Remembering Our Remarkable Sister

 ELVIS PRESLEY sat through school with her songs in his head, then said he would run home from school to listen to her records. Chuck Berry, whom many consider to have invented rock n roll, said that his entire career was one long impression of her. Johnny Cash called her his favorite singer, and once reportedly said that she invented music .She played with Duke and Count, THE Duke and THE count. She was raised ln gospel, which remained her favorite throughout her life, but she combined it with jazz, the blues, and rock n roll, which she actually invented but did not give it its name, to create her memorable style. Among her contemporary music lovers she was beloved and admired, as she toured the world and became a world famous top hit icon.And yet today she is largely forgotten. If you've never heard of sis Rosetta Tharp, its either because you don't like modern American music, are quite young, you live on Mars, or, most likely its not your fault at all. Its because she was black and sexually queer, and a woman, and because of the hatred American society has for people like her. She died when I was a senior in high school. two weeks after harry Truman died, and at about the same time Pablo Picasso died. A friend and I drove three hour sin teh middle of a freezing December, 1972 night to stand in line for three hours and spend two minutes walking past the casket of president Truman as it lay in state.Th day Picasso dies, I went to class and tole the girl sitting behind me, may girlfriend who was a good art student, about Picasso's death. She refused to believe me. But I do not remember Tharp's passing, and I had never heard of her until I was well past fifty, despite my lifelong love of rock n roll. Shame on me. Shame on American society. I have friends who are musicians who have either never heard of her or know little about her.Had she been a man, or a gorgeous heterosexual white woman, she would now be a cherished as Chuck Berry or Marilyn Monroe or Elvis Presley.  Instead, she is largely forgotten. We Americans like to forget about the non conformers. She was a perfect storm for post life anonymity.She is also a perfect illustration that the United States of Amnesia is a racist, misogynist, homophobic culture. Not bashful, she often remarked that she could play guitar better than any man, and she was right.Anyone who listens to her gospel recordings knows that she was perhaps the greatest gospel singer of all time. Among our contemporary conservative evangelical Christian community she should be an icon, but they won't touch her with a ten foot pole, for obvious reasons. Like so many other narrow minded hateful attitudes of modern American Christiandom, its really too bad. But, its their loss, not hers.