Turning the Table

A contemporary of Rosetta Tharpe, gospel singer Mahalia Jackson had one of the great big, gorgeous voices of the 20th century, the echoes of which can still be heard in popular music today.

For many, Rosetta Tharpe's music represented a kind of healing, and the way she played inspired listeners — including writer Alice Randall — to find sweetness in the bitter of life.

Sister Rosetta Tharpe was a superstar of the pre-rock era, traveling the country in a customized bus and performing for tens of thousands, but never got press to match her stardom. What if she had?

Without Sister Rosetta Tharpe, we wouldn't have rock and roll as we know it now. Our playlist features some of Tharpe's best songs, as well as music from her influences and inheritors.

How do you inhabit the world's most well-known Latin singer? For singers and actresses Aymée Nuviola and Jeimy Osorio, playing Celia Cruz meant staying in touch with pain, joy and destiny.

As a true diva, Cruz was of her time and capable of transcending it. Her voice carried lessons in presence and stamina, and her enduring legacy has created a space for feminist interventions in salsa.

Cruz remains matchless in meeting the pain of exile and immigration with as full and joyous a song as she sang. Hear a playlist of her best songs, plus music by the artists she inspired.

Before settling in Harlem, Mary Lou Williams traveled the country playing with big bands. The road shaped her sound, and her theory of black music as "the greatest and only true art in the world."

In jazz, arranging — designing parts to fit together and creating new spins on familiar songs — is often unglamorous. But Williams' incomparable success as an arranger only further proves her genius.

Ella Fitzgerald's musical genius and influence is still being felt today. Latinx musicians Mabiland and Daymé Arocena explain how Fitzgerald inspires their music.