Strange Things Happening Every Day

Originally a traditional spiritual, Tharpe recorded the song in 1944 in response to backlash from black religious leaders, who had criticized her for performing and recording gospel music for a secular audience. The recording has been cited as both an important precursor of rock and roll, and also considered by some to be a contender for the title of first rock and roll record. A National Public Radio article commented that "Rock 'n' roll was bred between the church and the nightclubs in the soul of a queer black woman in the 1940s named Sister Rosetta Tharpe". ==Other versions==

• In recent years, versions of the song have also been recorded by Michelle Shocked, Johnny Cash, Linda Gail Lewis, Tom Jones, and Sleepy LaBeef. • In 2020, Vika and Linda released a version as the second single from their album, Sunday (The Gospel According to Iso). • A version is performed in the 2022 Baz Luhrmann film Elvis, based on the life of American singer-actor Elvis Presley, by Yola, who plays Tharpe. It is also included on the film's soundtrack album. ==References==