Strange Things Happening Every Day

"Strange Things Happening Every Day" is an African American spiritual that was most famously, and influentially, recorded by Sister Rosetta Tharpe in 1944. Released as a single by Decca Records, Tharpe's version featured her vocals and electric 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]

"Strange Things Happening Every Day"
Single by Sister Rosetta Tharpe
Released	1944
Recorded	September 1944
Genre	Rhythm & blues gospel rock and roll
Length	3:38
Label	Decca
Songwriter(s)	Traditional
Audio sample
30 second sample of Sister Rosetta Tharpe's "Strange Things Happening Every Day" file help

Background and influence

Originally a traditional spiritual, Tharpe recorded the song in 1944 in response to backlash from black religious leaders, who had criticized her for performing and recording gospel music for a secular audience.^[3]

The recording has been cited as both an important precursor of rock and roll,^[4] and also considered by some to be a contender for the title of first rock and roll record.^[5] 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".^[6]

Other versions

• In recent years, versions of the song have also been recorded by Michelle Shocked, Johnny Cash, Linda Gail Lewis, Tom Jones, and Sleepy LaBeef.
• In 2020, Vika and Linda released a version as the second single from their album, Sunday (The Gospel According to Iso).^[7][8]