The Architects of R&B: SISTER ROSETTA THARPE

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Wednesday, February 28, 2018 - 9:45pm
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We are going to continue to commemorate the architects of R&B with Sister Rosetta Tharpe;  one of the essential figures in the history of R&B, the Blues, swing and rock and roll.

One cannot place the talent and contribution of Sister Rosetta Tharpe in a box and labels cannot contain her talent or influence. Her music is minimalist and elaborate , deep soul and Sunday morning spirituals, love  ballads, proto rock’n’roll jump rhythms,  and she could pick and play an electric guitar .Her guitar playing was simple and complex , and she was one of the very first players to use distortion.

If she had not been there as a model and inspiration, Elvis Presley, Little Richard, Johnny Cash, Jerry Lee Lewis and other rock originators- both black and white- would have had different careers. No one deserves more to be in the Rock & Roll Hall of Fame than Sister Rosetta Tharpe.

She recorded 'Strange Things Happening Every Day', in 1944 with Sammy Price, which became the first gospel song to make Billboard's Top Ten.

The song reflected her concerns regarding the segregated society which continued after the Second World War. This record, later, was credited in some circles, as being the first rock and roll record.

She, among others, paved the way for the transition of African American music from its spiritual origins in the  Black church to strengthen our lives with   secular soul. 

Joining LaNita Duke will be Art Historian Professor Dianne Johnson and the Prophet of Rage.

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