Sister Rosetta Tharpe 1915-1973 - life and guitars
Sister Rosetta Tharpe, Up Above My Head, TV Gospel Time, c.1962, YouTube, duration: 2.54 minutes. Playing a 1961/2 Gibson Les Paul SG Custom.
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Contents
- Introduction
- Chronology
- Guitars
- Analyses
- References
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Sister Rosetta Tharpe, Up Above My Head, Georges Videos, c.1968, YouTube, duration: 1.19 minutes. Playing a 1968 Gibson Barney Kessel Custom.
1. Introduction
In 2026 Sister Rosetta Tharpe (1915-1973) is variously proclaimed the woman who invented rock n' roll, or creator of the modern electric guitar sound and technique. All of this is in some ways true. Yet during her lifetime, whilst she achieved a great deal, including producing million selling records, as a black woman she was not given the credit due. This article seeks to test the aforementioned claims by presenting evidence of her achievements, with a focus on the her use of the electric guitar, usually within the context of her role as a gospel singer and performer. However, it was her unique, upbeat style that saw her first publically associated with the term rock and roll and 1942:
It's Sister Rosetta Tharpe for the rock and roll spiritual singing (Maurice Orodenker, Billboard,1942)
In looking back at the music of Sister Rosetta Sharpe we see elements of gospel, blues, jazz and soul. The enthusiasm and energy she brought to her performance brought on the early association with the term rock and roll, a decade before it took off with the music of Chuck Berry, Little Richard and that generation of young, mostly male, musicians and singers. As an older black woman who focussed on gospel both in the songs she sang and her presentation, Rosetta very much missed out on being seen as part of the young generation movements through the late 50s and on into the 60s. She was not in the mainstream of rock and roll, or the later Counterculture. However, she nevertheless impressed all who encountered her. As Joe Boyd pointed out in April 2026, her early death in 1973 deprived her of the fate of others of her generation such as Muddy Waters and John Lee Hooker, who found renewed fame with white audiences, sponsored in part by bands such as the Rolling Stones. Unfortunately players such as Jimi Hendrix, Eric Clapton and Jeff Beck missed out on engaging on stage and in the studio with Rosetta.
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2. Chronology
The following chronology was made with reference to Gayle Ward's Timeline: The Years of Sister Rosetta Tharpe (Ward 2012). Ward had published a biography of Tharpe in 2007. Note that all the Decca recordings from the 1930s and 1940s are approximately 2 1/2 to 3 minutes long.
1915
* 20 March - Rosetta (Rosie / Rosabell) Nubin (Atkins) is born at Cotton Plant, Arkansas, United States, to Katie Harper Atkins and Willis Atkins. Her mother was a preacher with the Church of God in Christ (COGIC). This organisation supported the participation of women as preachers and congregation leaders. Rosette became involved in COGIC whilst growing up.
circa 1920
* Rosetta and her mother Katie move to Chicago.
1921
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| circa 1938 |
* By the age of six Rosetta is performing with her mother Katie under the name Little Rosetta Nubin (Ilett 2025). Kate was a deaconess, vocalist and mandolin player. Rosetta's first solo appearance was at Fortieth Street Church of God in Christ (COGIC), Chicago.
1934
* Rosetta marries Thomas J. Tharpe, a COGIC preacher. She becomes known as Sister Rosetta Tharpe shortly thereafter.
1936-7
* The Tharpes preach in Miami and throughout southern Florida.
1938
* Rosetta leaves her husband Thomas J. Tharpe and moves with her mother to New York.
* October - Tharpe appears with Cab Calloway at Harlem's Cotton Club, before white audiences. This is a landmark action in which she breaks the gospel roots barrier and performs from hereon in with a decidedly mature blues and jazz form, alongside the gospel.
* 31 October - Tharpe records for the first time, with Decca Records. She provides sole vocals and guitar:
- Rock Me, Dorsey (2.37)
- That's All, Tharpe (Denomination Blues) (2.34)
- My Man and I, Tharpe (3.02)
- The Lonesome Road, Austin & Shilkret (2.32)
Over the following decade she records some 27 songs. The October 1938 session resulted in the following four songs, where she sings and is accompanied by herself on a 1932 National Triolian Resonator acoustic guitar with a steel resonator (illustrated at right), plus an electric guitar for the track Rock Me, possibly a Gibson L-5 archtop with pickup.
