"Gospel's First Superstar"

"Tharpe's first hit, in fact, was the transformed spiritual 'Rock Me,' recorded with her soaring held notes and sexy growls back in 1938–when the latter-day King of Rock & Roll, Elvis Presley, was still a toddler. Tharpe would later hire Grand Old Opry stars the Jordanaires to back her, years before they began working for Presley, who was her unabashed fan. 'Elvis loved Sister Rosetta," recalled the Jordanaires' Gordon Stoker, especially her 'incredible' guitar style. 'That's what really attracted Elvis: her pickin'. He liked her singing, but he liked that pickin' first–because it was so different.'"

Will Hermes sings the praises of Sister Rosetta Tharpe at Rolling Stone.