Please watch the video above for a more in-depth story of Sister Rosetta Tharpe, also known as the "Godmother of Rock and Roll," but here's a short summary.
Sister Rosetta Tharpe lived from 1915-1973. In her time, she broke musical, racial, gender, and sexual barriers. As a black, likely queer, women with a huge career in music, it's incredibly surprising we don't hear more about her.
She had incredible influence on the rock 'n' roll legends: Elvis Presley, Chuck Berry, and Johnny Cash.
In her career, she, a black woman, sang with four white men behind her as backup singers. At the time, this was simply unheard of.
She likely had romantic relations with other women as well as men, defying her church roots in ways other than just singing about sexual topics.
To be such a successful woman was also an incredible accomplishment for her time.
Though she was the foundation of the still-popular rock genre and had influence on still-famous rockstars, most of us have never heard her name. I'd like to change that.
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