Sister Rosetta Tharpe - The Godmother of Rock & Roll [BBC]

Notes from YouTube: For anyone interested in one of the little known prime influences of Elvis, Chuck Berry and many early rock and roll pioneers who she preceded, check out Rosetta Tharpe.

Sister Rosetta Tharpe

Wikipedia

 Tharpe became the first superstar of gospel music and also became known as "the original soul sister." She was a treasured early influence on iconic figures such as Elvis Presley, Little Richard and Johnny Cash.

A couple of my favourites - ANYONE SUGGEST OTHERS PLEASE!

Sister Rosetta Tharpe - This Train

Y'all better catch this train.  According to Sister Rosetta Tharpe "This train don't pull no winkers, no crap shooters and whiskey drinkers." 

Sister Rosetta Tharpe, France 1960

Very nice indeed. Sister Rosetta Tharpe did it before anybody else. Gospel, blues, and jazz it is all in there.  Not to mention smoking hot chops on the guitar.

Sister Rosetta Tharpe - Lonesome Road

We've posted a few of Rosetta Tharpe's YouTube clips here at SqueezeMyLemon, because she is so spectacularly placed at the junction of blues and gospel music that it is mind boggling when you really consider how talented she was.

And it seems to me that she does not really get the credit that she deserves for her ground breaking work.

Just listen to this one and I hope you enjoy it as much as I do.



Sister Rosetta Tharpe @Amazon.com

The Blues and Gospel: An Example

Here is a post from the archives, had to make some minor edits, it is one of my first post in the Gospel blues series. Over the next few Sundays I plan to post more of these from the archives, and I hope you all enjoy them.

I would really appreciate it if you let me know if you like this series. Please leave a comment.

This clip is a cool example of how blues music and Gospel music are closely related. Sister Rosetta Tharpe is also one of my favorite guitar players. If you want to learn how to play blues or Gospel music, she is a great model to study.

The link below will take you to YouTube where you can watch the clip, because embedding has been disabled by request. But please click through, you won't be disappointed.

Sister Rosetta Tharpe and the Chicago Blues Allstars



According to a commnet left at YouTube about this video, the Blues Allstars are; "Lee Jackson Guitar, Lafayette Leake piano, Clifton James on drums, Willie Dixon Bass, and of course Big Willie Horton on Harmonica."

Gospel Blues @SqueezeMyLemon

Sister Rosetta Tharp @ Amazon.com

Sister Rosetta Tharpe "Up Above My Head"

Notes from YouTube: Sister Rosetta Tharpe - Up Above My Head (I hear music in the air) unknown performance date (appox. around the 1960's) on the show TV Gospel Time with the Olivet Institutional Baptist Church Choir an amazing performance with a Gibson Les Paul SG custom with (polar white finish?)

Gospel Blues @SqueezeMyLemon

Gospel blues

blues playlist: Sister Rosetta Tharpe, Didn't it Rain, 1964


I have been trying to get my mind around exactly what the Gospel Blues are. I have posted links to various artist, and to various videos that I think of as Gospel Blues, but the difficulty is in the fact that I grew up in a time and place when music was not put into as many categories as it is today.

Some of the music that I heard in church (like the video above) was no different then some of the music I heard coming out of the local Juke Joint. And on some occasions it might have even been the same person singing in church that was singing in the Juke Joint. I doubt that Rosetta Tharpe ever performed in a Juke Joint, but I have no doubt that she would have been right at home.

For me there is not much difference between some blues music and some gospel music. The only way that I separate Gospel blues and the blues is by who is singing it and where they are singing it.

Wikipedia has a great list of Gospel blues musicians.

Gospel blues @ SqueezeMyLemon

Gospel Blues In The Spotlight - The Gospel Of The Blues - Rosetta Tharpe

The Gospel of Blues by Sister Rosetta Tharpe One of the best gospel blues albums around is from one of the musicians who mastered both gospel and blues music. That would of course be Sister Rosetta Tharpe.

This selection of songs shows the full range of Roosetta Tharpe. While she was primarily a gospel singer, there are some great blues numbers here also.

