Long before the British invaded, Elvis swiveled his hips and Bill Haley rocked around the clock, the iconic vision of a rhythm and blues vocalist playing electric guitar was popularized in the 1940s by Sister Rosetta Tharpe, a gospel singer who crossed over into nightclubs with a hard-belting style that fused the secular with the sacred.
SOURCE: BroadwayWorld at 04:12PM on September 20, 2016