Chords for Inductee Insights: Sister Rosetta Tharpe

_ _ _ _ _ _ _ [A] _
_ [C] _ _ _ _ [Dm] _ _ [C] _
_ _ _ _ _ _ [Em] _ _
[C] _ _ [Bb] Everybody says, Chuck [D] Berry, he's the beginning of rock and roll, [Em] right?
_ _ You gotta keep going.
And then there's Sister Rosetta [A] Tharp. _
[C] _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _
_ _ _ [G] _ _ _ _ _
[B] _ _ _ [C] _ _ _ Sister Rosetta Tharp astounded audiences with her guitar pyrotechnics and powerful soprano. _ _
_ [A] _ _ _ [C] _ _ _ _
_ [G] _ _ America's first gospel rock star, she paved the way for rock and roll to grip new audiences.
_ Her heartfelt folksiness gave [C] way to her roaring mastery of her trusted Gibson SG, which [A] she
wielded on a level that rivaled the best of her _ _ contemporaries. _ _ _
_ _ _ [B] _ _ _ _ _
_ _ At _ _ [Abm] the age of 23, Tharp signed with [Ab] Decca Records, receiving second billing to famed
band leader Cab [B] Calloway.
_ _ _ _ [Gb] _ Her breakout came in 1938 [Bb] with the release of her first single, Rock Me, which was the
first ever gospel session recorded at Decca.
_ _ _ _ [G] _
_ [Cm] _ _ Songs That's All and The [Am] Lonesome Road [G] followed her successful release.
[C] _ _
_ _ _ _ These recordings exemplified Sister Rosetta's [D] early sound, _ stirring gospel vocals [Am] accompanied
by her [D] exhilarating resonating [C] guitar.
_ _ [G] _ _ _ _ [C] _
_ _ [G] _ _ _ _ _ _
[Am] _ _ [G] _ _ _ _ _ _
_ [Em] _ _ [G] _ _ [C] _ _ _
_ _ [B] _ [C] Following these recordings, [G]
Sister Rosetta became a [Cm] sensation, even [D] though her mix of
[C] gospel lyrics with secular music stirred controversy.
_ [G] You can tell [C] she kicked it [D] off because guitar wasn't like [Cm] the sexy instrument [Am] that it became.
And a lot of [Cm] people decided that they wanted to play [Ab] like that after listening to her.
[C] _
_ _ Tharp's popularity and resonance only grew throughout the [Bb] 1940s.
_ _ During World War II, she [Bbm] fronted Lucky Millinder's popular [Bbm] Big Band, where young fans of swing
gravitated [Bb] towards her music.
_ Servicemen and women were introduced to her on government-issued V [Em]-discs.
_ _ [C] _ _
_ Collaborating with boogie-woogie pianist Sam Price in 1944, Sister Rosetta released [F] Strange
Things Happen in Every Day.
[C] The song was a smash, reaching No.
[G] 2 on the Billboard R&B chart.
[C] _
_ It was also the first gospel song to make Billboard's Harlem Hit Parade.
Strange [F] Things was an early model for rock and roll, capturing [C] the attitude of the music to [G] come.
_ _ [C]
Even the young and unknown Jerry Lee Lewis chose her hit for his audition song at Sun Records. _ _ _ _
[A] Sister Rosetta teamed up with gospel singer [C] Marie Knight in the late 1940s, and the two
would record some of their most enduring work together, including _ 1947's Didn't It Rain
and _ 1948's Up Above My Head.
_ _ [Gm] _ _ _ _
[F] _ _ [C] _ _ _ In the 1950s, Sister Rosetta sold out arena shows.
As a bona fide rock and roll star, [Fm] 25 [C],000 fans paid to attend her 1951 wedding at [Gm] Griffith
Stadium in Washington, [Bb] D.C.
_ [C]
Always the savvy businesswoman, Sister Rosetta's performance at the wedding was recorded and
released as a top-selling record.
_ _ [Am] _ [G] As her celebrity began to wane in America in the 60s, she toured Europe with [G] Muddy Waters,
where she captured the interest and fandom of [E] an entirely new generation of [C] British blues
rockers, _ including Keith Richards, Jeff Beck, and Eric Clapton.
_ _ _ [D] _ _ _
Tharp's influence and impact on rock and roll [C] music is _ undeniable.
As the godmother of rock and roll, Sister Rosetta's influence extended far [G] beyond her own [C] career.
Johnny Cash called her his favorite singer, covering several of her songs on his 1979
gospel album, A Believer Sings the Truth.
_ [F] _
_ _ _ _ _ _ [C] _ _
_ [F] _ _ _ _ _ _ _
_ [Dm] Elvis Presley performed her version of Up Above My Head at his 1968 comeback [E] special.
[F] _ _ [E] _ _ _ _ _
[B] Led Zeppelin, [G] the [Gb] Staple Sisters, Nia Simone, Paul Butterfield, Van Morrison, [E] The Grateful
Dead – these are just a handful of [G] artists who've covered [A] Tharp's classic blues song, _
Nobody's Fault But [B] _ Mine.
_ [N] _ _
_ _ [Db] _ _ _ _ _ _
_ [Ab] Her 1950s rendition of the traditional gospel song, This [Dbm] Train, directly [Fm] influenced Bruce
Springsteen's [Db] 1999 song, [Ebm] Land of Hopes and [Gm] Dreams. _ _ _ _ _ _ _
_ _ _ _ _ _ [G] The comparisons and sonic similarities to Tharp roll on through each of [Bb] rock's _ eras. _
It's been [N] long overdue.
_ I'm honored to induct Sister Rosetta Tharp into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame.
_ _ _ She plugged in that electric guitar and she [C]
started rock and roll like [Am] there it was. _ _ _
_ _ _ [Fm] _ _ [Cm] _ _
Rock and Roll [Am] Hall of Famer Bonnie Raitt [Cm] once said,
[Ab]
Sister Rosetta [G] blazed a trail for [C] the rest of us women guitarists.
She has long been deserving of wider recognition and a [Dm] place of honor in the field of music history.
[Ebm] Sister [Dm] Rosetta's 2018 [Am] induction to the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame [C] cements her legacy
as one of rock and roll's founding members. _ _ _
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