Born Rosetta Nubin on the 20th March 1915 in Cotton Plant, Arkansas, she began performing at age four, billed as "Little Rosetta Nubin, the singing and guitar playing miracle", accompanying her mother, Church of God in Christ (COGIC) evangelist Katie Bell Nubin, who played mandolin and preached at tent revivals throughout the Southern U.S.A. Exposed to both blues and jazz both in the South and after her family moved to Chicago in the late 1920s, she played blues and jazz in private, while performing gospel music in public settings. Her unique style reflected those secular influences: she bent notes the way that jazz artists did and picked guitar like Memphis Minnie.
Rosetta also crossed over to secular music in other ways. After marrying COGIC preacher Thomas Thorpe (from which "Tharpe" is a misspelling) in 1934 and moving to New York City, she recorded four sides with Decca Records backed by "Lucky" Millinder's jazz orchestra. Her records caused an immediate furore: many churchgoers were shocked by the mixture of sacred and secular music, but secular audiences loved them. Appearances in John Hammond's 1938 extravaganza "From Spirituals to Swing", at the Cotton Club and Café Society and with Cab Calloway and Benny Goodman, made her even more popular. Songs like "This Train" and "Rock Me", which combined gospel themes with bouncy up-tempo arrangements, became smash hits among audiences with little previous exposure to gospel music.
Tharpe continued recording during World War II, one of only two gospel artists able to record V-discs for troops overseas. Her song "Strange Things Happening Every Day", recorded in 1944 with Sammy Price, Decca's house boogie woogie pianist, showcased her virtuosity as a guitarist and her witty lyrics and delivery. It was also the first gospel song to make Billboard's "race records" Top Ten -- something that she accomplished several more times in her career.
After the war Decca paired her with Marie Knight, a sanctified shouter with a strong contralto and a more subdued style than Tharpe. Their hit "Up above My Head" showed both of them to great advantage: Knight provided the response to Tharpe in traditional call and response format, then took the role that would have been assigned to a bass in a male quartet after Tharpe's solo. They toured the gospel circuit for a number of years, during which Tharpe was so popular that she attracted 25,000 paying customers to her wedding to her manager Russell Morrison (her third marriage), followed by a vocal performance, at Griffith Stadium in Washington, D.C. in 1951.
Their popularity took a sudden downturn, however, when they recorded several blues songs in the early 1950s. Knight attempted afterwards to cross over to popular music, while Tharpe remained in the church, but rebuffed by many of her former fans. Retreating to Europe, Tharpe gradually returned to the gospel circuit, although at nowhere near her former celebrity. Her performances were curtailed even further by a stroke in 1970 after which she lost the use of her legs. She died on the 9th October 1973 after another stroke, on the eve of a scheduled recording session.
Up Above My Head I Hear Music in the Air
Sister Rosetta Tharpe Lyrics
Jump to: Overall Meaning ↴ Line by Line Meaning ↴
(Up above my head)
I hear music in the air
(I hear music in the air)
Up above my head
(Up above my head)
I hear music in the air
Up above my head
(Up above my head)
I hear music in the air
(I hear music in the air)
And I really do believe
(Yeah) I really do believe
There's a Heaven somewhere
(There's a Heaven somewhere)
Up above my head
(Up above my head)
I hear music in the air
(I hear music in the air)
Up above my head
(Up above my head)
I hear music in the air
(I hear music in the air)
Up above my head
(Up above my head)
I hear music in the air
(I hear music in the air)
And I really do believe
(I really do believe)
Yes, I really do believe
(I really do believe)
Yes, I really do believe
I really do believe
There's a Heaven somewhere
(Up above my head)
Yeah, yeah, yeah...
