Welcome to Shout! Black Gospel Music Moments. I’m Robert Darden.
What’s left to say about the incomparable Sister Rosetta Tharpe? Her life and music have been featured in several biographies, documentaries and even musicals. She’s considered one of the true forebears of rock’n’roll with likes of hits like “Rock Me,” “Up Above My Head,” “This Train” and many others ... and her swinging guitar stylings are still influential today.
On Christmas Day 1949, Tharpe released the last of her four hit R&B singles, “Silent Night,” which rose to #6 on the R&B charts. As was the case with most of her music, it’s uniquely Rosetta – slow and mournful, backed with a celeste and drum, Tharpe’s oddly precise diction almost bites off some of the words ... even as the Rosette Gospel Singers harmonize wordlessly behind her.
I’m Robert Darden … “Shout! Black Gospel Music Moments” is produced by KWBU and the Black Gospel Music Preservation Program at Baylor University Libraries.