Happy birthday to the Godmother of Rock and Roll, Sister Rosetta Tharpe! (b. March 20, 1915)
“Mostly back in those days, [women] just sang, and she, you know, she brought a whole new thing to women that said, Hey, I can do that, too. That’s one thing I remember—that stood out to me. That she was actually a musician as well.” - Carla Thomas on Rosetta (x)
Considering the momentous and long overdue recognition that Sister Rosetta Tharpe deserves (her anticipated induction into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame in April, 2018), let’s take advantage of what the media has to offer on her - videos/footage, music, books, etc. and spread it today in her honor. Even if you think you shouldn’t care about this, if you think music has nothing to do with your blog or you don’t care about history - let me tell you something: you should. Now, more than ever, you should. When there are so many resources to help you educate yourself and others in topics like why Sister Rosetta Tharpe was and still is so important, please take advantage of them. If I were you, I would try to think of it this way: she deserves your voice behind her, too. And if you can, in a respectful, if not objective (not objectifying!!), way. So honor her and honor your abilities to do so!
Now, some quick facts about Sister Rosetta Tharpe and her music:
It’s been speculated that “Strange Things Happening Every Day” was the first rock and roll record, recorded in late 1944/released in 1945, as it was the first gospel record to cross over and chart on the Billboard “race records” (R&B) chart
Her version of “Down by the Riverside” was added to the National Recording Registry of the U.S. Library of Congress in 2004, justifying the selection due to her “spirited guitar playing and unique vocal style, demonstrating clearly her influence on early rhythm-and-blues performers”
She inspired the likes of Little Richard, Aretha Franklin, Jerry Lee Lewis, Chuck Berry, Tina Turner, Karen Carpenter, Mary Chapin Carpenter, and Johnny Cash cited her as one of his favorite singers in his induction speech into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame
And as a related fact to the previous one, in reality, every artist that took on rock and roll after her was influenced by her - sure, we can name names, but the fact of the matter is that she was the ROOT. Everyone else became the branches, you know?
