Sister Rosetta Tharpe Doc BBC 4

Subject: Sister Rosetta Tharpe Doc BBC 4
From: Fred McCormick
Date: 08 Jan 11 - 06:43 AM

There's a must see documentary coming up next Friday 14th Jan at 9pm on BBC 4 tv. It is about Sister Rosetta Tharpe and is called "The Godmother of Rock and Roll". Hopefully we'll get a lot more of the godmother than we do of rock and roll.

Subject: RE: Sister Rosetta Tharpe Doc BBC 4
From: Roger the Skiffler
Date: 08 Jan 11 - 06:44 AM

Saw her live once inthe '70s- a great performer!

RtS

Subject: RE: Sister Rosetta Tharpe Doc BBC 4
From: GUEST,pete from seven stars link
Date: 08 Jan 11 - 06:48 AM

only heard a couple of her gospel songs-powerful stuff.

Subject: RE: Sister Rosetta Tharpe Doc BBC 4
From: Mr Red
Date: 08 Jan 11 - 06:57 AM

Thanx 4 the heads-up.

I knew it was imminent but hadn't found the date.

She wrote one song I know by reputation - likening religion to a baseball game, corny as (excuse the reference) hell but powerful enough to shake an athiest's boots. (I'm quaking).

It even inspired a song along similar lines (railroad lines) though mine is somewhat in tongue in cheek. I am not fully ready for the comparison. I can't imagine her song won't feature.

Her real name was Thorpe BTW.

Subject: RE: Sister Rosetta Tharpe Doc BBC 4
From: GUEST,oaktree
Date: 11 Jan 11 - 09:21 AM

Refresh

Up above my head, I hear music in the air! I do believe, I do believe there's joy somewhere!

Subject: RE: Sister Rosetta Tharpe Doc BBC 4
From: Mark Ross
Date: 11 Jan 11 - 09:27 AM

1st concert I ever went to, her, Rev. Gary Davis, Mississippi John, Brownie & Sonny. $2 at Hunter College, '63. My parents objected to a 14 year old loose in Manhattan on a Friday night, but I went anyways. I got grounded for weeks, and let me tell ya, it was worth it!


Mark Ross

Subject: RE: Sister Rosetta Tharpe Doc BBC 4
From: Rob Naylor
Date: 11 Jan 11 - 09:31 AM

Thanks for posting this...will be at a "do" on friday, but will have someone record this at home for me!

Great to see her get some exposure on TV.

"Thorpe" = pronounced "Tharpe" in Arkansas accent, so I understand....so the spelling morphed to reflect the pronunciation.

Subject: RE: Sister Rosetta Tharpe Doc BBC 4
From: Will Fly
Date: 11 Jan 11 - 11:01 AM

I posted a thread on this a couple of days ago - sank without trace. Thanks for the fresh heads-up, Fred. :-)

Subject: RE: Sister Rosetta Tharpe Doc BBC 4
From: GUEST,oaktree
Date: 11 Jan 11 - 11:13 AM

Happy Sister Rosetta Tharpe Day!

http://www.bbc.co.uk/programmes/b00xf8k7

Next on:
Fri 14 Jan 2011, 21:00, BBC Four
Sat 15 Jan 2011, 00:00, BBC Four
Sat 15 Jan 2011, 03:30, BBC Four
Sun 16 Jan 2011, 23:45, BBC Four

"During the 40s, 50s and 60s Sister Rosetta Tharpe played a highly significant role in the creation of rock & roll, inspiring musicians like Elvis Presley, Jerry Lee Lewis, Johnny Cash, Little Richard and Chuck Berry. She may not be a household name, but this flamboyant African-American gospel singing superstar, with her spectacular virtuosity on the newly-electrified guitar, was one of the most influential popular musicians of the 20th century.
Tharpe was born in 1915, close to the Mississippi in Cotton Plant, Arkansas. At the age of six she was taken by her evangelist mother Katie Bell to Chicago to join Roberts Temple, Church of God in Christ, where she developed her distinctive style of singing and guitar playing. At the age of 23 she left the church and went to New York to join the world of show business, signing with Decca Records. For the following 30 years she performed extensively to packed houses in the USA and subsequently Europe, before her death in 1973.

In 2008 the state governor of Pennsylvania declared that henceforth January 11th will be Sister Rosetta Tharpe Day in recognition of her remarkable musical legacy."

Subject: RE: Sister Rosetta Tharpe Doc BBC 4
From: Max
Date: 13 Jan 11 - 11:40 AM

Don't suppose I could talk anyone into taping this for me huh? Anyone got a DVR they can extract HD video files from or another way to record?

Subject: RE: Sister Rosetta Tharpe Doc BBC 4
From: Fred McCormick
Date: 14 Jan 11 - 07:30 AM

Don't forget. Tonight's the night.

