Sister Rosetta Tharpe

Sister Rosetta Tharpe (born Rosetta Nubin, March 20, 1915 – October 9, 1973) was an American singer and guitarist. She gained popularity in the 1930s and 1940s with her gospel recordings, characterized by a unique mixture of spiritual lyrics and electric guitar. She was the first great recording star of gospel music, and was among the first gospel musicians to appeal to rhythm and blues and rock and roll audiences, later being referred to as "the original soul sister" and "the Godmother of rock and roll". She influenced early rock-and-roll musicians including Little Richard, Johnny Cash, Carl Perkins, Chuck Berry, Elvis Presley, Jerry Lee Lewis, and Eric Clapton.

Tharpe was a pioneer in her guitar technique; she was among the first popular recording artists to use heavy distortion on her electric guitar, opening the way to the rise of electric blues. Her guitar-playing technique had a profound influence on the development of British blues in the 1960s. Her European tour with Muddy Waters in 1964, with a stop in Manchester on May 7, is cited by British guitarists such as Eric Clapton, Jeff Beck, and Keith Richards.

Willing to cross the line between sacred and secular by performing her music of "light" in the "darkness" of nightclubs and concert halls with big bands behind her, Tharpe pushed spiritual music into the mainstream and helped pioneer the rise of pop-gospel, beginning in 1938 with the recording "Rock Me" and with her 1939 hit "This Train". Her unique music left a lasting mark on more conventional gospel artists such as Ira Tucker Sr., of the Dixie Hummingbirds. While controversial among conservative religious groups due to her forays into the pop world, she never left gospel music.

Tharpe's 1944 release "Down by the Riverside" was selected for the National Recording Registry of the U.S. Library of Congress in 2004, which noted that it "captures her spirited guitar playing and unique vocal style, demonstrating clearly her influence on early rhythm-and-blues performers" and cited her influence on "many gospel, jazz, and rock artists". ("Down by the Riverside" was recorded by Tharpe on December 2, 1948, in New York City, and issued as Decca single 48106.) Her 1945 hit "Strange Things Happening Every Day", recorded in late 1944, featured Tharpe's vocals and resonator guitar, with Sammy Price (piano), bass and drums. It was the first gospel record to cross over, hitting no. 2 on the Billboard "race records" chart, the term then used for what later became the R&B chart, in April 1945. The recording has been cited as a precursor of rock and roll, and alternatively has been called the first rock and roll record. In May 2018, Tharpe was posthumously inducted into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame as an Early Influence.

Birth and Death Data: Born March 20, 1915 (Cotton Plant), Died October 9, 1973 (Philadelphia)

Date Range of DAHR Recordings: 1938 - 1956

Roles Represented in DAHR: vocalist, guitar

= Recordings are available for online listening.
= Recordings were issued from this master. No recordings issued from other masters.

Recordings (Results 101-125 of 170 records)

Company Matrix No. Size First Recording Date Title Primary Performer Description Role Audio
Decca 76265 5/3/1950 Is everybody happy Katie Bell Nubin instrumentalist, guitar  
Decca 76268 5/3/1950 I shall know Him Mary (Marie) Knight ; Sister Rosetta Tharpe vocalist  
Decca 76269 5/3/1950 There's a highway to heaven Mary (Marie) Knight ; Sister Rosetta Tharpe vocalist  
Decca 76270 5/3/1950 I'm bound for higher grounds Mary (Marie) Knight ; Sister Rosetta Tharpe vocalist  
Decca 76271 5/3/1950 I was healed Mary (Marie) Knight ; Sister Rosetta Tharpe vocalist  
Decca 80324 1/11/1951 Use me Lord Sister Rosetta Tharpe vocalist  
Decca 80325 1/11/1951 Somebody needs Jesus Sister Rosetta Tharpe vocalist  
Decca 80326 1/11/1951 Sin is to blame Sister Rosetta Tharpe vocalist  
Decca 80327 1/11/1951 I thank God for my song Sister Rosetta Tharpe vocalist  
Decca 80587 2/20/1951 Throw out the lifeline Sister Rosetta Tharpe vocalist  
Decca 80588 2/20/1951 Blessed assurance Sister Rosetta Tharpe vocalist  
Decca 80589 2/20/1951 Rock of ages Sister Rosetta Tharpe vocalist  
Decca 80590 2/20/1951 In the garden Sister Rosetta Tharpe vocalist  
Decca 80593 2/21/1951 Let the lower lights be burning Sister Rosetta Tharpe vocalist  
Decca 80594 2/21/1951 There's a fountain filled with blood Sister Rosetta Tharpe vocalist  
Decca 80595 2/21/1951 What a friend we have in Jesus Sister Rosetta Tharpe vocalist  
Decca 80596 2/21/1951 Amazing grace Sister Rosetta Tharpe vocalist  
Decca 80597 2/21/1951 I want Jesus to walk around my bedside (before I die) Mary (Marie) Knight ; Sister Rosetta Tharpe vocalist  
Decca 80598 2/21/1951 Royal telephone Mary (Marie) Knight ; Sister Rosetta Tharpe vocalist  
Decca 80599 2/21/1951 Milky white way Mary (Marie) Knight ; Sister Rosetta Tharpe vocalist  
Decca 80600 2/21/1951 His eye is on the sparrow Mary (Marie) Knight ; Sister Rosetta Tharpe vocalist  
Decca 81632 7/3/1951 God don't like it The Rosette ; Sister Rosetta Tharpe vocalist, instrumentalist, guitar  
Decca 81633 7/3/1951 So high The Rosette ; Sister Rosetta Tharpe vocalist, instrumentalist, guitar  
Decca 83690 12/6/1952 Old landmark-1, 2 Mary (Marie) Knight ; Sister Rosetta Tharpe vocalist  
Decca 83691 12/6/1952 Pressing on-1, 2 Mary (Marie) Knight ; Sister Rosetta Tharpe vocalist  
(Results 101-125 of 170 records)

Citation

Discography of American Historical Recordings, s.v. "Tharpe, Sister Rosetta," accessed March 28, 2024, https://adp.library.ucsb.edu/names/210105.

Tharpe, Sister Rosetta. (2024). In Discography of American Historical Recordings. Retrieved March 28, 2024, from https://adp.library.ucsb.edu/names/210105.

"Tharpe, Sister Rosetta." Discography of American Historical Recordings. UC Santa Barbara Library, 2024. Web. 28 March 2024.

DAHR Persistent Identifier

URI: https://adp.library.ucsb.edu/names/210105

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