Sister Rosetta Tharpe (1915-73) was a unique and influential performer. Her mother was very active in the church and encouraged her daughter to develop into a singer and a guitarist. At six, Rosetta accompanied her mother in performances with a traveling evangelical troupe. After being married and divorced, she made her recording debut in 1938 when she was 23, having great success with “Rock Me” and “That’s All.” She appeared with Cab Calloway in 1938, gained notice for performing at that year’s Spiritual To Swing Carnegie Hall concert, and during 1941-43 sang secular songs with religious zeal while a member of the Lucky Millinder Orchestra.
While some in the religious community were not pleased that she was performing risqué songs at nightclubs, she gained fame that helped gospel music when she returned to performing religious songs after the Millinder period. A superior musician whose fluent electric guitar playing led the way to rock, Sister Rosetta Tharpe was a passionate performer whose vocals were on the level of Mahalia Jackson.
The Amazing Grace Of Sister Rosetta Tharpe collects together some of her religious-oriented recordings of the 1944-53 period. 14 of the numbers have Tharpe joined by pianist-organist Sammy Price’s trio while most of the rest have accompaniment from the James Roots Quartet. Vocal groups (the Rosette Gospel Singers, the Anita Kerr Singers
