In the 1940s, Sister Rosetta Tharpe was blending sacred lyrics with electric guitar riffs creating something entirely new. Her music crossed segregated charts and filled massive venues long before the industry caught up. Some artists are remembered as icons. Others are the architects. For Episode 20 of Woke Black History, let’s talk about The Godmother of Rock and Roll. | Joel Bervell

This video traces Sister Rosetta Tharpe’s career and includes rare footage of her with the Lucky Millinder Orchestra in 1941, an appearance on a gospel TV show in the early 1960s, and a performance at a train station in England in 1964. Also, we recently discovered a rare publicity photo of Sister Rosetta in her late friend Abner Jay's archive. It can be viewed on our Instagram feed: http://bit.ly/sisterrosettainstagram | Dust-to-Digital