Sister Rosetta Tharpe: Godmother of Rock & Roll!

[R. Mark Desjardins]

Keep an eye this weekend on the various PBS stations across the nation presenting the documentary Sister Rosetta Tharpe: Godmother of Rock & Roll on "American Masters."

She was a gospel singer who played her guitar like a ring in a bell, and influenced Chuck Berry. Now the story can be told of a sista who was way more than influencial in the laying down the roots of guitar based rock and soul than anyone has have even previously given her credit for, Sister Rosetta Tharpe must be recognized by the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame for her pioneering efforts.

Rosetta was heralded as the star she was in England in the early sixties, but was generally ignored here in North America. Hopefully her spirit knows that she is now being acclaimed for her foresight in taking the musical risks she took during the thirites and forties.

This is documentary making at its best, and viewing you won't regret setting aside time to watch!

[jsmith]

Bet at least part of the PBS show features clips of a early 60's UK B&W TV show [[shot on a railway station outside Manchester). She was great on that and the coverage the TV show got [[size of audience) meant her UK profile shot up several notches after it was screened).

[R. Mark Desjardins]

Yes, jsmith, thankfully there is a lengthly clip from that UK program and it is delightful!

[reese]

This show originally aired on the BBC a while back. I watched it on YouTube not too long ago. It is good to see that American television picked it up as well.

[Kamasu_Jr]

I watched some of the program this afternoon. It was interesting. Of course, I'd heard of her, but had basically forgotten about her. I had to ask some of the elders what they remember about her and why she is not revered as much as Mahalia Jackson. They gave me their opinions. I will say that most church folk are very serious about who is show business and who is not. SISTER Rosetta was deemed A BIT too worldly for some.

[R. Mark Desjardins]

Yes, there is no doubt Sister Rosetta Tharpe was indeed wordly, and she was able to reach people who might not have heard the Lord's message through the accepted channels at the time.

As an aspiring writer, I constantly seek to discover worlds outside my immediate experience. Recently I discovered Antony Heilbut's book, "The Fan Who Knew Too Much: Aretha Franklin, The Rise of the Soap Opera, Children of the Gospel Church, and Other Meditations." One of his other books is entitled, "The Gospel Sound: Good News and Bad Times," and I feel he knows very well what he writes about.

As I have stated on other threads on this site, people tend to have three distinct sides to them, a public personna, a private personna, and a secret personna. Where one gets into trouble "letting down and betraying others," is not being in touch with their true nature. Lots to think about here. As for Sister Rosetta, she was very much in touch with herself and I say horray for that!

[Kamasu_Jr]

I did find it interesting the influence Rosetta Tharpe had on early rockers like Elvis Presley and Chuck Berry. I also knew of her association with the Dixie Hummingbirds. I've read Anthony Heilbut's work as well. I come from a gospel background so I know what the music is about and know very well what some of the gospel artists were/are about. My grandfather was a gospel singer and human but passionate about what he loved and basically did for free...sing the gospel. He used to say God's word is true even when it comes from a hellish mouth.

[R. Mark Desjardins]

Kamasu_Jr, Many thanks for sharing your grandfather's comment about God's word being true even coming from a hellish mouth. That is a very colorful expression, and I am sure he must have been a strong individual who stood firm in his convictions.

[Kamasu_Jr]

Kamasu_Jr, Many thanks for sharing your grandfather's comment about God's word being true even coming from a hellish mouth. That is a very colorful expression, and I am sure he must have been a strong individual who stood firm in his convictions.My grandfather meant to not get too caught up or distracted by the person bringing the message, but to focus on what's being said. I think this was true in Sister Rosetta's case. Too many got distracted by her image and presentation instead of zeroing in on what she was singing,

[glencro]

I watched the documentary yesterday and loved it. I remember my mother having a lot of her albums around the house growing up. She was definitely influential and a very strong woman to bridge the gap between the two genres of music. I also had to youtube the Jordanaires. The men could really sing and had soul.

[Kamasu_Jr]

Got to mention that it was good to see Willa Ward and both Ira Tucker Jr. and Howard Carroll of the Dixie Hummingbirds also featured on the Rosetta Tharpe documentary. Carroll was a helluva guitar player himself.