American gospel singer Sister Rosetta Tharpe performs at a Blues and Gospel Caravan tour in the UK in 1964. Photo: Tony Evans/Getty Images
If you've ever been to Cotton Plant, you were probably lost.
- But this speck of a town in east Arkansas may have been the very genesis of rock music.
Flashback: Dubbed the "godmother of rock 'n' roll," Sister Rosetta Tharpe was born there in 1915. Like many rural singers who ascended to fame in the 1940s and '50s, she got her start singing gospel.
- She got her first recording deal in 1938 with Decca Records and was a hit by the 1940s.
- Tharpe has been said to have influenced stars like Elvis Presley, Jerry Lee Lewis and Johnny Cash.
- Chuck Berry allegedly said his career was "one long Sister Rosetta Tharpe impersonation."
The sound: Tharpe's voice is like a mix of Aretha Franklin and Janis Joplin. And she played guitar like a boss.
The bottom line: Tharpe was inducted into the Rock & Roll Hall of Fame in 2018 by Brittany Howard of Alabama Shakes.
- Enjoy her Spotify playlist.
- Listen to music journalist John Morrison sum up Tharpe's sound on "World Cafe."
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