Before anyone called it “rock,” she was already playing it. Sister Rosetta Tharpe, early distortion, electric guitar history, rock origins, overdrive guitar, 1940s music, gospel guitar, guitar pioneers, roots of rock, influential women in music, guitar tone history, true music stories, Dirty Vinyl Files #MusicScandals #RosettaTharpe #RockHistory #GuitarLegends #WomenInMusic The sound of rock ’n’ roll began with a gospel guitarist who turned her amp up past its limits.