This album helps to make the point that I frequently try to make, that gospel music and the blues are closely related. Often times more so then many fans of both types of music know and understand.

Track Listing

1. My Man And I 2:57
2. This Train 2:39
3. Sit Down 2:13
4. Trouble In Mind 2:27
5. Shout, Sister, Shout! 2:40
6. Rock Me 2:40
7. Nobody's Fault But Mine 2:59
8. I Want A Tall Skinny Papa 2:51
9. God Don't Like It 2:24
10. What Is The Soul Of Man? 2:30
11. Singing In My Soul 2:54
12. Strange Things Happen Everyday 2:46
13. Two Little Fishes And Five Loaves Of Bread 2:56
14. Jonah 3:01
15. Didn't It Rain 2:33
16. The Natural Facts 3:12
17. Down By The Riverside 2:29
18. Up Above My Head I Hear Music In The Air 2:27

Blues Book: Shout, Sister, Shout

Shout, Sister, Shout!: The Untold Story of Rock-and-Roll Trailblazer Sister Rosetta Tharpe (Paperback) by Gayle F. Wald (Author)

According to Publishers Weekly;

Though Elvis, Ginger Baker, Keith Richards and Jerry Lee Lewis paid her tribute, Sister Rosetta Tharpe's vast contribution to American musical history has nearly faded away. With the publication of this entertaining and enlightening biography, Tharpe—who reputedly played her electric guitar "like a man," withstood failed marriages, racial and sexual discrimination plus economic hardships—should receive the recognition she deserves.

George Washington University professor Wald (Crossing the Line) has knit together memories of 150 people familiar with Tharpe and her work. Wald's competent research provides readers with the larger historical framework within which Tharpe's contributions can be appreciated.

Born in Arkansas in 1915, Rosetta Tharpe became a well-known child performer, honing her gospel guitar style in Pentecostal churches and tent revivals throughout the South. By the late 1930s Tharpe relocated to Chicago, made the life-altering choice of forsaking Pentecostal church performances and embarked on a secular career, eventually signing with Decca Records.

During the 1950s Tharpe's career sagged due to changing musical tastes, but a well-timed European tour in 1957 reignited her career. Tharpe courageously cut across racial, musical and sexual boundaries, defying easy categorization, which may have contributed to her obscurity. Wald's biography of this unique performer will hopefully reawaken interest in her life and music.

Book Details

Paperback: 264 pages
Publisher: Beacon Press; Reprint edition (February 8, 2008)
Language: English
ISBN-10: 0807009857
ISBN-13: 978-0807009857
Product Dimensions: 9 x 6.1 x 0.8 inches

I Feel Like Going to Church - Shout, Sister, Shout - Tribute to Sister Rosetta Tharpe

Shout, Sister, Shout!: A Tribute To Sister Rosetta Tharpe

1. Nobody's Fault But Mine Joan Osborne 4:03
2. My Journey To The Sky Bonnie Raitt 4:07
3. Rock Me Toshi Reagon 5:11
4. Two Little Fishes And Five Loads Of Bread Odetta 3:25
5. This Train Janis Ian 2:43
6. Shout, Sister, Shout! Angela Strehli 3:03
7. Beams Of Heaven Phoebe Snow 3:54
8. Precious Memories Sweet Honey In The Rock 5:01
9. I Want A Tall Skinny Papa Marcia Ball 3:16
10. My Lord And I The Holmes Brothers 4:25
11. Stand By Me Rory Block 2:51
12. Up And Above My Head Maria Muldaur 3:48
13. Don't Take Everybody To Be Your Friend Joanna Connor 4:08
14. That's All Angela Strehli 4:02 $0.99
15. I Looked Down The Line And I Wondered Maria Muldaur 4:16
16. Didn't It Rain Marie Knight 3:44

One reviewer at Amazon.com said;

The truth is...to my ear... this album is an excellent demonstration of the interrelationship of Gospel, Blues and Jazz. And the performers! Simply the best available today. For those that are not familiar with some of them, you may find some new "friends." I was especially pleased to see that Angela Strehli was included.

And to my way of thinking this hits it on the head

Sassy or Badass?

