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Sister
Rosetta Tharpe (March 20, 1915 – October 9, 1973) was a singer, songwriter,
guitarist, and recording artist who become popular in the 1930s and 1940s with
her gospel recordings, characterized by a unique mixture of spiritual lyrics
and rhythmic accompaniment that was a precursor of rock and roll
She was
the first great recording star of gospel music and among the first gospel
musicians to appeal to rhythm-and-blues and rock-and-roll audiences, later
being referred to as "the original soul sister" and "the
Godmother of rock and roll”
She
influenced early rock-and-roll musicians, including Little Richard, Johnny
Cash, Carl Perkins, Chuck Berry, Elvis Presley and Jerry Lee Lewis.
Tharpe
was a pioneer in her guitar technique; she was among the first popular
recording artists to use heavy distortion on her electric guitar, presaging the
rise of electric blues. Her guitar playing technique had a profound influence
on the development of British blues in the 1960s.
Willing
to cross the line between sacred and secular by performing her music of
"light" in the "darkness" of nightclubs and concert halls
with big bands behind her, Tharpe pushed spiritual music into the mainstream
and helped pioneer the rise of pop-gospel, beginning in 1938 with the recording
"Rock Me" and with her 1939 hit "This Train".