Inspiration.
Who has left their imprint on you?
What do you pass on to others?
As I was trolling through Youtube, looking for the Wood Brothers video of 'Up Above My Head', I stumbled onto a video that flat out made me fall in love:
Sister Rosetta Tharpe, singing the same song, but a good 50 years or more earlier than the version I'm familiar with. (More info on Sister Rosetta Tharpe here and here.)
Sister Rosetta managed to stay true to her gospel roots, while mostly playing in night clubs, and enjoying a secular presentation and attitude. And check out her finger-picking style, and awesome Gibson SG guitar too!
As she's singing about music, one of the lines toward the end of the song is:
All in my soul,
Makes me feel whole
To which I say, Amen Sister.
For lots more info on Sister Rosetta Tharpe, here's a BBC documentary on her. It's quite long, but if nothing else, watch the first couple of minutes to see her performance in a Manchester train station, in the rain, in the 1960's.
Is it any wonder that artists as varied as Elvis Presley, Little Richard, Chuck Berry, Bob Dylan, Johnny Cash, Aretha Franklin, Allison Kraus and Robert Plant, as well as The Wood Brothers have all been inspired by her singing and her style?
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