SISTER ROSETTA THARPE

Godmother of Rock and Roll

“Sister Rosetta” - acrylic and glitter on board - 11” x 14” 2003

When I painted this my brain disengaged and I reversed her guitar playing aspect. Didn’t even notice it or think about it until somebody pointed it out when it was done. hahaha She wasn’t left-handed, but I love the painting anyway. “Mistakes” become part of the expression, in the end. The artist’s hand. And head.

(I have a guitar just like this one, named “Rosetta”.)

“In response to his 1986 induction in the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame, Chuck Berry was quoted saying “My whole career has been one long Sister Rosetta Tharpe impersonation,” (Leigh 2024). A 32-cent stamp honoring Tharpe was produced by the US Postal Service in 1998.

Tharpe was a pioneer in her guitar technique; she was among the first popular recording artists to use heavy distortion on her electric guitar, opening the way to the rise of electric blues. Her guitar-playing technique had a profound influence on the development of British blues in the 1960s.”