As the saints say, I have come to feel “blessed” in writing this book. My belated discovery of the genius of Sister Rosetta Tharpe around 1998 was the first blessing, followed by the blessing of meeting and talking to so many inspiring people in the course of my research and writing. Although I am an outsider to the gospel world by faith and race, and I grew up in the 1970s—unlike most of the people I interviewed, who grew up during segregation—I have been welcomed at every turn with grace and goodwill. I cannot possibly hope to repay the debts I owe so many people.
For sharing their memories and wisdom, providing insight and instruction, helping me locate people or information, answering my questions, giving me an outlet for the dissemination of my ideas, and/or constituting the community of gospel collectors and aficionados, I thank: Lynn Abbott, Berle Adams, Karen Ahlquist, Chris Albertson, Robert Allen, Margaret Allison, Kip Anderson, Inez Andrews, Donell Atkins, Jenny Bagert, Ginger Baker, Hoover Baker, Lizzie Baker, Alan Balfour, Chris Barber, “Barky” Barksdale, Louie Bellson, Martin Bernal, Jeffrey Blomster, Allen J. Bloom, Brett Bonner, Dave Booth, Joe Boyd, Horace Clarence Boyer, James Boyer, Harold Bradley, J. Robert Bradley, Emily Bram-Bibby, John Broven, Chris Stovall Brown, Ruth Brown, Sharon Brown, Jay Bruder, Joel Buchanon, Tony Burke, Clarke Bustard, Jean Buzelin, James “Early” Byrd, Vira Ann Byrd, Agnes Campbell, Delois Barrett Campbell, Mark Carpentieri, Rosanne Cash, Andy Chard, Reverend Isaac Cohen, Nadine Cohodas, Steve Cole, Derek Coller, Creadell Copeland, LeRoy Crume, Terry Cryer, Steve Cushing, Art Davis, Jim Dickinson, Kenneth Doroshow, Ken Druker, Sherry DuPree, Jeannette Eason, Walter E. Fauntroy, Kenneth Feld, Shirley Feld, Marilyn Ford, David Freeland, Ray Funk, David Gahr, Elder Donald Gay, Odell “Gorgeous” George, Lex Gillespie, Charlie Gillett, Cary Ginell, Naomi Gittings, William Gittings, Walter Godfrey, Jeff Goff, David Gough, Gwendolyn Stinson Gray, Marc Grobman, Peter Guralnick, Geraldine Gay Hambric, Ernest Hayes, Isaac Hayes, Tony Heilbut, Phyllis Hill, Henry Hinkel, Mother May Ethel Holmes, District Elder George T. Holton, Andy Hoogenboom, Musette Hubbard (who passed away in March 2006), Jeff Hughson, Bruce Ignlauer, Elder David E. Jackson, Jerma Jackson, Greg Johnson, Zeola Cohen Jones, Marcia Jones-Washington, the congregation of Kelsey Temple Church of God in Christ in Washington, D.C., Dred-Scott Keyes, Millie Kirkham, Timothy Kish, David Klowden, Reverend Marie Knight, Stephen Koch, James J. Kriegsmann Jr., Sleepy LaBeef, Willy Leiser, Jean-Pierre Leloir, David Leonard, Nettie Lewis, Kip Lornell, Georgia Louis, Fred MacDonald, Junior Mance, Greil Marcus, Bob Marovich, Charles McGovern, Andy McKaie, Marya McQuirter, Alfred Miller, Ella Mitchell, Bob Moore, Kittra Moore, R. Stevie Moore, Roxie A. Moore, Elder Fred D. Morris Sr., Annie Morrison, Maria Muldaur, Opal Nations, Tracy Nelson, Bruce Nemerov, Per “Slim” Notini, Dawn Oberg, George O’Leary, Barney Parks, Ottilie Patterson, Vincent Pelote, Don Peterson, Eloise Powell, Sullivan Pugh, Ernestine Pyles, Tom Reed, Rosetta Reitz, Del Rey, David Ritz, Alva Doris Roberts, Camille Roberts, the congregation of Roberts Temple Church of God in Christ in Chicago, Don and Mary Robertson, Bertha Robinson, Elder Bill Robinson, Desirée Roots, Sarah Roots, Pastor Benjamin Ross, J. B. Ross, Nick Salvatore, David Sanjek, Kenneth L. Saunders, Bill Sayger, Cheatam Scott, Elteaser Scott, Roy T. Scott, Samuel Scott, Samuel E. Scott, Doug Seroff, Olivia Sheppard, Michelle Shocked, Drink Small, Donald Liston Smith, Eugene Smith, Lottie Smith, Brad Snyder, Peter N. Solomon, Mother Evelyn Spears, Dick Spottswood, Johnetta Steele, Walter Stewart, Gordon Stoker, Howard Tash, Creed Taylor, Carla Thomas, Leslie Triggs, Ira Tucker, Ira Tucker Jr., Frances Steadman Turner, Dimitri Vicheney (Jacques Demêtre), Evelyn Waites, Floyd Waites, Steve Waksman, Elijah Wald, Sharon Joyce Roberts Walker, Pastor Cleven Wardlow Jr., Gayle Dean Wardlow, Willa Ward-Royster, Phil Watson, Eric Weisbard, Hollie I. West, David Whiteis, Val Wilmer, Toni Wine, Charles Wolfe, Clyde Wright, Ron Wynn, Lloyd Yearwood, Zane Zacharoff, and Jerry Zolten.
