The Life of American Singer-Guitarist Sister Rosetta Tharpe (1915-1973)

FAIN: FA-51517-05

Gayle F. Wald
George Washington University (Washington, DC 20052-0001)

MUSIC IN THE AIR: THE LIFE OF SISTER ROSETTA THARPE will be the first biography of one of the great underappreciated American popular musicians of the twentieth century. Raised in the Holiness church, Rosetta Tharpe (1915-1973), a singer-guitarist from Cotton Plant, Arkansas, was one of gospel music’s earliest recording artists, its first national star, and the major crossover figure of its Golden Age. Using extensive archival research and oral histories, MUSIC IN THE AIR shows how Tharpe transformed the music of the African American church into sounds that heralded rhythm & blues and rock. Her dramatic story illuminates questions of cultural memory and the importance of African American women and gospel blues to American popular culture.

Media Coverage

Can I Get an Amen? (Review)
Author(s): Laura Sinagra
Publication: New York Times
Date: 3/18/2007
Abstract: Review of Shout, Sister, Shout! by Gayle Wald
URL: http://www.nytimes.com/2007/03/18/books/review/Sinagra.t.html

Associated Products

Shout, Sister, Shout! The Untold Story of Rock-and-Roll Trailblazer Sister Rosetta Tharpe (Book)
Title: Shout, Sister, Shout! The Untold Story of Rock-and-Roll Trailblazer Sister Rosetta Tharpe
Abstract: A biography of the gospel-rock trailblazer.
Year: 2007
Primary URL: http://firstsearch.oclc.org/WebZ/FSFETCH?fetchtype=fullrecord:sessionid=fsapp2-34272-gwgrjs74-dmaur3:entitypagenum=3:0:recno=3:resultset=1:format=FI:next=html/record.html:bad=error/badfetch.html:entitytoprecno=3:entitycurrecno=3:numrecs=1
Primary URL Description: From WorldCar
Secondary URL: http://shoutsistershout.net/
Secondary URL Description: Author website
Publisher: Beacon Press
Type: Single author monograph

The Godmother of Rock & Roll: Sister Rosetta Tharpe (Film/TV/Video Broadcast or Recording)
Title: The Godmother of Rock & Roll: Sister Rosetta Tharpe
Writer: Gayle Wald
Director: Mick Csaky
Producer: Mick Csaky
Abstract: A biopic of Sister Rosetta Tharpe, based largely on the book "Shout, Sister, Shout!" [Gayle Wald is listed as editorial consultant.]
Year: 2011
Primary URL: http://www.bbc.co.uk/programmes/b00xf8k7
Primary URL Description: Aired on BBC4.
Secondary URL: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=KWB_1OBWskU
Secondary URL Description: YouTube version (not licensed)
Format: Film

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