Who Was Sister Rosetta Tharpe? Facts About the Queer Black Rock-n-Roll Pioneer

Sister Rosetta Tharpe (1915-1973) was an American singer, songwriter, and guitarist who is often referred to as the “Godmother of Rock and Roll.” She was a pioneering figure in the development of rock-n-roll, gospel, and rhythm-and-blues music, and influenced many popular musicians of her time. Today, Sister Rosetta Tharpe is remembered as an important figure in the development of rock-n-roll and gospel music — if perhaps not as well-known or yet appreciated as some of her contemporaries like Mahalia Jackson, Billie Holiday, and Bessie Smith. Pretty much all of the groundwork for 1950s rock-n-roll — from Little Richard to Buddy Holly to Elvis Presley — was laid by Sister Rosetta Tharpe a decade earlier. Here are some facts about this absolute legend.

Where and when was Sister Rosetta Tharpe born?

Sister Rosetta Tharpe was born Rosetta Nubin** in Cotton Plant, Arkansas, on March 20, 1915. She was the daughter of Katie Bell Nubin and Willis Atkins, though not much is known about her father. Tharpe’s parents were both heavily involved in the church and Tharpe grew up in a deeply religious — and very musical — family. Rosetta’s mother Katie was a singer who could play the mandolin and as a deaconess-missionary, Katie was very active in the Church of God in Christ (COGIC). The COGIC was the kind of church that fostered a sense of joyful expression and dancing while literally singing praises, which certainly influenced young Rosetta. By the time she was six (6) years old, Rosetta was singing and playing guitar(!) in tent meetings and churches all over the South. Rosetta was basically seen as a musical prodigy.

**This has been disputed by researchers who say her birth name may actually be Rosether Atkins or Rosether Atiknson.

When did Sister Rosetta Tharpe start recording music?

Tharpe moved to Chicago, Illinois with her mother sometime in the mid-1920s, where they continued to perform religious music for the Chicago-based COGIC temple. The prodigy’s stature continue to get attention, as there were not a lot of Black women guitar players in the 1920s. Rosetta Tharpe did not record until she was 23, in October 1938. Backed by Lucky Millinder and his jazz band, she cut four (4) sides for Decca Records: “Rock Me,” “That’s All,” “My Man and I,” and “The Lonesome Road” — bangers, all of them. Everyone knew it, too, and she immediately established herself as a bankable and famous recording artist. Suddenly, a queer Black woman was perhaps the very first rock-n-roll star.

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What kind of music did Sister Rosetta Tharpe make?

Raised on gospel music, Rosetta Tharpe began to play guitar in Chicago nightclubs, where she was exposed to a wider variety of music styles, including jazz and blues. Tharpe’s exposure to these different genres helped to shape her unique sound, which blended gospel themes and lyrics with a more secular, rhythmic sound. She was one of the first gospel artists to incorporate the electric guitar into her music, and her playing style influenced many later rock and roll guitarists. Her music was also popular with both Black and white audiences, and she toured extensively in the United States and Europe. Her live shows were known to be energetic, engaging performances with tons of style, and Sister Rosetta Tharpe had a string of hits in the 1940s, including “This Train,” “Rock Me,” and “Strange Things Happening Every Day.”

Was Sister Rosetta Tharpe queer?

It almost certainly sure seems that way! There has been ongoing debate and speculation about Sister Rosetta Tharpe’s sexuality, and while it’s difficult to know for certain, there are accounts that suggest Tharpe had relationships with women as well as men. When she was 19, she married a preacher named Thomas Thorpe. They split just a few years later, but Rosetta took on a variation of her first husband’s name, and kept it as her stage name throughout other marriages. It is also widely assumed that Tharpe had a long-time intimate and romantic relationship with duet partner Marie Knight. In recent years, Tharpe’s queerness has been increasingly celebrated as an important part of her legacy. Sister Rosetta Tharpe’s music, which broke down barriers between different genres and styles, has been interpreted as a reflection of her own fluid identity. Some have also noted that Tharpe’s queerness — as well as being Black and a woman — may have contributed to her relative obscurity in the years following her death, as it was certainly less widely accepted during her lifetime.

Did Sister Rosetta Tharpe invent Rock-n-Roll?

While it’s difficult to attribute the invention of rock-n-roll to a single individual, Sister Rosetta Tharpe’s music and style were certainly influential in the development of the genre, and she definitely pre-dates 1950s rock-n-roll artists like Elvis Presley, Little Richard, Jerry Lee Lewis, and Chuck Berry — all of whom have cited her as an inspiration. While Sister Rosetta Tharpe may not have actually invented rock-n-roll in a patentable sense, she was certainly a pioneering figure in its development, and her music and style is still being heard in the sounds of popular music nearly a century later. 

What famous musicians did Sister Rosetta Tharpe perform with?

While she may be viewed as underrated today, Sister Rosetta Tharpe was fairly well-known in her day and played with a number of famous musicians throughout her career, including Marie Knight, with whom she had several hit duets like “Up Above My Head” and “Precious Memories.” Rosetta was also fairly close with legendary gospel singer and civil rights activist Mahalia Jackson, and toured with Muddy Waters. 

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Is Sister Rosetta Tharpe in the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame?

Yes. Sister Rosetta Tharpe was posthumously inducted into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame in 2018, along with The Cars, The Moody Blues, Bon Jovi, Dire Straits, and Nina Simone. Her music continues to inspire and influence musicians around the world, and we are only just now realizing the full impact this queer Black female guitarist has had on popular music — and our culture at large.

When and how did Sister Rosetta Tharpe pass away?

Sister Rosetta Tharpe died on October 9, 1973, in Philadelphia. She had battled health problems for decades, including a stroke in 1970 that hampered her touring abilities and a leg amputated due to diabetes. Despite her considerable influence on popular music, Tharpe had been largely overlooked until relatively recently. Fortunately, the passage of time has lifted and deepened her legacy. We should be astonished that a queer Black woman was rock-n-rolling like 15 years before Elvis Presley, and we should be ashamed we haven’t learned much about her until now.

 

Image Credit: images via Wikimedia Commons

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