Subject: RE: Sister Rosetta Tharpe Doc BBC 4
From: melodeonboy
Date: 14 Jan 11 - 02:51 PM

Yeh! Not forgetting the Transatlantic Sessions before it, and a programme on Hugh Masekela after (and even Mozart at 7.30!).

Well done, BBC4!

Subject: RE: Sister Rosetta Tharpe Doc BBC 4
From: GUEST,glueman
Date: 14 Jan 11 - 03:05 PM

There was a Radio 4 prog on her yesterday too. Been a fan since I first heard her in 1981, one of the progenitors of soul music if not the well spring herself.

Subject: RE: Sister Rosetta Tharpe Doc BBC 4
From: GUEST,glueman
Date: 14 Jan 11 - 03:22 PM

Chorlton railway station's finest hour:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=v7lN1R2LP-4
The Cheshire Lines Committee buildeth better than they knew.

Subject: RE: Sister Rosetta Tharpe Doc BBC 4
From: GUEST,pete from seven stars link
Date: 14 Jan 11 - 05:14 PM

so glad i was advised of programme.it was inspirational and deeply sad at the same time.details of her[not so]private life did not diminish her stature as a totally convincing gospel singer.

Subject: RE: Sister Rosetta Tharpe Doc BBC 4
From: Roger the Skiffler
Date: 15 Jan 11 - 05:20 AM

Great programme. Herself reckons it must have been 1971 that we saw her, must have been her last European tour. Enjoyed the Masekela concert that followed as well.
RtS

Subject: RE: Sister Rosetta Tharpe Doc BBC 4
From: Linda Kelly
Date: 15 Jan 11 - 05:37 AM

It was brilliant! What a girl!

Subject: RE: Sister Rosetta Tharpe Doc BBC 4
From: Fred McCormick
Date: 15 Jan 11 - 06:32 AM

Absolutely brilliant. One of the best music docs I've ever seen. I'm particularly glad that they didn't in the end overegg the "godmother of rock 'n roll" bit. There's two reasons for that.

First of all, I'm not convinced that she was more important to the genesis of rock 'n roll than a whole load of other black and country performers who were around at that time.

Secondly, SRT deserves to be remembered as a great singer and guitarist in her own right, rather than just as footnote to the growth of rock.

Subject: RE: Sister Rosetta Tharpe Doc BBC 4
From: Rusty Dobro
Date: 15 Jan 11 - 06:43 AM

The BBC never needs much excuse to dust off the railway station footage.
Thank goodness - it's wonderful!

Subject: RE: Sister Rosetta Tharpe Doc BBC 4
From: melodeonboy
Date: 15 Jan 11 - 07:36 AM

Good points, Fred!

Subject: RE: Sister Rosetta Tharpe Doc BBC 4
From: GUEST,Tunesmith
Date: 15 Jan 11 - 08:15 AM

I saw Sister Rosetta at the Philharmonica Hall, Liverpool, UK in 1964 ( Muddy Water topped the bill). I had a brief chat with her after the show and got her autograph. A very impressive performer.

Subject: RE: Sister Rosetta Tharpe Doc BBC 4
From: Fred McCormick
Date: 15 Jan 11 - 08:26 AM

Tunesmith. I was there! I was that soldier. That's the one and only time I ever saw SRT live.

Subject: RE: Sister Rosetta Tharpe Doc BBC 4
From: Will Fly
Date: 15 Jan 11 - 08:43 AM

Just watched it on the iPlayer - superb! I recall seeing the TV broadcast from Chorlton and being enthralled by the whole show and Sister RT in particular.

Bonus for me: a brief but wonderful clip of the Dixie Hummingbirds - one of the greatest gospel groups ever.

And thanks once again to dear Chris Barber for bringing the music over here.

Subject: RE: Sister Rosetta Tharpe Doc BBC 4
From: GUEST,Dani
Date: 15 Jan 11 - 08:45 AM

So.... any recordings? Any chance we'll see it over here?

Dani

Subject: RE: Sister Rosetta Tharpe Doc BBC 4
From: GUEST,oaktree
Date: 15 Jan 11 - 09:40 AM

Best music documentary I've seen for a long time. Ta, Auntie Beeb!

And, yes, Will, the Dixie Hummingbirds clip was an unexpected extra treat.

Subject: RE: Sister Rosetta Tharpe Doc BBC 4
From: goatfell
Date: 15 Jan 11 - 10:15 AM

a great programe

Subject: RE: Sister Rosetta Tharpe Doc BBC 4
From: GUEST
Date: 15 Jan 11 - 11:50 AM

Was that really Chorlton-cum-Hardy station back in 1963 ?

I would've been in Primary School just round the corner...

Subject: RE: Sister Rosetta Tharpe Doc BBC 4
From: Desert Dancer
Date: 22 Feb 13 - 04:57 PM

This is being aired on PBS "American Masters" in the U.S. tonight.

The Godmother of Rock and Roll.

American Masters often has full video available online after the show first airs.

~ Becky in Long Beach