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.”…