Today, Modern Neon Sound recalls a nearly-forgotten guitar hero. Sister Rosetta Tharpe was born in Cotton Plant, Arkansas in 1915. After moving with her family to Chicago in the 1920s, Rosetta, who was already performing as "Little Rosetta Nubin, the Singing and Guitar-Playing Miracle" developed a love of jazz and blues that set her apart from her gospel contemporaries. She married preacher Thomas Thorpe in 1934, and the couple settled in New York City. Her first recordings of gospel music, backed by Lucky Millinder's jazz band in 1938, shocked many of her most devout fans, but marked the start of a recording career that lasted until her death in 1973. While she eventually recorded both sacred and secular music, she is best remembered as the first bona fide gospel recording star. Sadly, she was shunned by the mainstream gospel audience she loved most after recording several blues numbers in the late 1950s. At the time of her death, Sister Rosetta Tharpe had been left behind by the genre she helped to create, and she was laid to rest in an unmarked grave in Philadelphia. Read more and watch the video after the jump.
Throughout the Thirties and Forties, Sister Rosetta Tharpe (her professional name) perfected a rocking guitar style that presaged rock 'n roll. She was one of the first gospel performers to adopt the electric guitar in the Fifties, and by 1964, when this television clip was filmed, she had acquired the three-pickup 1962 Gibson Les Paul SG Custom that remained her trademark until her death.
Sister Rosetta Tharpe's sturdy, soulful vocals and joyful, hard-rocking guitar stylings influenced not only generations of gospel singers, but some of your favorite rock 'n roll and country performers, including Johnny Cash, Little Richard and Aretha Franklin. Lest you believe our mighty Sister arose fully-formed from a vacuum, however, I'll just leave you with this bonus offering from one of my favorite performers and Tharpe progenitor Blind Willie Johnson. "Jesus Is Coming Soon,"(1928) a reflection on the Spanish flu pandemic of 1918, is one of Johnson's best-known recordings. In it, I think you'll hear some of the rhythmic drive and sanctified joy that later characterized Rosetta Tharpe's recorded legacy.
Thanks to comehome and RagtimeDorianHenry for their YouTube uploads.
1 comment:
Thank-you for this post! I've never heard of her before and cannot believe she is not more widely known! It's so very rare to find a chick playing lead guitar (especially like she does). :) The fact she plays the blues... even more awesome.
Post a Comment