Label: Document Records.
Release Date: October 14, 1998.
Releases: September, 2000; September 27, 2005.
Recording Time: 74 minutes.
Recording Date: January 11, 1946 - December 30, 1947.
Styles: Classic Female Blues, Blues Gospel, Gospel, Jump Blues, Black Gospel.
In 1944, Sister Rosetta Tharpe struck on the perfect setting for her music. The flamboyant gospel singer-guitarist had previously recorded with large jazz orchestras and had also released a number of solo sides. All were excellent, although the latter sometimes buried her sublime guitar work and lacked the muscle of a solid backing ensemble. Then Tharpe forged a partnership with the Sam Price Trio and proceeded to make the finest recordings of her career. With the exception of four sides (all included on VOLUME 2 of Document's Tharpe retrospective), all of those recordings appear on this disc. Most fortuitous was Tharpe's decision to record eight duets with Marie Knight, all included on VOLUME 3. The cuts were not only huge commercial successes but artistic triumphs as well. This is American music at its finest: gritty, heartfelt, visceral, and profound all at once. Hats off to Document Records for making available these recordings, which have been out of print for much of the past several decades. If there's any justice in the world, Document Records' three-volume release of Tharpe's work between 1938 and 1947 will rekindle interest in this forgotten gospel virtuoso.
allmusic.com
Credits: Leroy Abernathy - composer; Wallace Bishop - drums; Ed Bourne - drums; Dependable Boys - vocals; Marie Knight - vocals; Kati Bell Nubin - composer; Johnny Parth - producer; Sam Price - ensemble; Sammy Price - composer, piano; Ken Romanowski - liner notes; Sister Rosetta Tharpe - composer, guitar, primary artist, vocals; C.A. Tindley - composer; Traditional - composer; Gerhard Wessely - remastering.
Tracks: 1) Don`t take everybody to be your friend - Sister Rosetta Tharpe; 2) How far from God - Sister Rosetta Tharpe; 3) When I move to the sky - Sister Rosetta Tharpe; 4) Jesus is here today - Sister Rosetta Tharpe; 5) Jonah - Sister Rosetta Tharpe; 6) God`s mighty hand - Sister Rosetta Tharpe; 7) The Lord followed me - Sister Rosetta Tharpe; 8) This train (73987-a) - Sister Rosetta Tharpe; 9) Oh, when I come to the end of my journey - Sister Rosetta Tharpe (vocal duet with Marie Knight); 10) Didn`t it rain - Sister Rosetta Tharpe (vocal duet with Marie Knight); 11) Stretch out - Sister Rosetta Tharpe (vocal duet with Marie Knight) 12) This train (db-104a) - Sister Rosetta Tharpe; 13) When I come to the end of my journey (db-104b) - Sister Rosetta Tharpe (vocal duet with Marie Knight); 14) Beams of heaven - Sister Rosetta Tharpe (vocal duet with Marie Knight); 15) Up above my head I hear music in the air - Sister Rosetta Tharpe (vocal duet with Marie Knight); 16) My journey to the sky - Sister Rosetta Tharpe (vocal duet with Marie Knight); 17) Teach me to be right - Sister Rosetta Tharpe; 18) I heard my mother call my name - Sister Rosetta Tharpe; 19) Heaven is not my home - Sister Rosetta Tharpe; 20) The natural facts - Sister Rosetta Tharpe; 21) Cain`t no grave hold my body down - Sister Rosetta Tharpe; 22) Lay down your soul - Sister Rosetta Tharpe; 23) Precious memories (vcl duet with Marie Knight) - Sister Rosetta Tharpe (vocal duet with Marie Knight); 24) Family prayer - Sister Rosetta Tharpe; 25) Everybody`s gonna have a wonderful time up there - Sister Rosetta Tharpe and The Dependable Boys; 26) My Lord and I - Sister Rosetta Tharpe and The Dependable Boys.