* Rock Me - Tharpe's first recording to feature an electric guitar, possibly a Gibson L-5. As Guitarist magazine noted in 2025:
It's with Rock Me, however, that we hear Tharpe's electric guitar for the first time and, significantly, this is the very record that had such a profound influence on future rock n' rollers such as Elvis, Little Richard and Jerry Lee Lewis. It's atypical 16 bar blues sequence, for the time, where Rosetta's now patent bluesy-gospel vocal blends effortlessly with Millinder's standard swing-era big band arrangement. But its opening 16-bar guitar solo that caused such a stir and is nothing short of revolutionary.... It's a beautifully melodic solo full of subtle slides and string bends...
Sister Rosetta Tharpe + Lucky Millinder Orchestra, Rock Me, 1938, YouTube, duration: 2.40 minutes.
* Sister Rosetta Tharpe, Eighteen Original Negro Spirituals, Mills Music, New York, 1938, 32p. A collection of songs and arrangements, including This Train, My Lord and I, That’s All, and I Look Down the Road and I Wonder.
* 23 December - performs before a largely white audience at John Hammond's Spirituals to Swing concert, Carnegie Hall, New York.
1939
* 10 January - Tharpe records the following for Decca, providing guitar and vocals:
- Bring Back Those Happy Days, Tharpe 2.52
- This Train, Tharpe 2.39
- I Looked Down the Lane, Trad. 2.51
- God Don't Like It, Trad. Tharpe 2.47
- Beams of Heaven, Tindley 3.07
- Saviour Don't Pass Me By, Tharpe. 2.45
* Sister Rosetta Tharpe, The Lonesome Road, LP, Decca, 1939, 10 tracks on 5 x shellac 78rpm 10" discs.
1940
* Rosetta performs at the Café Society, Greenwich Village.
1941
* 13 March - Tharpe records the following for Decca, providing guitar and vocals:
- The End of My Journey, Campbell 3.05
- Sit Down, Trad. 2.19
- There is Something Within Me, Tharpe 2.23
- Stand By Me, Tindley 2.50
* Sister Rosetta Tharpe, Lonesome Road (1941), Reelback One, YouTube, duration: 3.16 minutes.
* 27 June - Rosetta joins Lucky Millner's swing band during this year and on this date records the following with the band:
- Trouble In Mind, Jones 2.32
- Rock Daniel, Tharpe 2.52
* 22 August - Rosetta and Lucky Millner's swing band record the following on this date:
- Four or Five Times, Hellman & Gay 2.29
- Shout, Sister, Shout, Millinder & Doggett 2.48
- The Lonesome Road, Austin & Shilkret 2.47
* 5 September - Rosetta and Lucky Millner's swing band record the following on this date:
- Shout, Sister, Shout, Millinder & Doggett 2.41
- Rock Me, Dorsey 2.45
* 6 November - Rosetta and Lucky Millner's swing band record the following on this date:
- That's All, Tharpe 2.34
* 1 December - Rosetta recorded the following on this date, with guitar and vocal:
- Just a Closer Walk with Thee, Trad. 2.45
- Precious Lord, Hold My Hand, Dorsey 3.01
- I'm In His Care, Trad. 2.53
- Nobody's Fault But Mine, Trad. 3.03
* Sister Rosetta Tharpe & the Lucky Milliner Orchestra, Shout Sister Shout, 1941, Reeling in the Years, YouTube, duration: 2.54 minutes. Clip from a movie or short. Holding a hollow body guitar but not playing.
* Sister Rosetta Tharpe and the Lucky Millinder Orchestra, Four or Five Times, 1941, YouTube, duration: minutes.
1942
* 18 February - Rosetta and Lucky Millner's swing band record the following on this date:
- I Want a Tall Skinny Papa, Millinder 2.50
* 10 June - Rosetta and Lucky Millner's swing band record the following on this date:
- What He Done For Me, Trad. 2.39
- I Want Jesus to Walk Around My Bedside, Harris 2.38
- All Over This World, Trad. 2.35
- Pure Religion, Trad. 2.31
* Rosetta records disc for overseas troops and also performs local for black American soldiers.
1943
* Rosetta marries Foch P. Allen after divorcing Tharpe.
