IOKTS - I Only Know the Story

Sister Rosetta Tharpe
The "Godmother of Rock and Roll"
(Photo courtesy Photographs & Prints Division, Schomburg Center for Research in Black Culture)
Photograph by James J. Kriegsmann

Sister Rosetta Tharpe was a pioneer in music and inspired musicians a wide range of musicians like: Chuck Berry, Elvis Presley, Johnny Cash, Jerry Lee Lewis, Eric Clapton, and Ray Charles. All of these men were influenced by the Gospel, Rhythm and Blues and Rock and Roll sounds emanating from her electric guitar. Sister Rosetta was the first notable musician to gain popularity and record Gospel music and she was the original crossover artists. Chuck Berry's famous scoot across the stage with his leg out front, is said to have come from Sister Rosetta. Singer Bonnie Raitt said, "Rosetta was one of the most beloved and influential artists ever in gospel music and she blazed a trail for the rest of us women guitarists with her indomitable spirit and accomplioshed, engaging style." Sister Rosetta Tharpe was inducted into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame on October 5, 2017.

(She appeared in our 2009 edition of 365 Days of Black History, Engagement Calendar, in the 3rd week of May.)