Music Features

Brittany Howard, Questlove and Felicia Collins pay tribute to Sister Rosetta Tharpe during the Rock & Roll Hall of Fame Induction Ceremony in 2018.

Music & Culture

How One Of Music's Biggest Stars Almost Disappeared, And How Her Legacy Was Saved

10:43am September 27, 2019

by Marissa Lorusso

Rosetta Tharpe was a huge star in her era and set the template for rock and roll. So why was she absent from popular consciousness after her death — and why did it take decades to revive her legacy?

Mahalia Jackson sings at the Newport Jazz Festival in 1957. Mary Lou Williams heard her there and said she felt "cold chills run up and down my spine."

Music & Culture

Gospel Queen On The King's Highway

4:41pm September 26, 2019

by Gwen Thompkins

A contemporary of Rosetta Tharpe, gospel singer Mahalia Jackson had one of the great big, gorgeous voices of the 20th century, the echoes of which can still be heard in popular music today.

Music & Culture

On A Bridge Called Rosetta's Voice

10:00am September 26, 2019

by Alice Randall

For many, Rosetta Tharpe's music represented a kind of healing, and the way she played inspired listeners — including writer Alice Randall — to find sweetness in the bitter of life.

Sister Rosetta Tharpe, circa 1950. In 1951, she got married in a baseball stadium and performed a concert in front of thousands of fans.

Music & Culture

'The Most Elaborate Wedding Ever Staged': Rosetta Tharpe At Griffith Stadium

6:13pm September 25, 2019

In 1951, gospel star Rosetta Tharpe got married in front of thousands of fans at a baseball stadium. In some ways, says biographer Gayle Wald, it set the template for today's stadium rock concerts.

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Robert Hunter, photographed at the Grateful Dead's rehearsal studio, Club Front, in Nov. 1977 in San Rafael, California.

Music & Culture

Robert Hunter's Words Helped Bring Life To The Grateful Dead

2:21pm September 25, 2019

by Piotr Orlov

Robert Hunter was more than another gear spinning within the perpetual motion machine of the Grateful Dead — his songwriting helped define the group's narratives and bloom its philosophies.

Gloria Gaynor originally recorded "I Will Survive" as a B-side, but swiftly after its release in October 1978 it became a worldwide hit.

Music & Culture

'I Will Survive' Saves Marginalized People A Spot On The Dance Floor

7:39pm September 24, 2019

by Karen Grigsby Bates

Recorded after a traumatic period in the singer's life, Gloria Gaynor's disco hit quickly found its true audience: LGBT communities, survivors of domestic violence and others pushed aside by society.

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Sister Rosetta Tharpe on tour in the U.K. in 1964.

Music & Culture

She Can Make That Guitar Talk

10:09am September 24, 2019

by Caryn Rose

Sister Rosetta Tharpe was a superstar of the pre-rock era, traveling the country in a customized bus and performing for tens of thousands, but never got press to match her stardom. What if she had?

Composer Christopher Rouse, photographed in New York City in 2005.

Music & Culture

Remembering The 'Fast And Furious' Music Of Christopher Rouse

3:52pm September 23, 2019

by Tom Huizenga

Conductor Marin Alsop and composer Nico Muhly recall their friend and colleague who wrote deeply expressive music.

Music & Culture

The World Of Rosetta Tharpe: A Turning The Tables Playlist

9:59am September 23, 2019

by Cheryl Pawelski

Without Sister Rosetta Tharpe, we wouldn't have rock and roll as we know it now. Our playlist features some of Tharpe's best songs, as well as music from her influences and inheritors.

The Ties That Bind: Bruce Springsteen And The Wide Divide

6:00am September 23, 2019

by A.O. Scott

A Springsteen concert "created a civic space in which two antithetical sentiments could coexist and communicate with each other," writes A.O. Scott. The Boss turns 70 years old today.