sweartotellthetruth

Swear to Tell the Truth for Tuesday, June 18, 2013 (1:00-2:30 pm)

This week, a full-length feature on Sister Rosetta Tharpe, her life and music, forerunners, and her place in musical history. Few performers reached the heights that Sister Tharpe attained but that did not mean that her future was always secure or that her finances were not precarious. Claims that one artist or another influenced the direction of musical history are often bogus but it seems pretty clear that Sister Rosetta Tharpe’s influence extended well beyond the gospel field. Beyond that, there’s the obvious fact that she was an outlier within gospel as a woman who not only accompanied herself on guitar but flaunted her virtuosity. Many African American artists have been cited as though their alleged contributions to the evolution of rock and roll were their most significant achievement. This program is concerned with Sister Tharpe’s contribution to gospel music but it’s hard to avoid the conclusion that she helped shaped rock and roll style–for whatever that is worth.

On the show: 

Blind Willie Johnson, Arizona Dranes, Thomas Dorsey, Lucky Millinder, Katie Bell Nubin, Marie Knight, Red Foley

Listen to the program at FM 93.3 in Hamilton or on CFMU online at cfmu.mcmaster.ca. The program will be available to stream or as a podcast until July 16th.

Contact Us

To reach us with comments or queries, write us at sweartotellthetruth@gmail.com.

You can also follow the program at sweartotellthetruth@nosignifying on Twitter.

Next week (June 25th)

We’re thinking about putting together a classic R&B special, featuring many of the biggest names in the music–names like Joe Liggins, Roy Milton and Dinah Washington, for next week’s program.

cmc