* July / August - Rosetta and Lucky Millner's swing band record the following on this date:
- Rock Me, Dorsey 2.47
- That's All, Tharpe 2.03
- Trouble In Mind, Jones 2.39
- Rock Daniel, Tharpe 2.41
- Down by the Riverside, Trad. 3.46
- I Want a Tall Skinny Papa, Millinder 2.28
* August - Rosetta and Louis Jordan and His Tympani Five record the following on this date:
- This Train, Tharpe 2.48
* August / September - Rosetta and Earl Hawkins Orchestra record the following on this date:
- Sin It To Blame, Trad. 2.59
* November - Rosetta and the Noble Sissle Orchestra record the following on this date:
- That's All, Tharpe 2.53
* 26 November - Tharpe records the following for Decca, providing guitar and vocal:
- Let That Liar Alone, Tharpe 2.35
- The Devil Has Thrown Him Down, Trad. 2.45
- Sleep On Darling Mother, Trad. 2.53
- God Don't Like It, Trad. arranged Tharpe 2.31
* 15 December - Tharpe records the following for Decca, providing guitar and vocal:
- I Want to Live so God can use me, Tharpe 2.31
1944
* April - Tharpe and an orchestra record the following for Decca:
- Rock Me, Dorsey 2.35
* 21 April - Tharpe records the following for Decca, providing guitar and vocal:
- What's The News, Tharpe 2.52
* 11 September - Tharpe records the following for Decca, providing guitar and vocal:
- Nobody Knows, Nobody Cares, Morris 2.35
- Jesus Taught Me How To Pray, Trad. 3.05
- Forgive Me Lord and Try Me One More Time, Trad. 2.35
- What is the Soul of Man? Trad. 2.30
* 22 September - Tharpe and the Sam Price Trio record the following for Decca:
- Singing In My Soul, Dorsey 2.53
- I Claim Jesus First, Dorsey 2.39
- Strange Things Happen Every Day, Trad. arranged Tharpe 2.50
- Two Little Fishes and Five Loaves of Bread, Hanigen 2.55
* Gospel Hymns (Decca, 1944).
* Strange Things Happening Every Day, 1944, duration: 2.55 minutes. Playing an acoustic guitar.
* Appears at the Cafe Zanzibar, New York.
1945
* Strange Things Happening Every Day reaches #2 on the US Rhythm & Blues chart.
1946
* 11 January - Tharpe and the Sam Price Trio record the following for Decca:
- Don't Take Everybody to be Your Friend, Tharpe 2.24
- How Far From God, Tharpe 2.55
- When I Move to the Sky, Buffum 2.53
* 2 May - Tharpe and the Sam Price Trio record the following for Decca:
- Jesus is Here to Stay, Tharpe and Price 2.48
- Jonah, Trad. arranged Tharpe 2.58
- God's Mighty Hand, Tharpe 2.53
- The Lord Followed Me, Tharpe 3.10
* Rosetta appears at the Grand Ole Opry, Nashville.
* Rosetta begins a personal and professional relationship with Marie Knight. They sing, record and perform together for a number of years.
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| Rosetta Tharpe and Marie Knight. |
1947
* Rosetta divorces Foch Allen.
* 1 July - Tharpe and the Sam Price Trio, plus Maris Knight, record the following for Decca:
- This Train, Tharpe 2.47
- Oh, When I come to the end of my journey, Campbell, + Knight 2.56
- Didn't It Rain. Trad. arranged Tharpe and Knight, + Knight 2.36
- Stretch Out, Tharpe, + Knight 2.42
* July - Tharpe and the Sam Price Trio record the following for Decca:
- This Train, Tharpe 2.40
- When I Come to the End of My Journey, Campbell, + Knight 2.39
* 24 November - Tharpe and the Sam Price Trio record the following for Decca:
- Beams of Heaven, Tindley 2.39
- Up Above My Head I Hear Music in the Air, Trad, arranged Tharpe 2.30
- My Journey to the Sky, Trad. arranged Tharpe 3.10
* 25 November - Tharpe and the Sam Price Trio record the following for Decca:
- Teach Me to be Right, Tharpe 2.45
- I Heard my Mother Call my Name, Tharpe 2.44
- Heaven in not my Home, Tharpe 2.40
- The Natural Facts, Tharpe 3.13
* 26 November - Tharpe and the Sam Price Trio record the following for Decca:
- Ain't No Grave Hold My Body Down, Tharpe 2.52
- Lay Down Your Soul, Ande 2.24
- Precious Memories, Wright 2.51
- Family Prayer, Tharpe 2.39
* Sister Rosetta Tharpe, Gospel Hymns, LP, Decca, 1947, 8 tracks on 4 x shellac 78rpm 10" discs.
