Gayle Wald

Gayle Wald is an interdisciplinary scholar of American culture whose research spans music, television, literature, cultural memory, and African American studies. Shout, Sister, Shout! reconstructs the life and influence of singer and electric guitarist Sister Rosetta Tharpe, a gospel performer whose sound helped shape rock and roll. Beacon Press's current edition draws attention to Wald's interviews with more than 150 people as well as her use of newspapers, archives, and memorabilia. Wald is a professor of American Studies at George Washington University and has also written Crossing the Line, It's Been Beautiful, and This Is Rhythm. Her editorial work has included the Journal of Popular Music Studies, NYU Press's Postmillennial Pop series, and Bloomsbury's 33 1/3 series of books about record albums. In Shout, Sister, Shout!, biography becomes a way to restore Tharpe's place in American music history while examining how race, gender, faith, performance, archival absence, and cultural memory influenced the recognition of her work. Wald's account connects an individual musician's career to the larger history of American popular sound.