Alongside Willie Mae Ford Smith, Sister Rosetta Tharpe is widely acclaimed among the greatest Sanctified gospel singers of her generation; a flamboyant performer whose music often flirted with the blues and swing, she was also one of the most controversial talents of her day, shocking purists with her leap into the secular market -- by playing nightclubs and theaters, she not only pushed spiritual music into the mainstream, but in the process also helped pioneer the rise of pop-gospel. Tharpe was born March 20, 1915 in Cotton Plant, Arkansas; the daughter of Katie Bell Nubin, a traveling missionary and shouter in the classic gospel tradition known throughout the circuit as "Mother Bell," she was a prodigy, mastering the guitar by the age of six. At the same time, she attended Holiness conventions alongside her mother, performing renditions of songs including "The Day Is Past and Gone" and "I Looked Down the Line."
In time, the family relocated to Chicago, where Tharpe began honing her unique style; blessed with a resonant vibrato, both her vocal phrasing and guitar style drew heavy inspiration from the blues, and she further aligned herself with the secular world with a sense of showmanship and glamour unique among the gospel performers of her era. Signing to Decca in 1938, Tharpe became a virtual overnight sensation; her first records, among them Thomas A. Dorsey's "Rock Me" and "This Train," were smash hits, and quickly she was performing in the company of mainstream superstars including Cab Calloway and Benny Goodman. She led an almost schizophrenic existence, remaining in the good graces of her core audience by recording material like "Precious Lord," "Beams of Heaven," and "End of My Journey" while also appealing to her growing white audience by performing rearranged, uptempo spirituals including "Didn't It Rain" and "Down by the Riverside."
During World War II, Tharpe was so popular that she was one of only two Black gospel acts -- the Golden Gate Quartet being the other -- to record V-Discs for American soldiers overseas; she also toured the nation in the company of the Dixie Hummingbirds, among others. In 1944, she began recording with boogie-woogie pianist Sammy Price; their first collaboration, "Strange Things Happening Every Day," even cracked Billboard's race records Top Ten, a rare feat for a gospel act, and one which she repeated several more times during the course of her career. In 1946, she teamed with the Newark-based Sanctified shouter Madame Marie Knight, whose simple, unaffected vocals made her the perfect counterpoint for Tharpe's theatrics; the duo's first single, "Up Above My Head," was a huge hit, and over the next few years they played to tremendous crowds across the church circuit.
However, in the early '50s Tharpe and Knight cut a handful of straight blues sides; their fans were outraged, and although Knight soon made a permanent leap into secular music -- to little success -- Tharpe remained first and foremost a gospel artist, although her credibility and popularity were seriously damaged. Not only did her record sales drop off and her live engagements become fewer and farther between, but many purists took Tharpe's foray into the mainstream as a personal affront; the situation did not improve, and she spent over a year touring clubs in Europe, waiting for the controversy to die down. Tharpe's comeback was slow but steady, and by 1960 she had returned far enough into the audience's good graces to appear at the Apollo Theatre alongside the Caravans and James Cleveland. While not a household name like before, she continued touring even after suffering a major stroke in 1970, dying in Philadelphia on October 9, 1973.
Vol. 1 - 1938-1941
01 - Rock me
02 - That`s all
03 - My man and i
04 - The lonesome road
05 - Bring back those happy days
06 - This train
07 - I looked down the line (and I wondered)
08 - God don`t like it (64884)
09 - Beams of heaven
10 - Saviour don`t pass me by
11 - The end of my journey
12 - Sit down
13 - There is something within me
14 - Stand by me
15 - Four or five times (film soundtrack)
16 - Shout, sister, shout (film soundtrack)
17 - The lonesome road (film soundtrack)
18 - Trouble in mind
19 - Rock Daniel
20 - Shout sister shout
21 - Rock me (69709)
22 - That`s all (69910)
23 - Just a closer walk with thee
24 - Precious Lord hold my hand
25 - I`m in his care
26 - Nobody`s fault but mine
Vol. 2 - 1942-1944
01 - i want a tall skinnny papa
02 - What he done for me
03 - I want Jesus to walk around my bedside
04 - All over this world
05 - Pure religion
06 - This train (j41)
07 - Down by the riverside (j38)
08 - Rock me (j75)
09 - Rock me (vp-391-d3-mc-464)
10 - That`s all (vd129)
11 - Trouble in mind (vp-392-d3-mc-465)
12 - Rock Daniel (vd129)
13 - That`s all (j56)
14 - Let that liar alone
15 - The devil has thrown him down
16 - Sleep on darling mother
17 - God don`t like it (71526)
18 - I want to live so God can use me
19 - What`s the news?
20 - Nobody knows, nobody cares
21 - Jesus taught me how to smile
22 - Forgive me Lord and try me one more time
23 - What is the soul of man?
