SISTER ROSETTA THARPE "Rock Me" BRUNSWICK 02737 UK 78rpm Rock 'n' Roll History
  £   45
  $   60

 


£ 45 Sold For
Jun 10, 2026 Sold Date
May 18, 2026 Start Date
1 Number Of Bids
  Great Britain Country Of Seller
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Description

a VG+ post-war UK Brunswick 02737 pressing of the legendary Sister Rosetta Tharpe performing her landmark debut hits Rock Me and Lonesome Road. While this historic debut session itself was originally cut in New York on October 31, 1938, the crisp "CT" tax code embossed on this specific copy firmly dates this high-grade pressing to the 1948–1949 UK factory run. This makes it a very desirable find , as it was pressed using the pristine, early master stampers but benefits from the smoother post-war shellac compositions and avoided the destructive steel needles of the pre-war era.
​Stripped entirely of any orchestral backing, these legendary debut sides feature Rosetta completely solo, anchored solely by her own extraordinary, driving acoustic guitar style and soaring vocals. It is this exact raw, unadorned performance that famously prompted music critic Maurie Orodenker to write in 1942: "It’s Sister Rosetta Tharpe for the rock-and-roll spiritual singing"—marking the foundational genesis of the genre decades before the term entered mainstream culture. Side A (Rock Me) features Tharpe’s revolutionary, highly syncopated guitar picking and ecstatic vocal delivery completely shattering the boundaries between the sacred church and secular music. Side B delivers her show-stopping, deeply soulful reading of Lonesome Road (from Showboat), a performance so rhythmically advanced it directly influenced the vocal mechanics of Elvis Presley, Little Richard, and Jerry Lee Lewis.
​Technical Data
​Artist: Sister Rosetta Tharpe (Unaccompanied Vocal and Guitar Solo)
​Compositions: * Side A: Rock Me (Thomas A. Dorsey)
​Side B: Lonesome Road (From "Showboat") (Gene Austin / Nathaniel Shilkret)
​Label: Brunswick (UK Post-War Gold-on-Black Label / Brunswick Ltd., London)
​Catalog Number: 02737
​UK Purchase Tax Code: CT (Definitively dating this physical pressing to between April 9, 1948, and December 31, 1949)
​Master Session Matrices: 64727-A (Rock Me) / 64730-A (Lonesome Road)
​Format: 10" Shellac Record, 78RPM
​Manufacture: Made in England
​Recording Date: 31st October 1938 (Original US Decca Solo Master Session)
​Pressing Date Era: c. 1948–1949
​Historical Significance: The precise debut release that introduced the world to rock-and-roll spiritual singing and laid the groundwork for mid-century American and British rock music.
​Genre: Primitive Rock 'n' Roll / Acoustic Gospel Blues / Solo Country Blues / Post-War UK Pressings
​The disc is sandwiched between corrugated cardboard and wrapped in bubble wrap. This is then placed inside a double-skin box filled with packing void to prevent movement and provide maximum protection.
​Carefully packed and promptly dispatched


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