* Rosetta invited Little Richard to sing with her after one of her concerts at Macon City Auditorium. It is his first public performance at such an event.
1948
* Up Above My Head reaches #6 on the US Rhythm & Blues chart.
* 2 December - Tharpe and the Sam Price Trio record the following for Decca:
- Down by the Riverside. Trad. arrangement Tharpe 2.29
1949
* Silent Night reaches #6 on the US Rhythm & Blues chart.
* 12 December - Tharpe and the James Roots Quartet record the following for Decca:
- Were you there when they crucified my Lord? Trad. 3.14
1950
* First national TV appearance, with the Rosettes on the Perry Como Supper Club show.
1951
* Sister Rosetta Tharpe, Blessed Assurance, LP, Decca, 1951, 8 tracks on 10" 33 1/3rpm album.
* The Wedding Ceremony of Sister Rosetta Tharpe and Russell Morrison, Decca Records, 1951, 10" LP. Played to a crowd of 20,000 in the Washington National "Griffith" Stadium and also included Tharpe's third wedding ceremony. The concert included a number of performers and fireworks. Rosetta and Marie had separated around this time.
1952
* Records Had a Little Talk with Jesus with country singer Red Foley.
1954
* Works with Decca on non-gospel music for younger audiences.
1955
* Rosetta and Marie perform together in New York jazz clubs.
1956
* Gospel Train, LP, Mercury, 1956, 12 tracks, mono, duration: 31.12 minutes.
* Sister Rosetta Tharpe was one of the early influences on Elvis Presley during the mid to late 1950s. In the 2022 Elvis movie she (Yola) is seen interacting with him in a club, and her song Strange Things are Happening Every Day (1944) features in one of his public concert performance scenes.
Elvis (Strange Things are Happening Everyday), 2022, YouTube, duration: 3.33 minutes.
1957
* Tours England with the Chris Barber band.
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| 1957 with Gibson Les Paul. |
1958
* Sister Rosetta Tharpe, Stuttgart, Germany, 1958, Mojopaw, YouTube, duration: 30.58 minutes. Bootleg recording release. Good quality, though the guitar is drowned out by the piano.
* 1958-9 - Tours Great Britain, France, Germany, Spain, and Scandinavia with the Diz Disley band, including drummer Ginger Baker.
1959
* Sister Rosetta Tharpe, The Gospel Truth, LP, Mercury, 1959, 11 tracks, stereo.
1960
* Sister Rosetta Tharpe, LP, MGM, 1960, 12 tracks.
* Spirituals in Rhythm (Promenade, 1960).
* Live in 1960 (Southland, 1991).
* Festival of Jazz, Paris, 1960. Film of Rosetta performing the following songs in a concert setting, playing a hollow body electric guitar, the piano, or simply singing. She also jams with the band:
- This Little Light of Mine (guitar - gospel) (2.56)
- The Lonesome Road (guitar - blues) (3.40)
- He's got the whole world in his hands (guitar - gospel) (2.12)
- When the saints go marching in (1.47)
- Jericho (guitar - gospel) (2.40)
- Old time religion (2.39)
- He watches me (guitar - blues) (2.45) Performed live in a garden setting.
- I'm gonna wait until my change come (3.29)
- Up Above My Head (guitar - gospel) (2.55)
- That's All (guitar - rock / blues) (3.23)
* Rosetta and Russell purchase a house in Philadelphia.
1961
* 21 January - Sister Rosetta Tharpe is seen playing a Gretsch G6117 Double Anniversary during a filmed performance at the Antibes Jazz Festival, France, on 21 January 1961, backed by the Ian Wheeler and Ken Sims Jazz Band.
Sister Rosetta Tharpe, Live, Antibes Jazz Festival (1), 1961, YouTube, duration: 14.44 minutes. Songs:
- 0:00 Old Time Religion,
- 2:36 His Eye is On the Sparrow,
- 5:18 Interview,
- 6:34 I'm Gonna Wait Until My Change Come,
- 10:02 This Little Light Of Mine,
- 12:56 When the Saints Go Marchin' In.
