"Strange Things Happening Every Day" is an African American spiritual that was most famously, and influentially, recorded by Sister Rosetta Tharpe in 1944. Released as a single by Decca Records, Tharpe's version featured her vocals and electric guitar, with Sammy Price (piano), bass and drums. It was the first gospel record to cross over and become a hit on the "race records" chart, the term then used for what later became the R&B chart, and reached #2 on the Billboard "race" chart in April 1945.[1][2]
| "Strange Things Happening Every Day" | |
|---|---|
| Single by Sister Rosetta Tharpe | |
| Released | 1944 |
| Recorded | September 1944 |
| Genre | |
| Length | 3:38 |
| Label | Decca |
| Songwriter(s) | Traditional |
| Audio sample | |
30 second sample of Sister Rosetta Tharpe's "Strange Things Happening Every Day" | |
Background and influence
editOriginally a traditional spiritual, Tharpe recorded the song in 1944 in response to backlash from black religious leaders, who had criticized her for performing and recording gospel music for a secular audience.[3]
The recording has been cited as both an important precursor of rock and roll,[4] and also considered by some to be a contender for the title of first rock and roll record.[5] A National Public Radio article commented that "Rock 'n' roll was bred between the church and the nightclubs in the soul of a queer black woman in the 1940s named Sister Rosetta Tharpe".[6]
Other versions
edit- In recent years, versions of the song have also been recorded by Michelle Shocked, Johnny Cash, Linda Gail Lewis, Tom Jones, and Sleepy LaBeef.
- In 2020, Vika and Linda released a version as the second single from their album, Sunday (The Gospel According to Iso).[7][8]
References
edit- ^ Whitburn, Joel (2004). Top R&B/Hip-Hop Singles: 1942-2004. Record Research. p. 440.
- ^ Jason Ankeny, Biography of Rosetta Tharpe, Allmusic.com
- ^ Carpenter, Bil (2005). Uncloudy days : the gospel music encyclopedia. Internet Archive. San Francisco : Backbeat Books. ISBN 978-0-87930-841-4.
- ^ Dan DeLuca, Sister Rosetta Tharpe got rock rolling long before Elvis, The Philadelphia Inquirer, 26 February 2007
- ^ "The first rock'n'roll record is released". The Guardian. 12 June 2011. Retrieved 10 August 2020.
the first rock record. In fact, that title is hotly disputed, with contenders including Sister Rosetta Tharpe's Strange Things Happening Every Day (1944), and)
- ^ "Forebears: Sister Rosetta Tharpe, The Godmother Of Rock 'N' Roll". NPR. 24 August 2017. Retrieved 10 August 2020.
- ^ "Strange Things Happening Every Day". Spotify. 27 July 2020. Retrieved 8 August 2020.
- ^ "Sunday (The Gospel According to Iso) (CD)". JB HiFi. Retrieved 24 July 2020.
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