Sunday Sermonette: Sister Rosetta Tharpe - This Train

Sister Rosetta Tharpe -- vocalist, songwriter and guitarist -- is the undisputed Godmother of Rock and Roll.  She was the first bonafide gospel star and yet, her trailblazing extends far beyond the church in three very important ways. First, she infused gospel with rock and roll the way Ray Charles infused R&B with gospel.  Secondly, she did this with the electric guitar, which was a new item at the time, and played it like none other. Thirdly, because she was a master of the electric guitar (she started playing in church when she was 3 years old), she was a strong influence with artists like Chuck Berry, Buddy Holly and Elvis Presley -- and they influenced everyone, most notably bands like The Beatles and The Rolling Stones. And who hasn't been influenced by The Beatles and the Stones?

They're all standing on her shoulders. It is for these reasons and more that her body of work can't be denied or diminished.

This woman is my heroine and in many ways, my blueprint: here she is, performing for a European audience, in a beautiful gown with that white Gibson, singing an old Negro spiritual her way -- and talking smack to pianist Otis Spann, no less.  What a glamorous, flamboyant performer she was -- and yes, so theatrical.  It's everything I aim for, when I perform. It's like I was doing it, then I discovered her and found a parallel line that eventually ran all the way through me -- from her Southern beginnings in COGIC to her time in New York City and eventually Europe.

Listen in and be blessed.

This Train

This train is bound for glory - this train;
This train is bound for glory - this train;
This train is bound for glory - all who ride it must be holy;
This train, this train, this train.

This train has left the station - this train; 
This train has left the station - this train; 
This train has left the station - this train takes on every nation; 
This train, this train, this train.

This train don't carry no liars - this train;
This train don't carry no liars - this train;
This train don't carry no liars - no false pretenders, no back-biters;
This train, this train, this train.

This train don't pull no gamblers - this train;
This train don't pull no gamblers - this train;
This train don't pull no gamblers - no crap-shooters, no midnight ramblers;
This train, this train, this train.

This train is a clean train - this train;
This train is a clean train - this train;
This train is a clean train - everybody ride it in Jesus' name;
This train, this train, this train.

Quote of the Day -- On Charm

The Next (Black Americana) Gig: WFUV's On Your Radar, July 14th!

NEWSFLASH: I'll be playing WFUV's On Your Radar series at Rockwood Music Hall on Tuesday July 14th with Jon Regen and Flagship Romance. Doors open at 6:30pm, show starts at 7 PM.  Tickets are $12. My band and I are on at approximately 7:40pm for a 30 minute set of Black Americana featuring songs from my latest critically acclaimed release The Other Side. 

Tickets and info are available online HERE. You can catch Jon Regen and myself performing live on WFUV's Sunday Breakfast, hosted by John Platt, on Sunday 7/12 at 10:30 AM. Listen HERE.

What the critics are saying: 

"This album is amazing. And very difficult to classify. Can you imagine a black Lucinda Williams? Not like when she plays the blues torn from her first albums, no. A black Lucinda Williams in pop, rhythm, blues and even gender roots Americana. So it sounds, if you can imagine such a hodgepodge somehow, the latest album from this brutal, original, explosive singer." -- Vanity Fair 

"Our admiration for Queen Esther is almost beyond measure." -- Rootstime (Belgium)

"It’s the melancholy country cuts that Queen Esther excels in. 'I’ve Come Undone Again' is a particular highlight; a splendid slice of melancholy country complete with Hank Williams-esque melody and all. 'Love Is a Wrecking Ball' and 'I Feel Like Going Home' are wrought with emotion and are likely the best tracks here." -- Americana UK

"Every song is sung with passion and fire, by this underrated female singer who should be a musical giant." -- Country Music People (UK)

“Queen Esther’s new album The Other Side is unlike anything you’ve heard in recent years…or possibly ever.” -- Muruch 

"The most exciting Afro-Americana release of the year." -- Paste

"Queen Esther's vocals, even at their hardest-rocking, invoke the high-and-lonesome plaintiveness of the honky-tonk bluegrass/rockabilly continuum as much as they do the harsher-timbred blues tradition." -- Living Blues

"A masterpiece of an extremely talented singer/songwriter who can compete with the major players in this field, such as Lucinda Williams." -- Blues Magazine (The Netherlands)

Sunday Sermonette: The Caravans -- "Lord Keep Me Day By Day"

When it's time for me to perform country gospel songs for an HAI gig in the city, there are certain groups that never fail to inspire me. This classic gospel song was recorded by Florida Mass Choir, Willie Neal Johnson & The Gospel Keynotes, Dorothy Norwood and a few others. I especially like this one from The Caravans -- a group that launched the careers of legendary gospel greats Rev. James Cleveland, Albertina Walker, Shirley Caesar, Josephine Howard and many more.

Those of you in the peanut gallery who are actually paying attention already know that Ms. Howard is the one and only Miki I Found Love Under New Management Howard's mother.  So there's that.

Listen in and be blessed.

Lord, Keep Me Day By Day  (written by Eddie Williams)

Lord, keep me day by day,
in a pure, and perfect way.
I want to live, I want to live on
in a building not made by hand.

Lord, keep my body strong
so that I can do no wrong.
Lord, give me grace just to run this Christian race
to a building not made by hand.

I'm just a stranger here,
traveling through this barren land.
Lord, I know there's a building somewhere,
in a building not made by hand.