Chelsea Jackson
Features Reporter
Get ready for a night of rock & roll.
On March 20 at the Hippodrome Theater, Richmond musicians will honor the legacy of Sister Rosetta Tharpe, the Godmother of rock & roll.
Sister Rosetta Tharpe revolutionized music by blending gospel with rock, jazz, and R&B in the 1940s and 1950s, bridging the gap between secular and sacred genres. Her 1944 hit “Strange Things Happening Every Day” became a crossover success the following year and is often regarded as a precursor to rock ‘n’ roll. Tharpe's sound influenced musicians such as Chuck Berry and Jimi Hendrix.
At the height of her career, Tharpe moved to Richmond, where she lived in the Barton Heights neighborhood during the 1940s and 1950s. She was a Richmond resident for nearly a decade during this time.
The celebratory evening at the Hippodrome will feature some of Richmond’s brightest talent performing Tharpe’s iconic music. Featured performers will include Desiree Roots, Ms. Jaylin Brown, Weldon Hill, Sam Reed, Quinton Jones, Sir Rome, Reyna Parnell, and many more.
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Sister Rosetta Tharpe, the “godmother of rock ’n’ roll,” recorded the first gospel song to translate to the R&B charts in 1945 (“Strange Things Happening Every Day”).
Throughout the event, you’ll hear her greatest hits while learning about her life, rise to fame, and lasting impact.
All proceeds from the event will go towards efforts to celebrate and highlight Sister Rosetta Tharpe’s lasting connection to Richmond. As part of the fundraising effort, there will be raffles and an auction for an electric guitar featuring an original painting by Noah Scalin.
From the Archives: Southside Plaza
On March 6, 1958, grand opening ceremonies were held for Southside Plaza. Among tenants in the shopping center were Sears and Penney’s, and J.C. Penney himself was on hand for the ribbon-cutting at his latest store. In the grand opening ad, Penney’s promoted a crib for $20 and a sleeper-stroller for $10. J. C. PENNEY CUTS RIBBON OPENING HIS NEW STORE HERE ORG XMIT: RIC1301171716315363
Interior of new Sears store at Southside Plaza. Hard goods store of Sears, Roebuck might be expanded later. Southside Plaza store is chain's first local branch in suburbs
This September 1958 image shows the inside of the first S&W Cafeteria in Richmond. It opened in Southside Plaza in late August with seating for about 300, and entrée selections such as fried chicken, roast beef and breaded veal cutlet cost 55 to 60 cents. The cafeteria had about 60 employees. A second S&W was planned for the Willow Lawn shopping center.
In November 1957, three stores opened for business in Southside Plaza, then part of Chesterfield County. They were (from left) Giant Food, Peoples Drug Store and G.C. Murphy Co. The formal grand opening of the shopping center was held in March 1958.
In March 1958, Southside Plaza was celebrating its grand opening. The shopping center, then part of Chesterfield County, included this new High's Ice Cream store, known as the Plantation Room. It was unique among High’s in the area by serving light meals and having booths and counters that surrounded the area for preparing ice cream dishes.
Work on the area's first self-service post office at Southside Plaza is nearly complete. The small post office is in the middle of Southside Plaza's parking lot for the 24-hour convenience of persons int he South Side area. The facility will open Dec. 9, according to post office officials, in time to be a boon in the Christmas...office's vending machines will offer loose and book stamps worth up to 25 cents each, regular and airmail stamped envelopes, postcards and insurance stickers. There also will be scales for weighing packages, and coin and dollar bill changing machines. In the event something goes amiss, there is to be a direct phone to the main post office downtown.
01-20-1969: Southside Plaza
12-24-1968 (cutline): Traffic at Southside Plaza is directed by off-duty policeman. Extra-work pool of Chesterfield County policemen is insufficient.
10-20-1958: Southside Plaza
03-07-1958: Southside Plaza
08-27-1965 (cutline): The opening of Miller & Rhoads' new Richmond store (above) in Southside Plaza has been switched to early November, in time for Christmas shopping and well ahead of the 1966 opening date previously announced. The exterior of the store is virtually complete, and work is going ahead on finishing the interior of the 50,000-square-foot, two-story building. Miller & Rhoads also reported this week that its new store in Walnut Hill Shopping Center in Petersburg will open September 8, while the third floor addition and revamped departments in the Willow Lawn store here will be completed in early October.
03-11-1959 (cutline): Four members of plaza merchants group plan birthday celebration. Shown are Leon Hoffman (left), Kenneth Grube, Kelly Davick and John Woodle.
01-30-1969: Southside Plaza
09-03-1959 (cutline): The new S&W Cafeteria opening tomorrow at Southside Plaza.
03-07-1958: Southside Plaza
03-06-1958: Southside Plaza sign and clock.
