In praise of … Sister Rosetta Tharpe | Editorial

A BBC4 programme tonight hails the godmother of the Delta bluesmen, whose act anticipated the supposed rock revolutionAnyone who knows anything about rock'n'roll can tell you about the influence of great Delta bluesmen, the likes of Robert Johnson and Willie Dixon. But if the musical debt of white to black is well understood, that of rocking male to rocking female barely registers. A BBC 4 programme tonight puts that right, by hailing the godmother of them all, Sister Rosetta Tharpe. Born in the...

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