“Can’t no man play like me.”
Rosetta Tharpe
Introduction
Described as the “original soul sister” and the “Godmother of rock and roll”, Rosetta Tharpe, an American singer, songwriter and guitarist, inspired the likes of Little Richard, Chuck Berry, Carl Perkins, Elvis Presley, Jerry Lee Lewis and Eric Clapton. A gospel musician who appealed to rhythm and blues and rock and roll audiences. A gay, black lady who spread her brand of music through churches and nightclubs. A trailblazer of the music movement who radiated raw blues and helped turn this vibrant and soulful type of music into an international sensation. A lady who had a spring in her step and a shake in her hips. Strumming her bass guitar and swivelling to her mesmerising beat, Sister Rosetta Tharpe’s distinctive voice hit the right spot. It caused so many to fall under her spell—a soul diva whose life and work deserve praise and celebration.
A Star is Born
Rosetta Nubin was born in Arkansas to Willis Atkins and Katie Bell in 1915. Rosetta spent her early years on a cotton plantation. Her father was a mandolin player, and her mother was an evangelist. A baby with no official birth certificate, Rosetta started playing the guitar at four. By age six, she was travelling with her mother in an evangelist troupe, singing gospel songs across the Deep South. The two eventually settled in Chicago in the 1920s, performing to large audiences in churches and religious gatherings. During this time, Rosetta was first introduced to the jazz and blues of this vibrant city and decided to blend this infectious beat into her own music.
In 1934, Rosetta, whose surname at birth was Atkins, married a minister, Thomas J. Tharpe. A man who she separated from in 1938 and divorced in 1943. She would go to remarry twice but kept her first husband’s surname as a stage name. By 1938, she performed in the Cotton Club in New York, and her jazz songs became highly popular with a white audience. An overnight sensation who would go on to sign a record deal with Decca, recording songs like “Rock Me”, “Hide Me in Thy Bosom”, and “This Train.” In 1941, Tharpe joined Lucky Millinder’s swing band, touring with them in the early 1940s and 1944. She recorded “Strange Things Happening Every Day” with jazz and boogie-woogie pianist Sammy Price. It was the first gospel song to reach the top 10 on the Billboard. A song that established her as the bedrock of rock and roll. A song praised by Jerry Lee Lewis and would go on to manifest songs like “Didn’t It Rain,” “Down by the Riverside,” and “Precious Lord.”
In the late 1940s, Tharpe returned to her gospel roots. She toured with gospel singer Marie Knight, whose subdued vocal approach effectively contrasted Tharpe’s more emotive phrasing. The duo made several successful recordings together, including “Beams of Heaven” (1947) and “He Watches Me” (1948). Their decision to release several straightforward blues singles would alienate her core fan base, and her popularity in the United States declined. She spent her later years touring Europe. 1964, she participated in the Blues and Gospel Caravan, filmed as a television special. Although suffering from ill health in the early 1970s, she continued to perform up to her death in 1973.
