Rock ‘n’ roll has always been seen as a white boy scene, with early greats such as Elvis and crossover artists like Johnny Cash to later megastars like the Beatles. Of course, it wasn’t only white artists, Lil Richard was one of the early pioneers but it was a predominately white scene.

But where did it all come from? Well, it seems much of it came from blues and the church, the gospel churches and one of the most unique and influential acts to emerge from all this was Sista Rosetta Tharpe. She busted out faith-based gospel and blues with a unique sound laid over that was sometimes very clearly a rock & roll sound.

Although not as heavily recognized as a pioneer of the genre until more recently many artists cited her as a strong influence such as Johnny Cash and Lil Richard who both said she was their fave as a kid.

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She pushed boundaries by playing her faith-based music to more secular audiences in dance halls and nightclubs, in front of big bands, she really made the foundations for what was to come.

Here her play below and read more of this extraordinary woman here: http://bit.ly/1mXL9Wc