Sister Rosetta Tharpe

In 1964 during the blues fad in in the UK spearheaded by the stones, yardbirds and bluesbreakers, Sister Rosetta toured Europe as part of the Blues and Gospel Caravan alongside greats like Muddy Waters. I could not recall the date, but I have seen footage from this tour (she owns that SG Custom, ya gotta hear it) and I know this picture is from that concert. Wikipedia states that "a concert, in the rain, was recorded by Granada Television at the disused railway station at Wilbraham Road, Manchester in May 1964. The band performed on one platform while the audience members were seated on the opposite platform." In this still from the aforementioned concert Tharpe can be seen playing her White SG Custom through a Vox ac30 amplifier that was obviously rented for the tour.

Because the footage and stills were black and white it is impossible to tell whether it was a copper panel ac30 with brown diamond fret cloth or a grey panel with black diamonds....

If I recall 1964 was a transitional year cosmetically and the amp in question may not have been a brand new model. Judging by her tone I suspect she may have had a 62 or earlier model as she does not sound like she is through a top boost channel, but also does not sound like she is playing through an ac30 bass model. Though with such a grainy recording I could just be talking smack here. As a Philadelphian guitarist I am a real Rosetta Tharpe kinda guy and as a vox lover I just really wanna figure it out!

Sister Rosetta Tharpe is often thought of as the godmother of rock and roll. She was an incredible gospel musician that pushed boundaries, eventually inspiring rock classics like Chuck Berry and Elvis Presley. Here she is on tour in England with Muddy Waters in the early '60s, playing her incredible Les Paul SG Custom into an AC30.

From VOX USA.

In this video at minute 00:34 you can see an old Gibson GA-8T.