Sister Rosetta Tharpe

Sister Rosetta Tharpe, Up Above My Head, TV Gospel Time, c.1962, YouTube, duration: 2.54 minutes.

------------------------

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) 

-----------------

Chronology

1915

* 20 March - Rosetta Nubin (Atkins) is born at Cotton Plant, Arkansas, United States. 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.

1934

* Rosetta marries Thomas Thorpe. She later changes her last name name to Tharpe.

1938

* Rosetta leaves her husband and moves with her mother to New York.

* October - Thorpe appears with Cab Calloway at Harlem's Cotton Club. A landmark performance.

* 31 October - records for the first time with Decca, comprising the following: "Rock Me", "That's All" (Denomination Blues), "My Man and I", and "The Lonesome Road". 

* Sister Rosetta Tharpe, Rock Me, Manos proposes, YouTube, duration: 2.37 minutes.

* 23 December - performs at John Hammond's Spirituals to Swing concert at Carnegie Hall, New York.

1941

* Sister Rosetta Tharpe, Lonesome Road (1941), Reelback One, YouTube, duration: 3.16 minutes.

* 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.

* Rosetta joined Lucky Millner's swing band in this year.

1944

* Strange Things Happening Every Day, duration: 2.55 minutes. Playing an acoustic guitar.

 

1958

* Sister Rosetta Tharpe, Stuttgart, Germany, 1958, Mojopaw, YouTube, duration: 30.58 minutes.

1960

*  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) 

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.

1970

* Sister Rosetta Tharpe - This Train (live video), Bob Juke, YouTube, duration: 4.16 minutes.

* Thorpe suffers a stroke during this year and also suffered from diabetes 

1973

* 9 October - Rosetta dies in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, aged 58 years. She suffered a stroke, on the eve of a recording session.

-----------------

References

Actually History, Sister Rosetta Tharpe - The woman who actually invented rock & roll, Actually History, YouTube, duration: 11.10 minutes.

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.

Butwin, Tom, Sister Rosetta's Secret Weapon / Invented Rock and Roll, Tom Butwin, YouTube, duration: 4.45 minutes.

Comedy Central UK, Sister Rosetta Tharpe - The Queen of Rock and Roll, Comedy Central UK, YouTube, duration: 7.34 minutes.

Csaky, Mick, The Godmother of Rock & Roll - Sister Rosetta Tharpe, Antelope South Limited, 2014, Mako A Secas, YouTube, duration: 59.12 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.

-----, Sister Rosetta Tharpe, Up Above My Head, TV Gospel Time, 1963, YouTube, duration: 2.54 minutes.

-----, Sister Rosetta Tharpe, Up Above My Head / God has been so good to me, TV Gospel Time, 1963, YouTube, duration: 5.14 minutes.

Sister Rosetta Tharpe - True first documentary, FunkSoulBlues..., 2019, YouTube, duration: 22.50 minutes.

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, YouTube, duration: 5.14 minutes.

The Story of Sister Rosetta Tharpe 02, corporalhenshaw, YouTube, duration: 14.50 minutes.

Wald, Gayle, Shout, Sister, Shout! The Untold Story of Rock-and-Roll Trailblazer Sister Rosetta Tharpe, Beacon Press, 2007, 264p.

Wikipedia, Church of God in Christ, Wikipedia, accessed 3 June

-----, Sister Rosetta Tharpe, Wikipedia, accessed 3 June 2026.

-----------------

Last updated: 3 June 2026

Michael Organ, Australia