Michael. "Forgotten Heroes: Sister Rosetta Tharpe." Premier Guitar RSS. N.p., 19 Apr. 2011. Web. 26 July 2016.
Williams, Richard. "Sister Rosetta Tharpe: The Godmother of Rock'n'roll." The Guardian. Guardian News and Media, 18 Mar. 2015. Web. 26 July 2016.
