Strange Things Happening Every Day

"Strange Things Happening Every Day"
Single by Sister Rosetta Tharpe
Released	1944
Recorded	September 1944
Genre	Rhythm & blues gospel rock and roll
Length	3:38
Label	Decca
Songwriter	Traditional
Audio sample
30 second sample of Sister Rosetta Tharpe's "Strange Things Happening Every Day" file help

"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]}

Background and influence

Originally 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

• 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]}
• A version is performed in the 2022 Baz Luhrmann film Elvis , based on the life of American singer-actor Elvis Presley, by Yola, who plays Tharpe. It is also included on the film's soundtrack album. ^[9]

References

1. Whitburn, Joel (2004). Top R&B/Hip-Hop Singles: 1942-2004. Record Research. p. 440.
2. Jason Ankeny, Biography of Rosetta Tharpe, Allmusic.com
3. Carpenter, Bil (2005). Uncloudy days : the gospel music encyclopedia. Internet Archive. San Francisco : Backbeat Books. ISBN   978-0-87930-841-4.
4. Dan DeLuca, Sister Rosetta Tharpe got rock rolling long before Elvis, The Philadelphia Inquirer, 26 February 2007
5. "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)
6. "Forebears: Sister Rosetta Tharpe, The Godmother Of Rock 'N' Roll". NPR. 24 August 2017. Retrieved 10 August 2020.
7. "Strange Things Happening Every Day". Spotify. 27 July 2020. Retrieved 8 August 2020.
8. "Sunday (The Gospel According to Iso) (CD)". JB HiFi. Retrieved 24 July 2020.
9. Willman, Chris (2022-06-18). "The Music of Elvis: A Complete Guide to Who Sings What on Soundtrack, From Jack White to Jazmine Sullivan to Stevie Nicks". Variety . Retrieved 2026-01-02.