tour so badly that he offered to pay her
out of his own cut. The tour was highly
successful, which led to even more shared
bills between the two artists. As with many
African-American performers of the time,
Tharpe found the reception of crowds
at shows and the treatment she received
at British hotels and restaurants to be a
breath of fresh air after the racism she had
endured during years of touring America.
The rise of rock ’n’ roll offered Sister
Rosetta Tharpe a whole new fan base. In
1957, she was quoted by London’s Daily
Mirror as saying, “All this new stuff they
call rock ’n’ roll, why, I’ve been playing
that for years now . . . Ninety percent
of rock-and-roll artists came out of the
church, their foundation is the church.”
In 1964, Tharpe toured the British Isles
as part of the American Folk, Blues, and
Gospel Caravan, which also featured artists
like Sonny Terry and Brownie McGhee,
Otis Spann, Muddy Waters, and “Blind”
Gary Davis. Though her musical roots
were similar, Tharpe was uncomfortable at
first. She’d reached a certain level of glam-
our and sophistication and had left behind
the rustic appearance and manners of the
other performers. Her presentation was as
Tharpe's flamed- top National Triolian is now part of the collection at The Delta Cultural Center in Helena, Arkansas. Photo by Bryan McDade
polished as the hardware on her SG, which
she often used like a mirror to flash light
on the audience.
An abridged version of the Caravan
show called The Blues and Gospel Train
was filmed for British television. The pro-
ducers reconfigured a Manchester railroad
station as “Chorltonville,” their vision of
a Deep South rural train stop. The success
of the tour had mellowed Tharpe’s indig-
nation, and she took everything—the fake
hay bales, the tethered goats, and even
the light rain that fell—in stride, opening
very appropriately with “Didn’t It Rain.”
ESSENTIAL LISTENING
There are a number of Sister Rosetta Tharpe reissues and compilations available, and it is hard to go wrong with any of them.
Following are some good albums to start with.
The Gospel of the Blues
This album features Tharpe playing
mostly acoustic songs, but it’s of a high
order.
Gospel Train
This album finds Tharpe rocking along
with guitarist Ernest Richardson—who
exhibits more technique but less raunch.
It’s worth it just for the swinging, twangy,
and, oh, so ambient and vibey “ 99 1/2
Won’t Do,” which was later repurposed as
a soul tune by Wilson Pickett.
Precious Memories
This album features Tharpe playing all
electric guitar, and it’s worth it for the
great sound and the even better cover—
which shows her sporting a white feather
boa and cherry sunburst Gibson Barney
Kessel hollowbody.
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