Sister Rosetta Tharpe

Sister Rosetta Tharpe. Sounds from the Soil and Soul. , Rosetta Tharpe, considered gospel music's first crossover artist and a reputation "the original soul sister" and "Godmother of rock and roll." Born March 20 1915, in Cotton Plant Arkansas she began performing at age four. A singing and guitar-playing sensation, she was accompanied by her mother, Church of God in Christ Evangelist Katie Bell Nubin. Her singing talent likely came from her father Willis Atkins. , In 1938 Rosetta got a gig at the prestigious Cotton Club in New York, singing to an all-white audience that was thrilled by her sound and style, bringing together Delta blues, swing, jazz and gospel music. During that same year, she signed a contract with Decca Records, home of louis Armstrong, Count Basie, and Ella Fitzgerald. The first gospel songs ever recorded by Decca, "Rock me," "That's All," "My Man and I," and "The Lonesome Road," were instant hits, establishing Tharpe as gospel's first great recording star. , Rosetta was an early influence on figures such as Little Richard, Johnny cash, Elvis Presley, Chuck Berry, and Jerry lee Lewis. Biographer Gayle Wald told a documentary film crew, "When you see Elvis Presley singing songs early in his career, I think you can Imagine he is channeling Rosetta Tharpe." Gordon Stoker, who led Elvis' backing band, noted that Elvis was particularly attracted by her unique style of guitar picking. , Sister Rosetter Tharpe died October 9 1973 at the age of 58 and is buried in Northwood Cemetery in Philadelphia. She was inducted into the Arkansas Back Hall of Fame in 2012. The Arkansas Entertainers Hall of Fame in the Cotton Plant Historical Museum in 2014, and the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame 2018 , The Trail , The music of Arkansas Delta is the music of America With roots in gospel or "church music," the blues, jazz, country, and rock'n' roll flowed from rich, fertile landscape bordering the Lower Mississippi River and spread out across the country and world. Follow the Arkansas Delta Music Trail to experience the sounds that shaped the land, its people, and the nation.