Guitar heroine
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E-mail chinadaily.com.cn, May 17, 2018
One of her first hits, "Rock Me", was a lyrical and musical precursor to rock 'n' roll. It would later inspire stars such as Elvis Presley and Little Richard – still toddlers when the song was released in 1938. It wasn't just the records, though. A young Presley absorbed much of Tharpe's style by watching her perform around Memphis and her song "Hound Dog" became one of his signature hits. She also set the future Little Richard on the path to stardom when she championed him as a 10-year-old boogie-woogie pianist.
After Tharpe's first recording contract expired, she was able to return to a more personal, folksy style of music, performing to a large cross-section of fans and penning memorable songs such as "Strange Things Happening Every Day" (1944). Such was her talent that even her most religious fans flocked back to her concerts.
Having influenced a range of American artists, Tharpe would next inspire the '60s generation of so-called British Invasion groups such as The Rolling Stones, Cream and Led Zeppelin, who had a knack of selling American culture back to its owners. Emond first heard of Tharpe when ace British guitarist Jeff Beck spoke of her. "Jeff Beck looked at her as one of his first influences, so I looked into her. She was so ahead of her time; if you listen to her sound and then you listen to, say, the White Stripes' Jack White 50 years later – he's just getting her sound. People are now discovering her on YouTube. But I don't know how early British guys like Jeff Beck knew about her."
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