Accomplishments:
- Groundbreaking female musician dubbed the godmother of rock n’ roll
- First gospel singer to record with a major recording company
More on Tharpe: AAEP 1600, Sister Rosetta Tharpe; NPR Music, “Forebears: Sister Rosetta Tharpe, The Godmother Of Rock ‘N’ Roll”
Final word: “She was playing rock’n’roll way before anyone else,” described keyboardist Lonnie Liston Smith whose father toured with Tharpe. “That was way before Chuck Berry and all those guys. Nobody else had even come up with something like that.”
Reporting by Aly Kerrigan and Ethan Young.