'Her guitar playing was a real shock - powerful and modern - it certainly changed a few people's ideas about gospel music".

In May of 1964, the touring Folk, Blues, and Gospel Caravan featuring Sister Rosetta Tharpe, Muddy Waters and Cousin Joe Pleasants performed a quirky, rain-drenched concert outside Manchester, England at a deserted Railway Station which had been decorated or 'dressed up' as a deep south railroad station, complete with frayed luggage sacks, wanted posters, foot-lockers, crates of chickens, and a few goats.

The railroad boarding platform served as a make-shift stage and the rail yard was filled with an audience of cold, wet students. Sister Rosetta rose to the occasion with "Didn't It Rain" (an inspired last minute play-list switch), making up for the foul weather with a game performance, including an ear splitting guitar solo. 'Pretty good for a woman, aint it?' she teases as the song comes to a close. A Twisted Wheel Club DJ wrote of her performance in his R&B Scene magazine the following week: 'Her guitar playing was a real shock - powerful and modern - it certainly changed a few people's ideas about gospel music".

In the same year when the Beatles were down the street tearing up the Cavern, the audience couldn't know they were watching the woman who produced the first rock and roll record in 1944 ("Strange Things Happen Everyday", with Sammy Price), and whose performance style was mimicked by Elvis Presley, Johnny Cash and Jerry Lee Lewis. It is unmistakable what Elvis took from Sister Rosetta in performances like "Trouble In Mind" (also performed that day at the Railway Station). Watching these performances, you can easily recognize the phrasing and attitude that evolved into modern rock and roll.

More of Interest:

* The Fours Tops Bring Their Act to London (1970)
* The History of "Strange Fruit" by Billie Holiday
* Sister Rosetta Tharpe "Whole World In His Hands" at Chorlton Station
* Sister Rosetta sings "Up Above My Head"
* Sister Rosetta sings "Two Little Fishes and Five Loaves"
* Sister Rosetta sings "Joshua Fit The Battle of Jericho"
* Muddy Waters sings "Can't Get no Grindin'"