Verve Label Group and UMe are proud to announce
the induction of trailblazers Nina Simone and Sister Rosetta Tharpe into the
Rock & Roll Hall of Fame. Late pianist, singer and activist Simone will be
inducted into the 2018 Performer Category alongside Bon Jovi, The Cars and The
Moody Blues, while Tharpe, the late singer and guitarist known as the
"godmother of rock and roll," will be inducted into the hall's Early
Influences wing, joining such luminaries as Billie Holiday, Robert Johnson,
Hank Williams, Bessie Smith and Howlin' Wolf. The 33rd Annual Rock and Roll
Hall of Fame Induction Ceremony takes place April 14, 2018 at Public Auditorium
in Cleveland, Ohio.
Verve Label
Group and UMe are proud to announce the induction of trailblazers Nina Simone
and Sister Rosetta Tharpe into the Rock & Roll Hall of Fame.
Verve Label
Group and UMe are proud to announce the induction of trailblazers Nina Simone
and Sister Rosetta Tharpe into the Rock & Roll Hall of Fame.
Known as the
"High Priestess of Soul," Nina Simone defies categorization. A
pianist, singer, songwriter, composer and activist, she was one of the most
gifted vocalists of her generation, an extraordinary artist of the twentieth
century, an icon of American music. Rather than being confined to musical
boundaries, she knew no bounds and fused jazz, blues, soul, folk, R&B,
gospel, pop and showtunes with her classical roots, creating a rich tapestry
filled with emotional honesty, spiritual depth and virtuosic musicianship.
Born Eunice
Kathleen Waymon on February 21, 1933, in Tryon, North Carolina, Simone took to
music at an early age and begun playing piano at three years old. After
graduating valedictorian of her high school class, her community raised money
for a scholarship for her to study classical piano at Julliard in New York
City. She left after the money ran out and applied to the prestigious Curtis
Institute in Philadelphia, where she was denied entrance, something Simone
always felt was racially motivated. Determined to make a living playing music,
she began to perform in bars in Atlantic City where she played jazz standards
and was required to sing. Word quickly spread and at the age of twenty-four she
scored her first record deal.
Simone
recorded more than 40 albums, beginning in 1957 with her debut Little Girl
Blue, featuring "I Loves You Porgy," which became a Top 10 hit in the
U.S. By the mid-1960s, Simone had become known as a main voice for the Civil
Rights Movement as her music began to reflect the tumultuous times. She signed
to Philips in 1964 at the age of 31 and experienced an exceptional purple patch
that included seven albums in three years. Her first for the label, Nina Simone
In Concert, captured some of Simone's most committed Civil Rights-era material,
including her explosive rendition of "Mississippi Goddam." This
period also saw her satisfy her relentlessly questing muse, with collections
that focused on Broadway showtunes (Broadway-Blues-Ballads), pop material (I Put
A Spell On You) and more, showing the full range of Simone's talents. Pitchfork
hailed these recordings, which include classics "Feeling Good,"
"Don't Let Me Be Misunderstood," "I Put A Spell On You,"
"Sinnerman" and "Four Women," as "some of the most important,
moving documents of American history."
Since her
death in 2003, Simone's influence, significance and cultural relevance has only
grown, especially most recently as issues of race, police brutality and civil
rights are once again at the forefront of the cultural conversation. The
feature documentary, "What Happened, Miss Simone?" — which won the
2016 Emmy for Outstanding Documentary —helped shine a new light on Simone's
immense talents and fearless activism, resulting in a new generation discovering
her timeless music and indelible impact. Simone's induction into the Rock and
Roll Hall of Fame serves as a recognition of her influence and contributions to
the world of music.
Upon the
news of her induction, Rolling Stone wrote, "no artist has been more
overdue for recognition than Sister Rosetta Tharpe, adding, "A queer black
woman from Arkansas who shredded on electric guitar, belted praises both to God
and secular pleasures, and broke the color line touring with white singers, she
was gospel's first superstar, and she most assuredly rocked." Born March
20, 1915 in Cotton Plant, Arkansas, Tharpe defied expectations from an early
age as a guitar prodigy. At six years old, her mother left her father to be a
traveling evangelist and together they joined the exodus of poor black
southerners heading north. They settled in Chicago where young Rosetta
encountered the music that migrants had brought with them - blues from the
Mississippi delta and jazz from New Orleans. She began performing gospel music
as Little Rosetta Nubin with her mother at churches as part of a traveling
Baptist roadshow. By the time she was in her 20s, she was a seasoned performer
whose distinctive voice and unconventional style, filled with her signature
feverish electric guitar playing, attracted many fans.
In 1938,
Tharpe moved to New York, where she signed with Decca Records. That year she
recorded four songs – "Rock Me," "That's All," "The
Man and I" and "The Lonesome Road" – which all became instant
hits, establishing Tharpe as a household name and helping to bring gospel music
to the mainstream. She remained a star through the '40s and in 1945 her single,
"Strange Things Happening Every Day," became the first gospel single
to cross over on the Billboard race (later called R&B) charts. In 1947, she
gave 14-year-old Richard Penniman his first glimpse of the spotlight which made
Little Richard decide to become a performer right then. In the '50s massive
audiences were flocking to see her perform in arenas.
"She
was there before Elvis, Little Richard and Johnny Cash swiveled their hips and
strummed their guitars," NPR proclaimed in their feature of Tharpe earlier
this year. "It was Tharpe, the godmother of rock 'n' roll, who turned this
burgeoning musical style into an international sensation… Through her
unforgettable voice and gospel swing crossover style, Tharpe influenced a
generation of musicians including Aretha Franklin, Chuck Berry and countless
others." Without Sister Rosetta Tharpe, rock and roll would not be the
same. As the Rock & Roll Hall of Fame said, "She is the founding
mother who gave rock's founding fathers the idea," declaring, "No one
deserves more to be in the Rock & Roll Hall of Fame."
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