RICHMOND, Va. — Drive through Richmond's Northside and you might not look twice at 2306 Barton Avenue. But listen closely, and you just may hear the licks of a legend.
At one time, this was the home of the performer credited with changing the sound of music forever.
Sister Rosetta Tharpe shredded her electric guitar in ways never before seen or heard. Her unorthodox, self-taught style influenced heavyweights in music from Keith Richards and Tina Turner to Eric Clapton.
"Oh man, she was way ahead of her time," said Richmond jazz pianist Lonnie Liston Smith Jr. "She was just singing, and then all of a sudden, there she goes playing the guitar."
Smith says Tharpe deserves her title.
"They were calling her the godmother of Rock 'n' Roll," Smith said. "Oh man, she had it all. How did she come up with that sound, because no one else was doing it."
Smith's father Lonnie Senior's group the Harmonizing Four recorded, toured and performed with Tharpe.
"What she was doing on the guitar was just unbelievable especially way back then," Smith said. "She was a real trailblazer."
Born in 1915, the Arkansas native's gospel roots ran deep and raw.
Music writer Craig Belcher says Tharpe straddled the fence between the spiritual and secular.
"She did it with a speed and a skill that was pretty much unmatched for back then. I mean, she played better than a lot of men," Belcher said. "Some people found her threatening and kind of hard to process, which may be kind of why people don't know where to put her now in history because she kind of breaks all the barriers."
Tharpe commanded attention at the Apollo and Cotton Club in New York. She even performed at The Mosque, now known as Altria Theatre.
In 1947, Tharpe bought a home on Barton Avenue in Richmond. It would be a home she would live in for about a decade.
Richmond native and musician Stu Gardner remembers visiting Tharpe with his dad, who also shared the stage with the innovator.
"She would take care of you like you were her own. Anything you need. She would have it for you. She was very kind hearted," Gardner said.
Gardner, the composer behind "The Cosby Show" theme song, says Tharpe wrote the roadmap for the greats who followed.
"When gospel was at the height, she was there. When R&B became popular, she was there. She had laid a foundation that no one else had laid before. Awesome guitar player. Awesome," Gardner said. "Chuck Berry stole that. Because he tried to design his playing the same way."
Tharpe's groundbreaking performances still captivate jazz singer and Richmond native Desirée Roots.
"She walked out on a stage and she took over the space. Amazing guitarist and vocalist. Instrumentalist and storyteller all around amazing," Roots said. "Once she started playing that guitar, it was all over."
Roots admires Tharpe's tenderness and tenacity.
"It was very moving and motivational for a lot of people," Roots said. "She was a force to be reckoned."
Roots credits Sister Rosetta Tharpe for providing much more than inspiration.
"There would be no me, because Sister Rosetta Tharpe was the reason my parents met," Roots said.
Desirée's father served as Tharpe's musical director, and her mother provided backup vocals in the Rosettes.
"So if there was no Sister Rosetta Tharpe, there would be no me. So I'm forever grateful," Roots said.
The singer's star dimmed by the late 1960s. She lost her Northside home to foreclosure while on tour and never returned.
A stroke silenced Sister Rosetta Tharpe forever. She passed in Philadelphia at the age of 58 in 1973 and was buried in an unmarked grave.
"Well, it's sort of the case that happens with pioneers. Usually, if you're the first person to do something, you might not get the accolades of people who come along later and refine it," Belcher said.
More than a half century after her death, the guitarist is strutting back into the spotlight. Tharpe was inducted into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame, and a biopic is planned.
"So it's definitely time to recognize Rosetta Tharpe," Belcher said.
In Henrico's West End, a massive mural pays homage to the originator. But back on Barton Avenue, Belcher says you will never know a legend once lived there.
"You won't find any historic markers here," Belcher said. "This is a very important place, and it needs to be protected."
"Who else deserves it more than her?" Smith said.
"Which is why we're still celebrating her," Roots said. "Which is why she's in the Rock 'n' Roll Hall of Fame. Which is why she will forever be that trailblazer that is one of the greatest."
For fans of Sister Rosetta Tharpe's music, a concert celebrating her legacy is coming to the city she once called home. "Keep Shouting Sister: A Tribute to Sister Rosetta Tharpe" will take place on March 19 at the Hippodrome Theatre.
Watch Greg McQuade's stories on CBS 6 and WTVR.com. If you know someone Greg should profile, email him at greg.mcquade@wtvr.com.
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