Sister Rosetta Tharpe, Live, Antibes Jazz Festival (2), 1961, YouTube, duration: 11.22 minutes. Songs:
- 0:00 Jericho,
- 2:38 He's Got the World In His Hands,
- 4:50 Up Above My Head,
- 7:43 Lonesome Road.
* Sister Rosetta Tharpe, Sister on Tour, LP, Verve, 1961, 12 tracks.
1962
* The Gospel Truth (Verve, 1962).
1963
* Sister Rosetta Tharpe, Up Above My Head, TV Gospel Time, 1963, YouTube, duration: 2.54 minutes. This is undoubtedly Tharpe's most famous film clip. It reveals her skills on the Gibson SG guitar, alongside singing and performing in a gospel situation.
* Sister Rosetta Tharpe, Up Above My Head / God has been so good to me, TV Gospel Time, 1963, YouTube, duration: 5.14 minutes. On this episode of TV Gospel Time she performed the following: Up Above My Head, God Has Been So Good To Me, and Down By The Riverside.
1964
* Sister Rosetta Tharpe, Live in Paris 1964, Ad Borburgh, YouTube, duration: 49.28 minutes. Copy of vinyl recording.
* 7 May - Live on the Blues Gospel Train, Wilbraham Road Railway Station, England (colourised), YouTube, duration: 8.35 minutes. Tracks:
- Didn't It Rain (4.15)
- Trouble In Mind (4.21)
The Blues and Gospel Train, Granada TV, 1964, YouTube, duration: 36.07 minutes.
* Sister Rosetta Tharpe, Down by the Riverside (live) 1964, YouTube, duration: 3.05 minutes.
* Sister Rosetta Tharpe, This Train (live), Paris, 25 July 1964, YouTube, duration: 5.31 minutes; Down by the Riverside, duration: 2.50 minutes.
1965
* Sister Rosetta Tharpe, Up Above My Head, France, 1965, YouTube, duration: 3.31 minutes.
1966
* Sister Rosetta Tharpe, Hot Club de France Concerts, LP, Flame, France, 1966, 13 tracks.
1967
* Appears at Newport Folk Festival with her mother Marie, who passes away the following year.
1968
* Sister Rosetta Tharpe, Precious Memories, LP, Savoy, 1968, 10 tracks.
1969
* Sister Rosetta Tharpe, Singing in My Soul, Savoy Record, LP, 1969, 10 tracks.
1970
* 7 November - Sister Rosetta Tharpe, This Train (live video), Copenhagen, 7 November 1970 (colourized), Bob Juke, YouTube, duration: 4.16 minutes. Band: Sister Rosetta Tharpe - Guitar, Piano, Vocal; Walter Shakey Horton - Harmonica; Lafayette Leak - Piano; Willie Dixon - Bass; Clifford Jordon - Drums.
* 8 November - Live in Berlin, Germany, 8 November 1970, YouTube, duration: 27.02 minutes. Tracks:
- (00:00) DJ Intro
- (01:42) Down By The Riverside
- (04:28) Take My Hand, Precious Lord
- (09:34) This Train
- (13:47) Woman
- (19:32) When The Saints Go Marching In
- (23:28) That's All.
* 12 November - Tharpe suffers a stroke.
1971
* Rosetta suffers from diabetes, which resulted in the amputation of a leg. She nevertheless continued to perform.
1973
* 9 October - Rosetta dies in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, aged 58 years. She suffered a stroke on the eve of a recording session.
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3. Guitars
Throughout her professional career Rosetta mostly used Gibson electric guitars, changing them at various periods, though also reusing some. In addition, she is seen playing a National acoustic at the beginning of her career and later a Gretsch. The following is a brief listing of eight of those known guitars, with information taken also from the Equipboard site and the PremierGuitar article Forgotten Heroes: Sister Rosetta Tharpe (Ross 2011). The list includes the following, with the date in blue if the date of manufacture is known:
- 1932 National Triolian Resonator (acoustic + steel)
- 1939 Gibson L-5
- 1952 Gibson Les Paul Goldtop
- 1961-62 Gibson Les Paul SG Custom
- 1960 Gretsch G6117 Double Anniversary
- 1960 Gretsch Tennessean
- 1964 Gibson ES-330
- 1968 Gibson Barney Kessel Custom
Though she is perhaps most famous for her white Gibson SG, she also made use of hollow-body guitars throughout her playing years, from the steel 1931 National to Gibson ES-330 and Gretsch G6117. She is also known to have used 15 watt Gibson Falcon and VOX AC30 amplifiers. Her tuning was said to be Vestapol in D, viz. D A D F# A D.
