Gospel Train (album)

Gospel Train is a studio album by gospel and R&B artist Sister Rosetta Tharpe, recorded in July 1956 and released in December the same year.[1][2] Tharpe is accompanied on vocals by the traditional black gospel quartet The Harmonizing Four on some of the songs. The album was noted as part of Tharpe's induction to the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame.[3]

Gospel Train
Studio album by
Sister Rosetta Tharpe
ReleasedDecember 1956 (1956-12)
Recorded
  • 2 July 1956
  • 5 July 1956
StudioMercury Sound Studio, New York
GenreGospel, R&B
Length32:02
LabelMercury
MG-20201

Music

Sister Rosetta Tharpe was already known as one of gospel's most successful and pioneering artists and a leading purveyor of the genre's blending with R&B as a precursor to rock and roll.[4][5][6] This album finds her accompanied by musicians from the New York jazz scene.[7] The record marks a stylistic change in her recording career, presaging her influence on blues and blues rock artists of the 1960s.[8][9][10]

Reception
Professional ratings
Review scores
SourceRating
AllMusic[11]
Billboard[2]
Cross Rhythms[7]
Premier Guitarnot rated[12]

A contemporary review in Billboard quotes the Methodist minister John Wesley: "'Why should the devil have all the good tunes?'"; the author then commenting that "Sister Tharpe shows that he hasn't, and she does this with her well-known rocking rhythm and zest".[2] The album was noted as part of Tharpe's induction to the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame.[3] Author and critic Tom Moon cited the record as a choice of the catalog in 1,000 Recordings to Hear Before You Die.[13] AllMusic called it "a super collection", noting it as an album highlight of the singer's career.[14] Premier Guitar described the guitar work in the album as exhibiting "more technique and less raunch", concluding the record is "worth it just for the swinging, twangy and so ambient and vibey '99½ Won't Do'."

Track listing

All tracks composed by Rosetta Tharpe except where noted.

  1. "Jericho" – 2:00 (Traditional)
  2. "When they Ring the Golden Bell" – 2:27
  3. "Two Little Fishes, Five Loaves of Bread" – 2:31 (Bernie Hanighen)
  4. "Beams of Heaven" – 3:20
  5. "Can't No Grave Hold my Body Down" – 2:40
  6. "All Alone" – 2:35
  7. "Up Above my Head there's Music in the Air" – 2:21
  8. "I Shall Know Him" – 2:22
  9. "Fly Away" – 2:25
  10. "How about You" – 2:25
  11. "Precious Memories" – 2:36
  12. "99½ Won't Do" – 2:02

Personnel

Musicians

References
  1. "December Album Releases" (PDF). The Cash Box. New York: The Cash Box Publishing Co. 8 December 1956. Retrieved 21 June 2019.
  2. "Gospel Train". The Billboard. Cincinnati: The Billboard Publishing Co. 15 December 1956. Retrieved 21 June 2019.
  3. "Sister Rosetta Tharpe". Rock & Roll Hall of Fame. Retrieved 21 June 2019.
  4. McNeil, William [ed.] (2013). Encyclopedia of American Gospel Music. New York/Abingdon: Routledge. p. 396. ISBN 978-1135377076.CS1 maint: extra text: authors list (link)
  5. Csaky, Mick (22 February 2013). "Sister Rosetta Tharpe: The Godmother of Rock and Roll". American Masters. Season 27. Episode 1. PBS. Retrieved 21 June 2019.
  6. "The Gospel Truth" (PDF). The Cash Box. The Cash Box Publishing Co. Inc., NY. 13 June 1959. Retrieved 21 June 2019.
  7. Honeyman, Lins. "Sister Rosetta Tharpe - Gospel Train". Cross Rhythms. Retrieved 21 June 2019.
  8. McNeil, William [ed.] (2013). Encyclopedia of American Gospel Music. New York/Abingdon: Routledge. p. 399. ISBN 978-1135377076.CS1 maint: extra text: authors list (link)
  9. Wald, Gayle (March 2006). "Reviving Rosetta Tharpe: Performance and Memory in the 21st Century". Women & Performance: A Journal of Feminist Theory. 16 (1): 91–106. doi:10.1080/07407700500515944. S2CID 194074517.
  10. Wald, Gayle. "Sister Rosetta's Train Was Going Everywhere". Vinyl Me, Please. Retrieved 21 June 2019.
  11. Nations, Opal. "Gospel Train". AllMusic. Retrieved 21 June 2019.
  12. Ross, Michael. "Forgotten Heroes: Sister Rosetta Tharpe". Premier Guitar. Gearhead Communications, LLC. Retrieved 21 June 2019.
  13. Moon, Tom (2008). 1,000 Recordings to Hear Before You Die. New York: Workman Publishing. p. 772. ISBN 978-0761153856.
  14. "Sister Rosetta Tharpe". AllMusic. Retrieved 21 June 2019.

Bibliography
  • McNeil, William [ed.] (2013). Encyclopedia of American Gospel Music. New York/Abingdon: Routledge. pp. 396–411. ISBN 978-1135377076.CS1 maint: extra text: authors list (link)
  • Wald, Gayle (March 2006). "Reviving Rosetta Tharpe: Performance and Memory in the 21st Century". Women & Performance: A Journal of Feminist Theory. 16 (1): 91–106. doi:10.1080/07407700500515944. S2CID 194074517.
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