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Rose Maddox was given the name
Roselea Arbana Maddox when she was born December 15, 1925,
near Boaz, Alabama. She died April 15, 1998 in Ashland,
Oregon. In the Depression days of 1933, Charlie and Lula
Maddox took their five young children (Cal, Henry, Fred, Don
and Rose), whose ages ranged from 7 to 16, illegally boarded
freight trains and headed for California, eventually settling
near Bakersfield. They followed the various harvests, working
as “fruit tramps,” and were soon joined by eldest son Cliff.
All of the Maddox family were
musical, and to help their income, they began to play for
local dances, with the 12-year-old Rose providing the vocals,
even in noisy honky tonks. They first appeared on radio KTRB
Modesto in 1937, but by 1941, when they disbanded owing to
Cal, Fred, and Don being drafted, they had become a popular
act, due initially to appearances on the powerful KFBK a
Sacramento station.
In 1946, they re-formed as the
Maddox Brothers And Rose and became popular over a wide area.
Their bright and garish stage costumes earned them the title
“the most colorful hillbilly band in America.” Cliff died in
1948, and Henry took his place.
By the early 50s, with an act
that included comedy as well as songs, they were regulars on
the Louisiana Hayride, played concerts and also appeared on
the Grand Ole Opry. In 1947, they recorded for Four Star
before moving to Columbia in 1951. Their successes included
Rose's stirring recordings of “The Philadelphia Lawyer” and
“The Tramp On The Street.” Rose also recorded with her
sister-in-law, Loretta, as Rosie And Rita.
By the mid-50s, Rose was
beginning to look towards a solo career. In 1957, she signed
with Capitol Records and about that time the Maddox Brothers
nominally disbanded. Rose soon established herself as a solo
singer and, during the 60s, had several chart hits including
“Gambler's Love,” “Conscience I'm Guilty” and her biggest hit
“Sing A Little Song Of Heartache.” She also had four very
successful duet recordings with Buck Owens, namely “Mental
Cruelty,” “Loose Talk,” “We're The Talk Of The Town” and
“Sweethearts In Heaven.”
In the late 60s, she suffered
the first of several heart attacks that affected her career,
but by 1969 she had recovered and made the first of her visits
to Britain. She continued to work when health permitted
throughout the 70s, but had no chart success.
After leaving Capitol in 1967,
she recorded for several labels including Starday, Decca
Records and King Records. In the 80s, she recorded two albums
for Arhoolie Records and the famous Varrick album Queen Of The
West, on which she was helped by Merle Haggard and the
Strangers and Emmylou Harris.
Rose frequently appeared with
Vern Williams, a popular west coast bluegrass musician who
also provided the backing on some of her 80s recordings. In
1987, Maddox suffered a further major heart attack, which left
her in a critical condition for some time.
Rose Maddox possessed a
powerful, emotive voice and was gifted with the ability to
sing music of all types. Her recordings ranged from early
hillbilly songs and gospel tunes to rockabilly numbers that
endeared her to followers of that genre. Later she worked with
long-time friend and rockabilly artist Glen Glenn, recording
the album Rockabilly Reunion with him at the Camden Workers
Club, London, in March 1987.
Many experts rate the
album “Rose Maddox Sings Bluegrass” as her finest recorded
work. On this album, outstanding bluegrass musicians like Don
Reno, Red Smiley and Bill Monroe backed her. Her mid-90s
Arhoolie Records album, “$35 And A Dream,” was nominated for a
Grammy.
CMT.com
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