* 1932 National Triolian Resonator, wooden bodies with steel resonator acoustic guitar. Used from 1920s? - 1939.
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| Tharpe's flametop National Triolian Resonator. Photo by Bryan McDade |
Tharpe's flamedtop National Triolian is now part of the collection at The Delta Cultural Center in Helena, Arkansas.
* 1938/9 Gibson L-5 archtop, blonde, hollow-body [electric] with natural finish and black pickguard. Used: 1938 - 1952. This was used on numerous early Decca recordings, though it is often hard to distinguish from the National Resonator. Apparently Tharpe added a pickup to the guitar, and this is what is heard on the recording of Rock Me from October 1938, which is cited as her first electric guitar recording. The aftermarket, single-coil bar pickup she had installed is not seen in early photographs, and according to Wikipedia the L-5 model was not made electric until the early 1950s.
The guitar sold for US$78,000 at Julien Auctions in November 2024. The auction description was as follows:
A 1939 Gibson L-5 archtop guitar, serial #EA-5024, in natural finish. Built for the Godmother of Rock n’ Roll, Sister Rosetta Tharpe, who owned and played it from 1939 until she adopted the Les Paul as her main instrument in 1952. The guitar can be seen in Tharpe’s hands in numerous photographs from the era. Tharpe’s name is engraved on the truss rod cover. A flame maple three piece neck with a black stinger on the back of the headstock with a bound 20 fret ebony fretboard with mother of pearl block inlays, Grover Imperial tuners, mother of pearl Gibson script logo and L5 inlays on the bound headstock. The 17” wide body has a wide grain Sitka spruce top and highly figured birds eye maple back and sides with multi-ply binding on the top and back, bound f-holes, and original rosewood bridge. The plastic tortoise shell pick guard is a recent replacement, and the original L5 tailpiece has been re-plated in gold. Includes a 1990s brown Gibson hard shell case with a purple interior, end pin, the sleeve from a set of D’Addario Phosphor Bronze 13-56 strings, a 2004 letter from Mandolin Bros. of New York detailing the condition and consignment process, as well as a copy of a 1990 advertisement posted for the guitar. Accompanied by a copy of the CD "Sister Rosetta Tharpe / The Singles Collection 1939-1950", showing an image of Tharp playing this guitar.
* 1952 Gibson Les Paul Goldtop, P90 pickups and trapeze tailpiece. Used; 1952 - 1961.
* Gretsch Tennessean.... See during a live gig in Paris, France, 1960.
* 1960 Gretsch G6117 Double Anniversary ....... Seen during a performance at the Antibes Jazz Festival, 21 January 1961, backed by the Ian Wheeler and Ken Sims Jazz Band.
* 1961-62 Gibson Les Paul SG Custom, white, three pickups. Used: 1961 - 1970.
* 1964 Gibson ES-330 Sunburst, ..... Source: Instagram; Example (Severson 2024),
* 1968 Gibson Barney Kessel Custom, hollow-body, sunburst electric.
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4. Analyses
The following are analyses and commentaries on the guitar techniques and skills of Sister Rosetta Tharpe, and on her place in the history of the electric guitar.
Michael Palmisano, She's Rock and Roll royalty, 2 September 2022, YouTube, duration: 15.26 minutes.
Inductee Incites: Sister Rosetta Tharpe, Rock and Roll Hall of Fame, 13 September 2018, YouTube, duration: minutes.
Shout, Sister, Shout! Sister Rosetta Tharpe, Gibson TV, 22 February 2022, YouTube, duration: 8.54 minutes.
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5. References
A closer look: Sister Rosetta Tharpe, FOX8 News Cleveland, 13 April 2018, YouTube, duration: 5.14 minutes. Interview with Gayle Ward.
Actually History, Sister Rosetta Tharpe - The woman who actually invented rock & roll, Actually History, YouTube, duration: 11.10 minutes.
Amoah-Ramey, Nana A., Biographies of Two African American Women in Religious Music: Clara Ward and Rosetta Tharpe, International Journal of Humanities and Social Science, 9(9), September 2019, 32-41.
