Women’s History Month Spotlight: Sister Rosetta Tharpe

It's March, and that means its Women's History Month! Yes, we have something to celebrate every month now. Dry January, (which I celebrate for about a week), Ice Cream July (which my hips will tell you I celebrate far too much), even Academia Writing November (clearly, I don't even know what that means), just to name a few.

But Women's History Month? This is going to be fun, because I’m going to focus on some pretty rad chicks in the world of music. Women who faced adversity, jumped through seemingly impossible hoops, and made their mark for generations to come. And, while they may not be as well-known as some other women you will see being celebrated this month, they are, without a doubt, just as important.

I can't think of anyone more deserving of being celebrated in the world of music than Sister Rosetta Tharpe. I know, I know. You’re saying, who? Well let me tell you who. Rock & Roll doesn't begin with Elvis, Little Richard or Jerry Lee Lewis. Yes they get the credit, but it’s not the reality.

Sister Rosetta Tharpe is the GODMOTHER of Rock 'n Roll. It begins with her. She is Ground Zero. Full stop.

Rosetta was born in 1915 and picked up the guitar at age four, udiscovermusic.com wrote. She began her career in church as a gospel singer. By the mid-20’s, she was traveling with her family singing in churches nationwide. But Rosetta wasn't satisfied with just one style. She had something else inside of her. She began to step outside the spiritual world of music and created a unique sound. One that included a mix of Delta Blues, Jazz and Gospel. At the time, her style was considered risky, innovative and very dangerous.

What she did next was blow everyone's minds (and infuriated the church). She flat out quit the Gospel singing style and took a gig at The Cotton Club in New York. She began singing songs about love, sex and more sex. This is 1938. She's a black woman. Rocking a Gibson guitar, no less.

Talk about punk rock.

Sister Rosetta Tharpe took the world by storm. She traveled and performed with all the big heavy hitters of the 30’s and 40’s. She was such a big deal that 20,000 people paid to attend her wedding at a baseball stadium in Washington DC states udiscovermusic.com.

Tharpe's most famous performance was in England in 1964, singing to a crowd in a train station, while rocking a 61 White Les Paul. You can watch a video of it here. That performance inspired Eric Clapton, Jimi Hendrix and Keith Richards, to name a few.

And her impact doesn't stop there.

Elvis loved Sister Rosetta Tharpe, and not just for her singing. Her guitar playing is what really inspired him, according to vanityfair.com. And Chubby Checker said that his career was "one long Sister Rosetta Tharpe impersonation”, udiscovermusic.com wrote. In 1992, Johnny Cash gave her major kudos in his speech when he was being inducted into the Rock & Roll Hall of Fame. In a publication about Tharpe, vulture.com wrote that Cash basically said that she was his muse for songwriting.

Sister Rosetta Tharpe was fearless and innovative. And, quite frankly, she deserves to be the statue you see when you enter the Rock & Roll Hall of Fame in Cleveland, Ohio. Because without her, I’m not sure where we would be musically.

From May 2011 to February 2012, the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame featured an exhibit called "Women Who Rock: Vision, Passion, Power." From September 2012 to August 2014, the exhibit traveled around to various museums in the United States. It made its final stop at The Henry Ford Museum in Dearborn, Mich. While at that museum, I was given a private tour of the collection of over 70 different performers. These performers ranged from Janis Joplin and Tina Turner to Chrissie Hynde and Stevie Nicks.

The exhibit's artifacts dated back to the 1920s and traveled through to the present day. My tour guide made sure to point out that one "unusual" woman was responsible for the exhibit’s existence. On a visit to the Rock Hall, Cyndi Lauper took a tour of the museum, and she noticed that something was missing. "She very simply said, ‘Where the women at?!," said my tour guide, and that was the impetus for that exhibit.

Frankly, the same question can be posed about the Rock Hall inductees in general.

Rock Hall's chairman John Sykes has made a point in a number of interviews to point out how the Rock Hall needs to evolve. In an interview with Rolling Stone, Sykes said, "...it’s time to take the Hall to 2.0. That means a more diverse board, that means more women, people of color, people who reflect the kind of music that’s now being inducted. We have to look and feel like the artists that come into our Hall. That’s just the natural transition."

Eventually, we’d like to see the ten women artists in the gallery below inducted. They all more than deserve it, and there are plenty of others that still do. Truth be told, this list could be even longer than just ten. Howver, we'll save our extended rambling on this matter for another day.

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