If you like rock and roll, you need to send a prayer of thanks to the godmother of the genre, Sister Rosetta Tharpe. Tharpe grew up with music as a part of her life, and by her 20s, she was mastering a style that was born in the Black community — bringing together the sounds of jazz, blues, and gospel. Wherever Tharpe went, she was a star — and the popularity was well earned. She performed as a solo artist and occasionally with groups, even making it all the way to the Cotton Club and Carnegie Hall.
After a career that stretched across the United States and Europe, Sister Mary Tharpe retired in Philadelphia, but her influence lives on in the music we love today. Her groundbreaking style would inspire many other artists, including Johnny Cash, Chuck Berry, and Aretha Franklin.
Her personal life was also fascinating: Tharpe lived through two marriages to men and eventually met her partner, a woman named Marie Knight, later in life. She was open about her sexuality within the industry at a time when there was no community or acceptance for queer people, especially queer Black women.
While news recently broke that British artist Yola will be playing Tharpe in upcoming Baz Luhrmann's upcoming Elvis film, this woman deserves the full spotlight and her own movie. Until then, read up on Erin White's AFROPUNK profile of Sister Rosetta Tharpe, "Queer, Black & Blue: Sister Rosetta Tharpe Is Muva of Them All."