Artists who changed music: Sister Rosetta Tharpe, Produce like a pro, YouTube, duration: 12.20 minutes.
Bailey Sarian, The woman who really stated rock and roll - Sister Rosetta Tharpe, Bailey Sarian, YouTube, duration: 45.05 minutes.
Beverley Knight on Sister Rosetta Tharpe, BBC Sounds, April 2026, duration: 27.31 minutes.
Butwin, Tom, Sister Rosetta's Secret Weapon / Invented Rock and Roll, Tom Butwin, YouTube, duration: 4.45 minutes.
Claire, Natalie, Rockin' the Faith, Cincinnati Playhouse in the Park, 23 February 2018.
Comedy Central UK, Sister Rosetta Tharpe - The Queen of Rock and Roll, Comedy Central UK, YouTube, duration: 7.34 minutes.
Csaky, Mick (director), The Godmother of Rock & Roll - Sister Rosetta Tharpe, Antelope South Limited, 2014, Mako A Secas, YouTube, duration: 59.12 minutes.
Equipboard, Sister Rosetta Tharpe - guitars and speakers, Equipboard, accessed 4 June 2026.
Harkness, Jerald, Sister Rosetta Tharpe - True first documentary, FunkSoulBlues..., 2019, YouTube, duration: 22.50 minutes.
Ilett, Denny, Pioneers: Sister Rosetta Tharpe, Heroes of Guitar - Guitarist Magazine, 2025, 61-63.
Palmisano, Michael, She's Rock and Roll royalty, 2 September 2022, YouTube, duration: 15.26 minutes.
Roberts, Rachel, Celebrating Sister Rosetta Tharpe: The founding Godmother of guitar, Guitar.com, 8 April 2022.
Ross, Michael, Forgotten Heroes: Sister Rosetta Tharpe, PremierGuitar, 19 April 2011.
Severson, Richard, Why this sweet 1964 Gibson ES-330 gets a jazzier tone than a 335!, Richard Severson, 2024, YouTube, duration: 5.36 minutes.
Sister Rosetta Tharpe, Festival of Jazz, Paris, 1960, YouTube, duration: various.
-----, His Eye is on the Sparrow and Interview, blues.in.colour, YouTube, duration: 3.59 minutes.
-----, Live in Paris 1964, Ad Borburgh, YouTube, duration: 49.28 minutes. Copy of vinyl recording.
-----, Lonesome Road (1941), Reelback One, YouTube, duration: 3.16 minutes.
-----, Rock Me, Manos proposes, YouTube, duration: 2.37 minutes.
-----, Strange Things Happening Every Day - Most powerful rock song, History of Rock Music, YouTube, duration: 2.46 minutes.
-----, Stuttgart, Germany, 1958, Mojopaw, YouTube, duration: 30.58 minutes.
-----, That's All, BBC TV, 1960s, YouTube, duration: 5.06 minutes.
-----, Up Above My Head, TV Gospel Time, 1963, YouTube, duration: 2.54 minutes.
-----, Up Above My Head / God has been so good to me, TV Gospel Time, 1963, YouTube, duration: 5.14 minutes.
-----, The Decca Single, volume 5 - Sister Rosetta Tharpe, Spotify, accessed 3 June 2026.
Sister Rosetta Tharpe: The rose from which rock grew, Hushed Up History, 8 November 2016.
The Life and Tragic Ending of Sister Rosetta Tharpe, Hollywood Star Update, YouTube, duration: 4.24 minutes.
The Mother of Rock and Roll: Sister Rosetta Tharpe, Origins OSU, 23 February 2024, YouTube, duration: 5.14 minutes.
The Woman who invented Rock and Roll - Sister Rosetta Sharpe, Polyphonic, YouTube, duration: 10.56 minutes.
Wald, Gayle F., Shout, Sister, Shout! The Untold Story of Rock-and-Roll Trailblazer Sister Rosetta Tharpe, Beacon Press, 2007, 264p.
-----, Timeline: The Years of Sister Rosetta Tharpe, PBS American Masters, 28 December 2012.
Wikipedia, Church of God in Christ, Wikipedia, accessed 3 June 2026.
-----, Sister Rosetta Tharpe, Wikipedia, accessed 3 June 2026.
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Last updated: 19 June 2026
Michael Organ, Australia
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