Sister Rosetta Tharpe has been called “the godmother of rock ‘n’ roll,” but she’s rarely recognized as a Richmonder. That may soon change, thanks to local performers and fans of the legendary African American guitarist.

“I would call this an informance, a mixture of entertainment and informing people,” says jazz singer Desiree Roots, one of the artists paying tribute to the godmother in a concert at the Hippodrome on Thursday, March 20.

Once the most popular gospel performer in the United States, and one of the few to successfully perform in secular venues, the gregarious Tharpe specialized in an earthy mix of blues, jazz and religious music; her scratchy, electric guitar licks and booming vocals were an acknowledged influence on iconic music makers as varied as Little Richard, Elvis Presley, Chuck Berry, Bob Dylan and The Rolling Stones.

Born Rosetta Nubin in 1915 in Cotton Plant, Arkansas, she made River City her home for more than a decade—a fact not known to many.

“She’s a member of the Rock ‘n’ Roll Hall of Fame,” Roots reminds. “Someone who was a real trailblazer as both a female performer and a guitar player, but people here don’t recognize her time in Richmond.”

Below: Sister Rosetta Tharpe performs “This Little Light of Mine” at the 1960 Jazz à Juan Festival in Antibes, France

Joining Roots onstage at the Hippodrome will be local musicians such as Sam Reed, Quinton Jones, Sir Rome and Elizabeth Wise—no gospel performers, alas—with proceeds from the event going toward establishing Tharpe as Richmond’s own.

“Whether declaring a city holiday, developing historic markers, uplifting her name in road signs or scholarships, this is a movement to shine a brighter light on her legacy,” reads a press release from Shockoe Records, which is a co-sponsor of the event along with BLKRVA and Atlas Partnerships.

“It’s like a hodgepodge of performers,” says Roots of the tribute show. “We just put out the word to some of the cream of the crop in town and everybody said ‘yeah.’ Dr. Weldon Hill is helping us with some of the arrangements and we’ve got some amazing players. At first, I was convinced it should be all women but then I thought, ‘no, she influenced everybody.'”

Roots has a special connection to Sister Rosetta. Her father, Jimmy Roots, was Tharpe’s longtime musical director and pianist, and her mother Sarah was an original member of her backing vocal group, The Rosettes.

“The story is that she was in town doing a concert and needed backup singers. The Rosettes were actually my mom, two cousins, my godmommy and one of their best friends. They had a singing group and Rosetta just took the whole group.” Roots adds that many of the photos to be shown to the audience at the Hippodrome are from family albums.

Her parents remembered Rosetta as “a lover of life,” she says.

Sister Rosetta certainly knew that she was a pioneer. “All this new stuff they call rock ‘n’ roll,” she told a London newspaper in 1957, at the height of rockabilly. “Why, I’ve been playing that for years now.”

At the event, organizers will be auctioning off an electric guitar—at $25 a ticket—adorned with an original painting by artist Noah Scalin. It was Scalin who first approached Shockoe with the idea of paying lasting tribute to Sister Rosetta.

“I read an article by Craig Belcher in Richmond Magazine that told of Rosetta Tharpe’s life in Richmond, and I was shocked that this incredible musician and guitar player, who was so influential to all of the early rock and roll musicians, had such a strong local connection. I mean, I live not too far from where her house still stands [on the 2300 block of Barton Avenue].”

To pay tribute, and increase awareness, Scalin painted a portrait mural of Sister Rosetta at Short Pump’s Green Gate community. “Not exactly Richmond,” he laughs. “But close enough.” Just before the pandemic struck, he partnered with another fan to try and erect a historical marker at her home. “But the city said they couldn’t do it without the homeowner’s permission, and they wouldn’t give it. And then everything went into lockdown and the effort got put on hold.”

Scalin kept talking about Tharpe, though, to anyone who would listen, and he finally connected with Carlos Chafin, the co-owner of In Your Ear Studios and Shockoe Records. “‘How do you feel about painting a custom guitar and we can raffle it off in a fundraiser honoring her?” he asked me. And then the ball just started rolling.”

Plans are for this musical tribute at the Hippodrome to be an annual event, held every March 20, and planners are still talking about the eventual goal of how to pay proper tribute to the Godmother’s time in Richmond. A special advisory board—with Roots, Scalin, Belcher and others—has been convened to weigh the options. While there is a historic marker erected at her home in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, where she died and is buried, there is no historic remembrance of the good sister anywhere in Richmond, where she lived at the height of her fame.

“We could put up a marker, or a statue,” says Roots. “But personally I would like to establish a scholarship for music students in her name, maybe one that helps young guitarists. I think that would be a great way to honor her time in Richmond.”

“Up Above My Head: A Tribute to Sister Rosetta Tharpe” will be presented at the Hippodrome on Thursday, March 20. 7 p.m. $25-$160. Tickets and info at shockoerecords.com/sisterrosettatharpe.

Trailer below for “The Woman Who Invented Rock ‘n’ Roll” – Polyphonic documentary