American singer-songwriter and guitarist (died 1973)

Sister Rosetta Tharpe

Sister Rosetta Tharpe was an American singer, songwriter, and guitarist. She gained popularity in the 1930s and 1940s with her gospel recordings, characterized by a unique mixture of spiritual lyrics and electric guitar. She was rooted in a pentecostal church and became the first great recording star of gospel music, and was among the first gospel musicians to appeal to rhythm and blues and rock and roll audiences, later being referred to as "the original soul sister" and "the Godmother of Rock and Roll". She influenced early rock-and-roll musicians, including Tina Turner, Little Richard, Chuck Berry, Johnny Cash, Carl Perkins, Elvis Presley, and Jerry Lee Lewis.

Born

1915

March 20

Died

Living

Era

1910s

Country

—

About

Sister, in brief

Sister Rosetta Tharpe was an American singer, songwriter, and guitarist. She gained popularity in the 1930s and 1940s with her gospel recordings, characterized by a unique mixture of spiritual lyrics and electric guitar. She was rooted in a pentecostal church and became the first great recording star of gospel music, and was among the first gospel musicians to appeal to rhythm and blues and rock and roll audiences, later being referred to as "the original soul sister" and "the Godmother of Rock and Roll". She influenced early rock-and-roll musicians, including Tina Turner, Little Richard, Chuck Berry, Johnny Cash, Carl Perkins, Elvis Presley, and Jerry Lee Lewis.

Source: Wikipedia · CC BY-SA 4.0

Life timeline

Key dates

  1. 1915 Born

Also on March 20

What else happened on this day, through history

See all of March 20 →

The world in 1915

When Sister arrived

Read the year 1915 →

Same-day contemporaries

Also born on March 20

Amalie Sara Colquhoun 1894–1974 Australian landscape and portrait painter (born 1894) Chilly Gonzales 1972– Canadian-German singer-songwriter, pianist, and producer Edoardo Ballerini 1970– American actor, director, producer, and screenwriter Elisabeth Geleerd 1909–1969 Dutch-American psychoanalyst (died 1969) Ivan Mazepa 1639–1709 Ukrainian diplomat, Hetman of Ukraine (died 1709) James P. Gordon 1928–2013 American physicist and academic (born 1928) Jenni Vartiainen 1983– Finnish singer John Joubert 1927– South African-English composer and academic (died 2019) Lee "Scratch" Perry 1936–2021 Jamaican reggae producer (born 1936)

See everything on March 20 →

Same-year contemporaries

Also born in 1915

Claudia Jones 1915–1964 Trinidad-British journalist and activist (born 1915) Ethel Rosenberg 1915–1953 American spy (born 1915) Germán Valdés 1915– Mexican actor, singer, and producer (died 1973) Jon Hall 1915–1979 American actor and director (born 1915) Joseph Ransohoff 1915–2001 American surgeon and educator (born 1915) Kiyosi Itô 1915–2008 Japanese mathematician and academic (born 1915) Leonard Goodwin 1915–2008 British protozoologist (died 2008) Les Paul 1915–2009 American guitarist, songwriter, and inventor (born 1915) M. F. Husain 1915–2011 Indian painter and director (born 1915)

Read about the year 1915 →

Keep going

More to explore

Sister's birthday March 20 Sister's zodiac Pisces When Sister arrived 1915