Yeah, I believe
Yes, I believe
Yes, I believe
Yes, I believe
Yes, I believe
Oh, yeah, oh, yeah
Oh, yeah, oh, yeah
Oh, oh, oh, oh
Yes, I believe
Oh, yeah, oh, yeah
Oh, yeah, oh, yeah
I believe, I believe
I believe, I believe
I believe, I believe
I believe, I believe
Up above my head
The song "Up Above My Head I Hear Music in the Air" by Sister Rosetta Tharpe is a joyful gospel song that expresses the singer's faith in an eternal paradise beyond this world. The repetition of the phrase "Up above my head I hear music in the air" is used as a metaphor for the spiritual realm, where the sounds of music and heavenly choirs could be heard. The singer emphasizes her conviction that such a place exists, declaring "I really do believe there's a Heaven somewhere."
The song has a call-and-response structure, with the lead vocalist singing a phrase and the choir responding with a joyful "Yeah!" This gives the impression of a group of believers coming together in worship and celebration of their faith. The song's beat and melody are upbeat and lively, encouraging listeners to join in and feel the joy of the singer's faith.
Overall, the song is a testament to the power of music and faith to uplift and inspire people. It reminds listeners of the possibility of a realm beyond this world, where troubles and sorrows cease to exist and only joy and harmony remain.
Line by Line Meaning
Up above my head
I am hearing something above me
(Up above my head)
It's happening above my head, not in front of me
I hear music in the air
That something I'm hearing is music
(I hear music in the air)
It's not just a feeling, but music audible to my ears
And I really do believe
I have a strong conviction about this
(Yeah) I really do believe
I am earnestly certain about this
There's a Heaven somewhere
The source of this music is Heaven
(There's a Heaven somewhere)
The origin of this music is divine
Yes, I really do believe
Again, I have a strong conviction about this
Yeah, yeah, yeah...
I am excited about this revelation
Oh, yeah, oh, yeah
This revelation is felt in my entire being
Oh, oh, oh, oh
This revelation is beyond mere words
I believe, I believe
I express my belief in repetition, showing my unwavering conviction
Contributed by Adam V. Suggest a correction in the comments below.
@LisaIsabelle
A force of nature. She doesn't belong in the Rock'n'Roll Hall of fame. She IS the Rock'n'Roll Hall of fame!
@ThankGod4life
Hello! How are you doing today, please pardon me for intruding into your privacy but I just wanted to know if you’re a fan ? Have a great day..Stay Safe!
@bobbygproverbs31
I totally agree with you!🎉🎉🎉🎉🎉🎉
@therealsWa
Impeccable voice. Born in 1915. Shredding the guitar in ways that did not exist in that time. Yes - she founded Rock and Roll, created it and now I declare we need a movie, a tv series, a biopic, and a documentary exploring her life deeply. Thank you.
@ChristinaMarilynCook
WARNING: Her life took a “walk into darkness” BUT she Recovered herself in the End. She Struggled with Temptation & walking The “narrow” way. In GOOD hands her life could be a beautiful EXAMPLE of a MODERN DAY PILGRIMs PROGRESS walk of Traps, Snares, Temptations That beset all of us…. In the WRONG hands her Story could be harmful by Twisting The Truth… 🙏😇🙏
@solominded
She wasn't directly the creator of rock n roll but she was absolutely one of the first to form it's sound and it's rythum. The "creator" would be Bill Haley. I do not want to tear down her legend, tho, she absolutely had the sound and the rythum before anyone else. Bill Haley really formed the big band rock n roll and formed it to dance music, but sister Rosetta was absolutely shredding before anyone else.
@kahlilboi
@@solominded dude stop bill Haley is an overrated white pop act and nothing else 😔 bill Haley didn't CREATE or start anything 😂 black people were already doing it before him
@solominded
@kahlilboi bruh thats literally a racist comment but you totally crazy man. Bill Haley was rocking with electric guitars long before anyone else.
@kahlilboi
@@solominded no he wasn't clown
@mceleneyy
This woman was born in 1915, and she’s shredding. that’s absolutely INSANE