Who comes to mind when you think of rock 'n' roll? The Rolling Stones? Led Zeppelin? Pink Floyd? Queen?
What about Rosetta Tharpe? Whomever comes to mind when you think of rock 'n' roll, you can thank Sister Rosetta Tharpe, a queer black woman known as the Godmother of Rock 'n' Roll. In the 1940's she created a new sound by merging gospel, jazz, and blues into an international sensation.
Born into a musical religious family, she picked up the guitar at four years old. By the age of six, she was traveling with her mother to perform in churches around the south. While female guitarists were rare in the 1930's, when she was 23, she released her first single "Rock Me". As she continued to tour, she eventually gained celebrity status and became a legend amongst black soldiers fighting in World War II. One of her most popular songs, "Strange Things Happening Everyday" was one of the first gospel songs to cross over onto the R&B top 10 charts. There are those that call it one of the first rock 'n' roll recordings. In 1950, after many tours around the country, her career began to dwindling in the U.S. At this time, young white men had started taking over the rock 'n' roll scene and experimenting further with the sounds she had created.
Sister Rosetta Tharpe then took her talents to Europe and began touring again in 1957. She continued touring in Europe until she moved back to Philadelphia around 1970. She died in 1973 from a stroke. While she might not be who you think of when you think of rock 'n' roll, she was officially added to the rock 'n' roll hall of fame in 2018.