24 - Singing in my soul
25 - I claim Jesus first
26 - Strange things happening every day
27 - Two little fishes and five loaves of bread
Vol. 3 - 1946-1947
Sister Rosetta Tharpe
01 - Don`t take everybody to be your friend
02 - How far from God
03 - When I move to the sky
04 - Jesus is here today
05 - Jonah
06 - God`s mighty hand
07 - The Lord followed me
08 - This train (73987-a)
Sister Rosetta Tharpe (vocal duet with Marie Knight)
09 - Oh, when I come to the end of my journey
10 - Didn`t it rain
11 - Stretch out
Sister Rosetta Tharpe
12 - This train (db-104a)
Sister Rosetta Tharpe (vocal duet with Marie Knight)
13 - When I come to the end of my journey (db-104b)
14 - Beams of heaven
15 - Up above my head I hear music in the air
16 - My journey to the sky
Sister Rosetta Tharpe
17 - Teach me to be right
18 - I heard my mother call my name
19 - Heaven is not my home
20 - The natural facts
21 - Cain`t no grave hold my body down
22 - Lay down your soul
Sister Rosetta Tharpe (vocal duet with Marie Knight)
23 - Precious memories (vcl duet with Marie Knight)
Sister Rosetta Tharpe
24 - Family prayer
Sister Rosetta Tharpe and The Dependable Boys
25 - Everybody`s gonna have a wonderful time up there
26 - My Lord and I
Vol 4 : 1951-1953
CD 1
01. Let The Lower Lights Be Burning [0:03:16.04]
02. There's A Fountain Filled With Blood [0:02:28.00]
03. What A Friend We Have In Jesus [0:02:55.44]
04. Amazing Grace [0:03:26.32]
05. I Want Jesus To Walk Around My Bedside [0:02:50.23]
06. Royal Telephone [0:02:39.65]
07. Milky White Way [0:03:29.71]
08. His Eye Is On The Sparrow [0:03:28.01]
09. Announcements - Because [0:04:29.45]
10. Marriage Prologue & Benediction - Prayer [0:05:10.53]
11. Wedding Ceremony (Pt. 1 & 2) [0:07:14.20]
12. Gospel Train [0:03:15.29]
13. Thank You Jesus [0:04:19.56]
14. God Don't Like It [0:03:58.62]
15. So High! [0:03:58.21]
CD 2
01. Come Unto Me [0:02:34.62]
02. Have A Little Talk With Jesus [0:02:00.08]
03. Tell Him You Saw Me [0:02:46.31]
04. When I First Sought The Lord Changes [0:02:29.45]
05. The Last Mile Of The Way [0:03:05.09]
06. (There'll Be) Peace In The Valley [0:03:06.05]
07. Near The Cross [0:02:58.10]
08. In The Garden [0:02:41.46]
09. Let's Talk About Jesus [0:02:44.02]
10. Old Landmark [0:02:21.62]
11. Pressing On [0:02:27.37]
12. Never Let Go His Hand [0:02:31.73]
13. All Alone With Christ The Lord [0:02:53.48]
14. Let's Go On [0:02:25.55]
15. I'll Met You Over Yonder [0:02:47.26]
16. How Well Do I Remember? [0:03:02.01]
17. I Just Couldn't Be Contented [0:02:07.73]
18. Crying In The Chapel [0:02:28.17]
19. There's Peace In Korea [0:02:21.15]
20. Feed Me Jesus [0:03:05.64]
21. Smile It Through [0:02:40.28]
Vol. 5: 1953-1957
Disc 1
01. Stand The Storm
02. Sing And Shout
03. Shadrack
04. Nobody's Fault But Mine
05. I'm So Glad
06. God Spoke To Me
07. Calvary
08. I Tell It Wherever I Go
09. This Old Soul Of Mine
10. Don't Leave Me Here To Cry
11. What Have I Done
12. Go Ahead
13. He Is Everything To Me
14. Everytime I Feel The Spirit
15. Look Away In The Heavenly Land
16. When Was Jesus Born
17. In Bethlehem
18. This Ole House
19. Don't You Weep, O Mary Don't You Weep
20. I've Done Wrong
21. I Can Hear The Angels
22. Father Prepare Me
Disc 2
01. Two Little Fishes, Five Loaves Of Bread
02. All Alone
03. How About You
04. 99 Half Won't Do
05. Precious Memories
06. Beams Of Heaven
07. When The Saints Go Marching In
08. Can't No Grave Hold My Body Down
09. When They Ring The Golden Bells
10. Up Above My Head, There Is Music In The Air
11. I Shall Know Him
12. Fly Away
13. Jericho
14. Home In The Sky
15. Can't Do Wrong And Get By
16. Let's Be Happy
17. Let It Shine
18. Didn't It Rain, Children
Vol. 6: 1958-1959
CD1
01. Chris Barber / Introduction
02. Every Time I Feel the Spirit
03. Feed Me Jesus
04. Didn't It Rain
05. This Train
06. Up Above My Head I Hear Music in the Air
07. Peace in the Valley
08. Down By the Riverside
09. Old Time Religion
10. When the Saints Go Marchin' In
11. Old Time Religion (reprise)
12. One Morning Soon
13. The Lord's Prayer
14. It's Me
15. Steal Away
16. Bring Back Those Happy Days
17. Saviour Don't Pass Me By
18. I Have Good News to Bring
19. Go Get the Water
20. Things That I Used to Do (And I Don't Do No More)
21. Didn't It Rain
22. Beams of Heaven
CD2
01. Nothing Between
02. He's the Lily of the Valley
03. Seeking for Me
04. Never Alone
05. Shine for Jesus
06. I Do, Don't You
07. God Leads Us Along
08. The Family Prayer
09. What Are They Doin' in Heaven
10. I Saw the Light
11. Blow Ye the Trumpet in Zion
12. Oh the Joy That Came to Me
13. Marie & Rex / I Can't Sit Down
14. I Believe
15. Twelve Gates
16. Faith
17. If You Believe
18. Walk All Over Gods Heaven
19. If I Can Help Somebody
20. Light a Candle (Say a Prayer)
21. I Couldn't Hear Nobody Pray
22. Without Him
23. He
24. Bless This House
25. Take My Hand Precious Lord
