Performing Gospel music for non-religious audiences at a church-organized “Revival” is one thing, but playing sanctified “spiritual music”  to nightclub audiences sparked conversation in religious circles. Rosetta’s passionate and aggressive guitar playing was even somewhat unconventional for the secular crowd of the late 30s. Yet, none of it pushed boundaries as much as what was soon to come. Rosetta’s first single was a retitled, reimagined take on the popular Gospel Song “Hide Me In Thy Bosom” by famed swing band leader Tommy Dorsey. With her aggressive, demanding, vocal delivery and carefully chosen lyrical substitutions, “Rock Me” became more of a song about an invitation to worldly pleasures than a plea to the divine. By the late 1930s' standards, Rosetta’s risqué interpretation could have easily generated nothing but scorn and scandal, ending her recording career right out of the gate. Other, even more outrageous songs like “I Want a Tall Skinny Poppa” and the over-the-top “Shout, Sister, Shout” followed, with the same effect—Instead of causing an uproar, they became runaway hits. Although Rosetta ruffled a few feathers within religious and secular circles, most people loved her fresh, upbeat sound and the novelty of the divine sister, who was no stranger to earthly delights. 

Decca Records realized the marketability of such a novelty, and Rosetta didn’t need much convincing. About half of her material could be said to be lyrically in the “Gospel” style; the rest is a joyful celebration of her free-spirited, independent, and even defiant nature. Likewise, her private life was also a clash of interests. Biographer Gayle Wald sums up Sister Rosetta Tharpe’s balancing act: 

“Although she sang about the wages of sin, she pursued romantic relationships outside her marriage, primarily with men, but occasionally with women, wore pants before they were the norm for women, and swore like a sailor. She also maintained a lifelong affiliation with the church that considered all these things anathema.”  

Although she was profoundly spiritual and religious, she also loved fame, money, booze, sex, and lots of guitars (yeah, Sister!), and made no bones about it. Her fans loved her for it. By 1945, Sister Rosetta Tharpe was a superstar. 

“My entire career was one long Sister Rosetta Tharpe impersonation." --Chuck Berry 

The height of Rosetta's fame and the bulk of her touring and recording occurred between 1938 and 1949, while still with Decca Records. In 1946, “Strange Things Happening Every Day" reached #2 on the Billboard R&B charts (called “Race” records at the time), becoming her biggest hit of her career. In 1948, a version of her 1930s hit and live show favorite “Up Above My Head (I Hear Music in the Air)" hit #6. In changing times, and an extraordinarily long career for the era, her 1949 version of the Christmas hymn “Silent Night” became the last charting hit of her career, but the story is far from over. 

The 1950s brought the first wave of what was now being called Rock ‘n Roll. Artists like Chuck Berry blew the doors off America’s youth with their “new” Rock ‘n Roll guitar style that Sister Rosetta Tharpe heavily influenced, and he wasn’t alone. A new generation of Rockers, steeped in Rosetta’s driving, joyful rhythms, rebellious, norm-busting attitude, and fiery lead guitar style, exploded in popularity across America.

All the while, Sister Rosetta Tharpe continued to perform live, such as her “comeback concert/wedding ceremony” extravaganza at a Washington, D.C. baseball stadium, which drew 20,000 fans. During this “comeback era,” Sister continued to perform concerts and make records. However, these Albums are compilations or live performances of her previously released material, on mostly small labels, with limited distribution and promotion. Fortunately, this includes audio and visual footage of her groundbreaking 1957 tour of the UK.

"Oh, these kids and rock and roll — this is just sped up rhythm and blues. I've been doing that forever." -Sister Rosetta Tharpe on the rise of mainstream Rock ‘n Roll, in a 1957 interview printed in London’s Daily Mirror.  

At 50 years old, Rosetta returned to England as part of the Blues and Gospel Caravan in 1964. Both tours had a massive impact on England and were undoubtedly influential on the young musicians in attendance, who, in the years ahead, would be part of the British Invasion sound. 

Due to complications with diabetes, Sister Rosetta Tharpe's untimely death occurred in 1973. Although the sound she pioneered is a part of all Rock music, it'd been five years since her last concert, and nearly 30 years since she’d released any new material. By the 70s, even the first generation of Rockers that inherited her style firsthand were already considered “oldies acts.” Although her influence never waned, Rosetta’s name began to slip into obscurity, despite Stars like Little Richard, Chuck Berry, Johnny Cash, and Bob Dylan, among others, loudly touting her influence and importance. 

Unfortunately, not much audio or video recordings of Rosetta’s pre-Decca records performances exist, but concert and broadcast footage from Rosetta’s “comeback” 50s and 60s era does. Along with Gayle Wald’s detailed 2007 biography, and “lost” footage digitized and widely available for the first time, many music enthusiasts got their first taste of Sister Rosetta Tharpe. Hearing and seeing are believing, and there is no mistaking the genuine article—40 years after her untimely death, Rosetta began making another well-deserved comeback. In 2017, she was inducted (albeit long overdue) into the Rock ‘n Roll Hall of Fame, and voted the 6th greatest guitarist of all time by readers of Rolling Stone in 2023. But what’s an award or title worth? Sister Rosetta's music and ongoing influence speak for themselves. 

Rock and Roll music, pioneered by Sister Rosetta Tharpe, is a potent grab bag of American musical influences. The experience is bold, spirited, and provocative, a cocktail of the sacred and the profane. In that aspect, Rock ‘n Roll music and “Sister” Rosetta Tharpe are indistinguishably woven from the same cloth.