Strange Things Happening Every Day

"Strange Things Happening Every Day" is a traditional African American spiritual.

"Strange Things Happening Every Day"
Single by Sister Rosetta Tharpe
Released1944 / 1945
Recorded1944
GenreBlues, gospel, spiritual, proto rock and roll
Length3:38
LabelDecca
Songwriter(s)Traditional
Audio sample
30 second sample of Sister Rosetta Tharpe's "Strange Things Happening Every Day"
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It was most famously, and influentially, recorded by Sister Rosetta Tharpe in late 1944, becoming a hit record in 1945. Released as a single by Decca Records, Tharpe's version featured her vocals and resonator guitar, with Sammy Price (piano), bass and drums. It was the first gospel record to cross over and become a hit on the "race records" chart, the term then used for what later became the R&B chart, and reached #2 on the Billboard "race" chart in April 1945.[1][2] The recording has been cited as an important precursor of rock and roll.[3]

A National Public Radio article commented that "Rock 'n' roll was bred between the church and the nightclubs in the soul of a queer black woman in the 1940s named Sister Rosetta Tharpe".[4]

The recording is considered by some to be a contender for the title of first rock'n'roll record.[5]

In recent years, versions of the song have also been recorded by Michelle Shocked, Johnny Cash, Linda Gail Lewis, and Tom Jones.

In 2020, Vika and Linda released a version as the second single from their album, Sunday (The Gospel According to Iso).[6][7]

References
  1. Whitburn, Joel (2004). Top R&B/Hip-Hop Singles: 1942-2004. Record Research. p. 440.
  2. Jason Ankeny, Biography of Rosetta Tharpe, Allmusic.com
  3. Dan DeLuca, Sister Rosetta Tharpe got rock rolling long before Elvis, The Philadelphia Inquirer, 26 February 2007
  4. "Forebears: Sister Rosetta Tharpe, The Godmother Of Rock 'N' Roll". NPR. 24 August 2017. Retrieved 10 August 2020.
  5. "The first rock'n'roll record is released". The Guardian. 12 June 2011. Retrieved 10 August 2020. the first rock record. In fact, that title is hotly disputed, with contenders including Sister Rosetta Tharpe's Strange Things Happening Every Day (1944), and)
  6. "Strange Things Happening Every Day". Spotify. 27 July 2020. Retrieved 8 August 2020.
  7. "Sunday (The Gospel According to Iso) (CD)". JB HiFi. Retrieved 24 July 2020.
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