DriveMusic history fact

Sister Rosetta Tharpe, an American gospel singer and guitarist, was playing loud, virtuosic electric guitar in the 1940s, before rock and roll had a name. Her playing and showmanship inspired the first rock and roll musicians.

Rock and Roll Hall of Fame, 2018

The story behind the card

Tharpe grew up singing in a Pentecostal church with her mother and, from 1938, took gospel into nightclubs and onto records, which shocked some churchgoers. Her song 'Strange Things Happening Every Day', recorded in 1944, reached number two on Billboard's chart for Black music in 1945 and is often named as an early rock and roll record. In 1947 she heard a 14-year-old Little Richard singing in Macon, Georgia, and invited him to open her show, his first paid performance. Johnny Cash called her his favourite singer as a boy. In May 1964 she played in the rain on a disused railway platform in Manchester for British television. She joined the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame in 2018.

Türkçe oku

Amerikalı gospel şarkıcısı ve gitaristi Sister Rosetta Tharpe, 1940'larda, rock and roll'un adı bile konmadan önce elektro gitarı gür sesle ve ustalıkla çalıyordu. Çalışı ve sahnedeki coşkusu, ilk rock and roll müzisyenlerine ilham verdi.

Rock and Roll Şöhretler Müzesi, 2018

Tharpe, annesiyle birlikte Pentekostal bir kilisede şarkı söyleyerek büyüdü. 1938'den itibaren gospeli gece kulüplerine ve plaklara taşıdı; bu, kiliseye gidenlerin bir kısmını şaşırttı. 1944'te kaydettiği “Strange Things Happening Every Day” adlı şarkı, 1945'te Billboard'un Siyah müzik listesinde ikinci sıraya çıktı ve çoğu zaman ilk rock and roll kayıtlarından biri sayılır. 1947'de Georgia'nın Macon kentinde 14 yaşındaki Little Richard'ı şarkı söylerken duydu ve konserini onunla açtı; bu, Little Richard'ın ücret aldığı ilk sahneydi. Johnny Cash de çocukken en sevdiği şarkıcının o olduğunu söylerdi. Mayıs 1964'te Manchester'da kullanılmayan bir tren istasyonunun peronunda, yağmur altında İngiliz televizyonu için çaldı. 2018'de Rock and Roll Şöhretler Müzesi'ne alındı.

Sources and further reading

Background reading: Sister Rosetta Tharpe

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Sister Rosetta Tharpe, an American gospel singer and guitarist, was playing loud, virtuosic electric guitar in the 1940s, before rock and roll had a name. Her playing and showmanship inspired the first rock and roll musicians.

The story behind the card

Sources and further reading

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