Sunday Music: Sister Rosetta Tharpe

I've been meaning to feature some older gospel music for quite some time. I just couldn't decide who, exactly. While searching in YouTube, I started with the Five Blind Boys of Alabama, which led to the Mighty Clouds of Joy, which linked to the Dixie Hummingbirds, and then on to the Pilgrim Jubilee Singers... The music was so joyful and infectious that I just couldn't stop. At 1 AM, I stumbled upon Sister Rosetta Tharpe.

Sister Rosetta was born in 1915 in Cotton Plant, Arkansas, to an evangelist mother, who took her along to perform at tent revivals throughout the south. A genre-defying artist, her lively guitar style influenced countless other gospel and soul performers, as well as early rock-and-roll musicians such as Jerry Lee Lewis and Little Richard. In the chords and tempo of this gospel shout, "Up Above My Head," are the unmistakable roots of rock.

Sister Rosetta Tharpe (Wikipedia) [Link]