Sister Rosetta Tharpe was one of America’s great gospel singers, arguably its greatest gospel singer. She was also an accomplished jazz and blues musician, as well as being a herald of rock and roll and being acclaimed by many giants of that genre as their mentor. Discographies show that over 380 LPs and several CDs of Tharpe’s recordings, which included most of the 78s previously recorded, have been released. (My review of a Tharpe CD, The Sensational Sister Rosetta Tharpe from Carnegie Hall to Antibes on Upbeat URCD296, appeared in the February 2020 issue of The Syncopated Times.)
This CD, Upbeat URCD 345, consists of 23 tracks from 78s issued from the mid-to-late 1940s through the early 1950s. While what she performs on these tracks falls squarely within the religious sphere, nevertheless on many of them she “rocks” or, as others might say, “stomps ’em.” Such is the case with “Let’s Go On” and “Look Away [in the] Heavenly Land,” both of which find her teamed up with Marie Knight, trading phrases in call-and-response fashion. Tharpe frequently collaborated with Knight, her erstwhile prodigy, over many years on multiple recordings. There are several tracks featuring the duo on this CD, and together the pair can really “drive” a song.
However, it is not only the hand- and foot-clapping numbers we are treated to on this CD. There are also the slow tempos of emotion-drenched interpretations of songs, such as “His Eye Is on the Sparrow” or the beautiful waltz “In the Garden” (both duets with Knight) or “Silent Night” (a solo Tharpe vocal), to cite just three. Of “Silent Night,” in the booklet John Petters says this rendition is “as you’ve never heard it before.” I would agree with that assessment.
Gospel fans will doubtless be familiar with many if not most of the numbers and/or their composers. Tharpe is listed as sole or joint composer for some half dozen of the songs. Others include Thomas Dorsey, a name which immediately reverberated with me since I am very familiar with his composition “Precious Lord, Lead Me On.” (It is on many bands’ playlists; Tharpe recorded it several times, although none of her other versions is included on this disc.) Another title that jumped out for me was “Shadrack.” At one time many moons ago, I owned the Brunswick (UK label) 78 disc by Louis Armstrong that had “Shadrack” on one side, backed by “Jonah and the Whale” on the other. Tharpe and Knight take “Shadrack” at a sprightlier tempo than Armstrong did, but it is none the worse for that. (The story of Jonah as told by Tharpe, titled simply “Jonah,” is different, however, from Armstrong’s “Jonah and the Whale” in terms of lyrics, melody, and tempo—as well as title.)
It would not be difficult to continue reminiscing on or otherwise responding to the other tracks on this CD, but space forbids. I’ll sum it all up by saying that the CD gives a very fair sampling of Sister Rosetta’s work when she was at her peak. She was in many ways a “woman’s woman” and a harbinger of the “women’s movement.” She was fiercely independent, not kowtowing to anyone and brooking no prying into her affairs. She would not yield to the strictures of her church—or her mother, who subscribed to them—regarding the unseemliness of her singing in settings other than the church or other places presenting a religious program. Her singing songs not of a religious bent, such as blues, jazz, and country, in venues such as night clubs were, to her immediate community, anathema. She simply disregarded its objections and, in similar fashion, ignored any speculation about her sexuality and private life, neither confirming nor denying any rumors. All of her drive went into her music; virtually every track on this disc exhibits her exuberance and passion, as well as her vocal and instrumental prowess.
Sadly all of this could not mitigate her health problems, which resulted in her having a stroke in 1970 and, shortly thereafter, losing a leg to amputation because of the diabetes she suffered. The result of these complications was her dying in 1973 at the young age of just 58. But in her short life span she produced some extraordinary gospel music, some of it to be found on this CD, putting her very high on, if not at the top of, the list of those who perform the genre.
Those who love gospel will want to have this CD, as will those lovers of traditional jazz, most of whom also find gospel congenial. Like all Upbeat CDs, it is available on the Upbeat Recordings web site www.upbeat.co.uk as well as on-line from Amazon.
The Amazing Grace of Rosetta Tharpe
Sister Rosetta Tharpe
(Upbeat URCD 345)
He Arose from the Grave; Move on up a Little Higher; I Claim Jesus First; I Hear My Mother Call My Name; Jonah; His Eye Is on the Sparrow; Let’s Go On; In the Garden; Look Away [in the] Heavenly Land; Lay down Your Soul; Royal Telephone; Amazing Grace; Let Go His Hand; Shadrack; Nobody’s Fault but Mine; Singing in My Soul; Silent Night; Stand the Storm; Stretch Out; Teach Me to Be Right; The Natural Facts; The Lord Followed Me; Don’t Take Everybody to Be Your Friend.
Recorded various dates between Sept. 29, 1944 and Apr. 8, 1954.
Born in Dundee, Scotland, Bert Thompson came to the U.S. in 1956. After a two-year stint playing drums with the 101 st Airborne Division Band and making a number of parachute drops, he returned to civilian life in San Francisco, matriculating at San Francisco State University where he earned a B.A. and an M.A. He went on to matriculate at University of Oregon, where he earned a D.A. and a Ph.D., all of his degrees in English. Now retired, he is a professor emeritus of English at City College of San Francisco. He is also a retired traditional jazz drummer, having played with a number of San Francisco Bay Area bands, including And That’s Jazz, Professor Plum’s Jazz, the Jelly Roll Jazz Band, Mission Gold Jazz Band, and the Zenith New Orleans Parade band; he also played with some further afield, including Gremoli (Long Beach, CA) and the Phoenix Jazzers (Vancouver, B.C.) Today he reviews traditional jazz CDs and writes occasional articles for several publications.