The following deserve special thanks: Rosetta Reitz, who encouraged me at an early stage; Annie Morrison, who entrusted me with Rosetta’s legacy; Tony Heilbut, adviser and telephone operator to the gospel world; the Boyer brothers, Drs. James and Horace Clarence Boyer, for their support and, in the case of Horace Boyer, willingness to read chapters at a late stage; Peter Guralnick, who was, miraculously, a supporter and booster long before I did anything to deserve it (I hope I now have); Marie Knight, who spent long hours talking about the past; Ira Tucker, for his generosity, even when I forgot my tape recorder; Ira Tucker Jr., for his wonderful stories of people he grew up with; Roxie Moore, for sharing her “precious memories” and patiently answering my questions; Lottie Smith and Sarah Roots, Geraldine Gay Hambric and Donald Gay, and Georgia Louis and Pierre Geurtin, for their hospitality and warmth; Val Wilmer, for conversation, ideas, and advice, and (although I never told her this) for being an inspiration as a woman in a field dominated by men; Don Peterson, for allowing me to publish the photos of Rosetta taken by his father, Charles Peterson; David Leonard and Jenny Bagert at Herman Leonard Photography, for allowing me use of the terrific cover image of Rosetta; Cary Ginell at Alfred Publishing and Marcia Webman at Webman Associates, for their help in obtaining print licensing permissions; my European comrades, Alan Balfour, Jean Buzelin, Willy Leiser, Per Notini, and Dimitri Vicheney, who gave of their time and enthusiasm, and are working to keep Rosetta’s legacy alive overseas; Elijah Wald, who, though no relation, did me the great favor of reading large chunks of the manuscript with eagle eyes at a crucial moment in its preparation; Charles McGovern, James A. Miller, and David Stowe, colleagues who did the same, and at the eleventh hour; Ruth Brown and Isaac Hayes, inspiring artists.
I have Gayatri Patnaik, my fabulous editor at Beacon Press, to thank for her guidance and attentiveness at every step; she is the kind of editor a writer trusts implicitly, for her judgment, good humor, and smarts; thanks, too, to the entire team at Beacon, especially Tracy Ahlquist, Tom Hallock, Bob Kosturko, Pam MacColl, and Lisa Sacks.
I am “blessed” with friends who combine brilliance with innumerable other fine qualities. All of you read or heard parts of the manuscript, offered your advice, or wrote letters in support of my work. My gratitude to Daphne Brooks, Judith Castleberry, Jill Dolan, Ruth Feldstein, Lisa Gitelman, Farah Jasmine Griffin, Judith Halberstam, Meta DuEwa Jones, Josh Kun, Andrea Levine, George Lipsitz, Maureen Mahon, Melani McAlister, Robert McRuer, Fred Moten, Guthrie Ramsey, Sonnet Retman, Valerie Smith, Sherrie Tucker, and Stacy Wolf. Thanks, too, to Masha Belenky, Carolyn Betensky, Patty Chu, Jeffrey Cohen, Kavita Daiya, Mary Ann Dubner, Chad Heap, Jennifer James, Lisa Lynch, Phyllis Palmer, Rona Peligal, Judith Plotz, Mikaela Seligman, Sarah Werner, and Floyd White, for your various forms of encouragement and support. Andrea deserves special mention for doing inspired sprinting with me during the final laps.
None of this would have been possible without the support of the George Washington University, especially in the persons of Faye Moskowitz and William Frawley, and in the form of the Columbian Scholars Fellowship initiated under Dean Frawley’s tenure. Thank you, too, to Brian Flota, Tim Walsh, Matthew Schnipper, Delaina Price, Emaleigh Doley, and Aliza Schiff for their fine research assistance.
Several institutions have enabled me to take time away from teaching to research and write. Thank you to the Humanities Research Institute at the University of California, Irvine (and to my colleagues Raul Fernández, Michelle Habell-Pallán, Gayatri Gopinath, Herman Beaver, Jocelyne Guilbault, and Anthony Macías); the Cornell University Society for the Humanities (thank you to Mary Pat Brady, Caprice Cadacio, Anne-Lise François, Michael Kim, and Samantha Majic for propping me up during the long Ithaca winter); and, most important, the National Endowment for the Humanities, for a 2005–2006 fellowship through the “We the People” initiative.
My family has been with me every step of the way: my parents, Max and Marlene Wald, who leave copies of my work “lying around” on available flat surfaces in their home; my sister, Heidi Wald, and brother-in-law, Philip Weiser, who have been indefatigable cheerleaders. Scott Barash offered unwavering support, and, in addition to being a sterling editor, he has a downloadable 10-gigabyte hard drive of music knowledge in his brain. He patiently reminded me that writing a biography is “a marathon, not a sprint.” He is the joy of my life, and I dedicate this book to him.