Guitarist, pianist, arranger, singer, and lyricist Sister Rosetta Tharpe was born Rosetta Nubin on March 20, 1915, in Cotton Plant, Arkansas to Pentecostal Pastor Willis B. Atkins from Arkadelphia and Katie Bell Harper Nubin, a musician and pastor from Princeton, Arkansas. At three Tharpe’s mother began teaching her to sing and play the guitar. By six she was accompanied on the mandolin by her mother as they evangelized as part of the Rev. F.W. McGee’s itinerant revival group. After examining numerous resources, evidence indicated that Tharpe had not acquired formal academic preparation. However, her specific education was based on church music from the Church of God in Christ. In 1931, the family moved to Harlem, New York, and in 1934, her mother arranged for Tharpe to marry Thomas Julian Thorpe, a pastor. She did but left him in 1938 while keeping his name but changing the spelling to Tharpe. By 1938, Tharpe, was performing gospel music at the Cotton Club and Café Society with Bill “Bojangles” Robinson, Cab Calloway, and Benny Goodman. Also, that year she signed her first contract with Decca Records. Her gospel hits with Decca included “The Lonesome Road” and “Rock Me.” In 1941, Tharpe became a … Continue reading Rosetta Atkins [Sister Rosetta] Tharpe (1915-1973)