Termed ” The Godmother of Rock and Roll,” Sister Rosetta Tharpe is one of the most overlooked stars of early American rock music. The list of musicians who cite her as an influence is staggering. Elvis Presley, Chuck Berry, Johnny Cash, Little Richard, Aretha Franklin, Jerry Lee Lewis, and Eric Clapton. But what of the woman who they admired? And who is Marie Knight?

Sister Rosetta Tharpe was born in Arkansas in 1915. A guitar prodigy, by the age of 6 she was performing gospel music as part of a traveling evangelical troupe. She would also spend time in Chicago and New York, fusing her southern, gospel roots with big-city sound to create her own unique style. By all accounts, she was a force nature on stage as she stomped, growled and sang to the heavens in a voice full of grit, all the while playing a guitar that easily rivaled or surpassed her more noted male contemporaries. Rarely deviating from gospel material, Sister Rosetta Tharpe infused her performances with a drive and a passion that led her to be the first gospel artist to cross over onto the R&B charts (Strange Things Happening Every Day – 1945) and drew thousands to sell-out arena performances.

In 1946, after seeing gospel singer Marie Knight appear onstage with Mahalia Jackson, Sister Rosetta brought her to Decca Records. They began recording and performing as a duo. Described as “a beautiful woman with a beautiful contralto voice, who had a spellbinding effect on audiences,” Marie brought a hipper, current gospel vibe to Sister Rosetta’s older style. She left to pursue her solo career again in 1951 after losing both her children in a house fire. Sister Rosetta and Marie would remain friends, regularly reuniting on stage. Marie recorded throughout the 1950s, foraying into secular music and R&B. Although she effectively retired in the mid-1960s to work a regular job and preach, she did release 4 more gospel albums before her death in 2009. A review from the San Francisco Chronicle described her delivery as “soulful enough to surely cause some nonbelievers to want to get right with God.”

Sister Rosetta’s career would wane over the 50s and 60s as a new generation of rock and rollers would refine the style she helped to pioneer. Sister Rosetta found herself too sacred for the rockers and too secular for the gospel crowd that had catapulted her to fame. Despite the fact that her name has largely been forgotten, her influence remains undeniable, and with her induction into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame in April 2018, she is finally getting the credit she so richly deserves. Sister Rosetta Tharpe passed away in 1973. Marie Knight helped to arrange the funeral. Her epitaph reads “She would sing until you cried and then she would sing until you danced for joy. She helped to keep the church alive and the saints rejoicing.”

Check out this clip of Sister Rosetta performing “Didn’t It Rain?” in Manchester in 1964 – https://youtu.be/MnAQATKRBN0

Marie and Rosetta runs through February 16. Don’t miss this story of letting loose, finding your voice, and freeing your soul is a soaring music-theatre experience chock full of roof-raising performances.