Who Was Sister Rosetta Tharpe?

As you may have heard, on Saturday, March 26, the Narrows is presenting a tribute to Sister Rosetta Tharpe, starring Odetta, the Holmes Brothers, and Marie Knight. The event is so big that it will be held at the Jackson Arts Center at Bristol Community College, just off of Route 24 in Fall River.

But, who was Sister Rosetta Tharpe? Well, according to this website, she was Johnny Cash's favorite singer:

http://www.livinblues.com/bluesrooms/sisterrosettatharpe.asp

This one talks about how she so outraged her core audience when she started making secular music, that she stayed in Europe waiting for the controversy to die down:

http://afgen.com/rosetta_tharpe.html

This link talks about how she was a pioneering guitar player:

http://bluesland.net/thang/tharpe.html

Here's a link to a pretty good picture of her with her guitar:

http://www.group-harmony.com/CryingIn.htm

If you like to test your knowledge of French, here's some info about her in that language:

http://www.audio-archives.com.fr/catalogue/fiches/Gospel_100.htm

See you at the show!
Written by Steve the Emcee