I Feel Like Going to Church: Strange things happen

Strange things happening every day - Sister Rosetta Tharpe


Sister Rosetta Tharpe @ SqueezeMyLemon

Sister Rosetta Tharpe @Amazon.com

Chastity - Virtue

Sister Rosetta Tharpe
Well I guess The Blues is vibrant, sensuous and sexy - so this is a well nigh impossible category to get entries for. My logic here is that I think of vows of chastity, then nuns, and we call them sisters so....


Then there is Chastity Brown who is really soul-folk but a nice sound anyway.


Any ideas?

NPR Post on Sister Rosetta Tharpe

As I type this I'm listening to an NPR report on Sister Rosetta Tharpe. A marker was recently placed on her grave.

Today would have marked the 94th birthday of pioneering singer and guitarist Sister Rosetta Tharpe. She was a major influence on two generations of rock and soul musicians, but Tharpe is practically unknown today — so unknown that she didn't have a proper headstone until recently.



"She would sing until you cried and then she would sing until you danced for joy. She helped to keep the church alive, and the saints rejoicing."

Sister Rosetta Tharpe @SqueezeMyLemon

Sister Rosetta Tharpe @Amazon.com

I Feel Like Going To Church: The Blues and Gospel Train

Gospel Train

Click image for info @Amazon.com

I Feel Like Going to Church: Strange things happening every day

Strange things happening every day - Sister Rosetta Tharpe


Sister Rosetta Tharpe @ SqueezeMyLemon

The History of Gospel Videos

These videos go along way in showing how gospel music is related to the blues. I hope that it helps the frat boys, the aging boomers and the corporate blues fans to go deeper into the roots of the blues. I know that it helped me to understand the relationship between these two great American music forms that I have been listening to all my life.

And not that it matters how you came to the music, it just helps to understand where the music came from.

The History Of Gospel 01
This clip features the Rev. Thomas Dorsey.


The History Of Gospel 02
This clip features Mahalia Jackson and Sister Rosetta Tharpe.


The History Of Gospel 03
This clip features Aretha Franklin, Clara Ward, Shirley Caesar & The Dixie Hummingbirds


The History Of Gospel 04
This clip features Rev. James Cleveland, Vanessa Bell Armstrong and Edwin Hawkins

Gospel blues

blues playlist: Sister Rosetta Tharpe, Didn't it Rain, 1964


I have been trying to get my mind around exactly what the Gospel Blues are. I have posted links to various artist, and to various videos that I think of as Gospel Blues, but the difficulty is in the fact that I grew up in a time and place when music was not put into as many categories as it is today.

Some of the music that I heard in church (like the video above) was no different then some of the music I heard coming out of the local Juke Joint. And on some occasions it might have even been the same person singing in church that was singing in the Juke Joint. I doubt that Rosetta Tharpe ever performed in a Juke Joint, but I have no doubt that she would have been right at home.

For me there is not much difference between some blues music and some gospel music. The only way that I separate Gospel blues and the blues is by who is singing it and where they are singing it.

Wikipedia has a great list of Gospel blues musicians.

And Amazon.com has a nice selection of their music.


Gospel blues @ SqueezeMyLemon

The Blues and Gospel: An Example

Here is a post from the archives, had to make some minor edits, it is one of my first post in the Gospel blues series. Over the next few Sundays I plan to post more of these from the archives, and I hope you all enjoy them.

I would really appreciate it if you let me know if you like this series. Please leave a comment.

This clip is a cool example of how blues music and Gospel music are closely related. Sister Rosetta Tharpe is also one of my favorite guitar players. If you want to learn how to play blues or Gospel music, she is a great model to study.

The link below will take you to YouTube where you can watch the clip, because embedding has been disabled by request. But please click through, you won't be disappointed.

Sister Rosetta Tharpe and the Chicago Blues Allstars



According to a commnet left at YouTube about this video, the Blues Allstars are; "Lee Jackson Guitar, Lafayette Leake piano, Clifton James on drums, Willie Dixon Bass, and of course Big Willie Horton on Harmonica."

Gospel Blues @SqueezeMyLemon

Sister Rosetta Tharp @ Amazon.com