Performers of Gospel Music and Their Techniques: Solo 3

Sister Rosetta Tharpe, born Rosetta Nubin in 1921 in Arkansas, was a child prodigy performing in church at age six. Her skills matured while performing with her mother, Katie Bell Nubin, a mandolin player. Tharpe moved to New York in the late 1930s and began performing secular music at known places such as Café Society Downtown and the Cotton Club, just to name a couple. That same year, she was one of the earliest gospel artists to sign a record contract with Decca Records. As with Clara Ward, there was no secret about gospel music's association with the blues. However, a gospel performer singing religious songs and playing the guitar, the instrument most associated with the blues, was a bit too much for traditional and religious folks to accept. A question remains, "Should African American sacred music be shared with non-churchgoing or White audiences? Was gospel music performed in a nightclub, in fact, sacred? Should musicians use their talent for any other purpose than the glorification of God? (Wald 2003, 390). By this point, Dorsey had an established reputation as the "father" of Gospel (Wald year, 390). As Tharpe's popularity as a crossover artist grew, the public started to accept that Gospel performances could also take place in non-sacred venues purely for entertainment value.