Sister Rosetta Tharpe

The evolutionary timeline of rock history includes iconic names such as T-Bone Walker, Chuck Berry, Elvis, Little Richard and many others – and yet it’s only in recent years that another name has started to get its due. The extraordinary Sister Rosetta Tharpe not only paved the way for rock ’n’ roll but also stands tall as an electric guitar pioneer

- Denny Ilett

Rosetta Nubin was born on 20 March 1915 in Cotton Plant, Arkansas, a small town sandwiched between the Midwestern and Southern states. Both parents were cotton workers, although Rosetta didn’t know much of her father except that he sang in his spare time. Her mother, Katie, was deeply ensconced in the local church as both deaconess, vocalist and mandolinist.

Clearly a child prodigy, by the age of six Rosetta was performing with her mother, singing and playing guitar under the name Little Rosetta Nubin as part of a travelling evangelical group. Even at this early stage Rosetta was spoken of as a formidable talent on the guitar. Throughout the 1920s, she further honed her skills after relocating with her mother to Chicago, performing in gospel music ensembles locally alongside the occasional nationwide tour.

It was around this time that Rosetta started to hear the first recordings of such blues queens as Ma Rainey and the trio of Smiths – Bessie, Trixie and Mamie. This was the era when blues was dominated by female artists shortly before the first Delta, or country blues, recordings were made. Rosetta was right in the thick of it, absorbing the music of her church roots and mixing in a dose of the blues – a controversial pursuit at the time.

In 1934, aged just 19, Rosetta married for the first time. His name was Thomas Thorpe, a preacher who was part of the touring troupe that Rosetta and Katie were involved with. The marriage lasted just four years, but in that time Rosetta Nubin became Sister Rosetta Tharpe, a slight deviation from her husband’s name.

Decca Daze