There is a constant cultural obsession with the âfatherâ and âgrandfatherâ and âgodfatherâ of rock-n-roll. The patriarchal nature of our society has the musical historian ignoring even entertaining the idea that women have been involved in the formation of music, either in sound or subculture.
It is important to push back against white-washing and recognize that there existed rock-n-roll roots prior to Elvis Presley. Any cursory Google search will list the names of Chuck Berry, Fats Domino and Jerry Lee Lewis, which still leaves something to be desired.
As Alexis C. Madrigal pointed out in a piece for Fusion, âRosetta Tharpe was born 100 years ago today â March 20, 1915, twenty years before Elvis, a decade before Chuck Berry. And she could play the rock and roll guitar better than anyone, before anyone.â
(A great example of Tharpeâs guitar virtuosity is her song âDidnât It Rainâ.)
Sister Rosetta Tharpe was born on March 20, 1915 in Arkansas. She started playing guitar and singing at the age of four. Tharpe, by the age of six, was joining her mother as a regular performer in a traveling evangelical troupe.
Tharpe was heavily influenced by her mother, Katie Bell Nubin. Nubin was a singer, mandolin player, evangelist and preacher for the Church of God in Christ. The Church of God in Christ was founded by black Baptist bishop named Charles Mason. Mason was known to encourage rhythmic expression, dancing in praise and allowing women to preach in church.
Tharpe was not able to record until the age of 23. She recorded four sides with Decca Records. For these recordings she was backed by âLuckyâ Millinderâs jazz orchestra.
These initial recordings for her were also the first gospel songs ever recorded by Decca. The songs included were: âRock Me,â âThatâs All,â âMy Man and I,â and âThe Lonesome Roadâ.
While Tharpe was deemed an âovernight sensationâ, her recordings also caused a bit of a stir. Churchgoers were shocked by her mixture of gospel lyrics with secular music. While churchgoers werenât happy, the secular audiences loved the music.
Tharpe was revolutionary in the sense that she performed gospel music in front of a secular audience and in nightclubs. She performed alongside blues and jazz musicians and dancers. This caused those within conservatives religious circles the fact that a woman performed guitar at all, let alone in secular settings, was frowned upon.
For all the external conflict, there is evidence to suggest that not all was well internally for Tharpe, either. It has been said that she may have had little choice in the material she was contracted to record with Millinder. Gayle Wald wrote in Shout, Sister, Shout!, âRosetta and Millinder were increasingly at odds in 1943, as Rosetta itched to quit the big-band circuit and renew her career as a strictly gospel act. As Roxie Moore remembers, she hadnât wanted to do light fare poking fun at old-time religion or worldly material like Tall Skinny Papa, but found herself bound by contractual obligations.â
Her 1944 record, according to Wald, has been credited by some as being the âfirst rock and roll recordâ.
Another component of Tharpe, a rock-n-roll godmother of sorts, was her bisexuality. Tharpe, who was married three times, was also known to have relationships with women. The blog Queer Museum quotes Wald in discussing Tharpeâs bisexuality, âTharpeâs biographer, Gayle Wald, found some of the singerâs contemporaries who were willing to talk off the record about her bisexuality; one fellow musician claimed to have walked in on Tharpe and two other women in bed together during her âhoneymoon tourâ right after her third wedding in 1951.â
Anil Vora, in âSister Rosetta Tharpe: Bisexual Music Legendâ for Bi Magazine, wrote, âHalfway through [PBS documentary Sister Rosetta Tharpe: The Godmother of Rock & Roll] we learn that Tharpe was bisexual and lived as openly as she possibly could in that period. Her close friendship with singer Marie Knight is discussed briefly after which the documentary respectfully moves on to other matters in Tharpeâs life.â
Another piece, entitled âBlack History Month 2014: Sister Rosetta Tharpeâ, discussed the idea that her marriage(s) were a âshamâ, âAlthough married a number of times, Tharpe was at least bisexual; many close friends have described her as a âsecret lesbian,â living out the sham marriages to protect her career and personal safety. In every other way she was a determined, outspoken woman who pushed musical boundaries, spreading joy on her own powerful terms â she so deserves to be celebrated.â
Rock-n-roll has a diverse history, full of diverse people. Understandably, the narrative of cisgender, heterosexual, white (and sometimes-secular) does not have room for folks like Sister Rosetta Tharpe, but that doesnât change the fact that her music had an impact. She was a bisexual Christian black woman from the southern United States who played blues, gospel and rock-n-roll. It makes me wonder who else is hidden in the ignored annals of the history of the music we all love.
