EP 12: Without her there would be no Elvis or even Chuck Berry. Sister Rosetta Tharpe sang gospel but her electric guitar ignited the flames of rock an roll.

She’s been called the godmother of rock and roll. Rolling Stone Magazine named her the 6th greatest guitarist of all time in 2023. If you saw the Elvis movie. Yep, she was in there. The British singer Yola played her singing Strange Things Are Happening Every Day at a club. Elvis was a fan, as the movie depicted. Keith Richards of the band the Rolling Stones has talked about how her European concert tours in the early 1960s influenced British guitarists. She was often called the Swinger of Spirituals — yes she did gospel songs. But it was her electric guitar playing that revolutionized music. Oh and by the way she was featured on a US postage stamp in 1998 from a series honoring early gospel singers. Of course she is clutching her electric guitar on the stamp. Sister Rosetta Tharpe.