Strange Things Happening Every Day

"Strange Things Happening Every Day" is an African American spiritual that was most famously, and influentially, recorded by Sister Rosetta Tharpe in 1944. Released as a single by Decca Records, Tharpe's version featured her vocals and electric guitar, with Sammy Price (piano), bass and drums. It was the first gospel record to cross over and become a hit on the "race records" chart, the term then used for what later became the R&B chart, and reached #2 on the Billboard "race" chart in April 1945.

Background and influence
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).