Things I like

The black, female founder of rock 'n' roll

Photo by Simon Weisser on Unsplash

Hello! And welcome to The Honesty Box on this autumnal (or should I say ‘fall,’ as I’m in the US) day.

It takes me a little while to get into September, to accept the wind and the shortening days and the crispy leaves, but once I do, I enjoy wearing chunky boots and a jumper and making the most of the last of the daisy-like cosmos flowers in my garden.

(Also, I finally got the fleece vibe, about three years later than everyone else – any recommendations on where to get one?)

Last night I landed in New Orleans, where this morning I’m going to a Beyonce-themed burlesque & drag brunch at the Virgin Hotel in honour of Queen Bey’s concert in the city this Wednesday - which I am going to as well, wahoooo!

As I write, I’m listening to The Queens Remix of Beyonce’s Break My Soul, which mixes B’s vocals with beats from Madonna’s Vogue, and namechecks 29 black women in music. One of them is Sister Rosetta Tharpe, who I’ve been reading about this week for her stunning contribution to - and arguably founding of - rock ‘n’ roll.

The reason I now know about her is because of an old white guy who failed to consider the influence of black artists and women on rock ‘n’ roll in a book he’s currently promoting.

In an interview with the New York Times a week last Friday, Jann Wenner, the co-founder of Rolling Stone magazine - who was also the chair of the Rock & Roll Hall of Fame - said he didn’t include women or black artists in his book about rock legends because they weren’t as ‘articulate’ as the all-white, male group of musicians he featured.

“You know, just for public relations’ sake, maybe I should have gone and found one Black and one woman artist to include here that didn’t measure up to that same historical standard, just to avert this kind of criticism,” he told the paper’s David Marchese when pressed on his selection.

There was a massive outcry against Wenner’s breathtakingly arrogant words, with many rightly naming his comments as misogynist and racist (the full interview is behind the NYT’s paywall, but you can read pieces about it here and here) and he was quickly fired from the Rock & Roll Hall of Fame board.

Sister Rosetta is mentioned in comments on the original interview, and she’s someone I hadn’t heard of, so I looked her up. Online search results show videos of her standing on a railway platform with an electric guitar slung over her long, warm coat, as she performs to a crowd at a disused station in Manchester in 1964.

She picked up that instrument and influenced future stars – Elvis Presley and Bob Dylan are among the people who credited her – and has been named as the ‘Godmother’ of rock ‘n’ roll.

While I was drawn to read Wenner’s car-crash interview, and then desperately sad to see that some people in public life are still so racist and sexist, I’m glad it’s given me this education about such an incredible woman.

I will be screaming Sister Rosetta Tharpe’s name with 67,000 other Beyonce fans when she performs Break My Soul on Wednesday. BRING IT ON!