Paul "Biff" Rose (born October 15, 1937) is an American

comedian A comedian or comic is a person who seeks to entertain an audience by making them laugh. This might be through jokes or amusing Amusement is the state of experiencing humorous and entertaining events or situations while the person or a ...

and singer-songwriter.

Biography

Born in

New Orleans New Orleans ( , ,New Orleans
Merriam-Webster. ; french: La Nouvelle-Orléans , es, Nuev ...

, Rose moved to Hollywood where he found a job working as a comedy sketch writer with

George Carlin George Denis Patrick Carlin (May 12, 1937 – June 22, 2008) was an American comedian, actor, author, and social critic. Regarded as one of the most important and influential stand-up comedians of all time, he was dubbed "the dean of countercul ...

working sometimes on the

Mort Sahl Morton Lyon Sahl (May 11, 1927 – October 26, 2021) was a Canadian-born American comedian, actor, and social satirist, considered the first modern comedian. Sahl pioneered a style of social satire that pokes fun at political and current event t ...

show. Eventually, Rose moved to songwriting. Following the release of 1968's ''The Thorn in Mrs. Rose's Side'', Rose made several appearances on Johnny Carson's ''

The Tonight Show ''The Tonight Show'' is an American late-night talk show that has aired on NBC since 1954. The show has been hosted by six comedians: Steve Allen (1954–1957), Jack Paar (1957–1962), Johnny Carson (1962–1992), Jay Leno (1992–2009 and 201 ...

'' from 1968 to 1970. Rose performed on ''

The Smothers Brothers Comedy Hour ''The Smothers Brothers Comedy Hour'' was an American comedy and variety show television series hosted by the Smothers Brothers and initially airing on CBS from 1967 to 1969. The series was a major success, especially considering it was sched ...

'', ''

American Bandstand ''American Bandstand'', abbreviated ''AB'', is an American music-performance and dance television program that aired in various versions from 1952 to 1989, and was hosted from 1956 until its final season by Dick Clark, who also served as the pro ...

'', and Hugh Hefner's ''

Playboy After Dark ''Playboy After Dark'' is an American television show hosted by Hugh Hefner. It aired in syndication through Screen Gems from 1969 to 1970 and was taped at CBS Television City in Los Angeles. Overview ''Playboy After Dark'' followed much the sa ...

''. He emceed the Atlantic City Pop Festival of 1969 and the Atlanta Pop Festival of 1970.

Music

Rose recorded his first two records for

Tetragrammaton Records Tetragrammaton Records was an American record label founded in 1968 by music industry executives Roy Silver, Bruce Post Campbell, Marvin Deane, and comedian Bill Cosby. Silver, at the time, was also Cosby's manager. The term "Tetragrammaton" ref ...

. Following the release of 1968's '' The Thorn in Mrs. Rose's Side'', which contained his hit single "Buzz the Fuzz". The song "Fill Your Heart" is Rose's best-known composition. Co-written with Paul Williams, the song was adopted by Tiny Tim as the B-side of his 1968 hit single "

Tiptoe through the Tulips "Tiptoe Through the Tulips", also known as "Tip Toe Through the Tulips with Me", is a popular song published in 1929. The song was written by Al Dubin (lyrics) and Joe Burke (music) and made popular by guitarist Nick Lucas. On February 5, 1968, ...

" before Rose's own release. Most famously, it was recorded by

David Bowie David Robert Jones (8 January 194710 January 2016), known professionally as David Bowie ( ), was an English singer-songwriter and actor. A leading figure in the music industry, he is regarded as one of the most influential musicians of the ...

on his album ''

Hunky Dory ''Hunky Dory'' is the fourth studio album by English musician David Bowie, released on 17December 1971 through RCA Records. Following the release of his 1970 album, '' The Man Who Sold the World'', Bowie took time off from recording and tourin ...

'' (1971).

Rick Wakeman Richard Christopher Wakeman (born 18 May 1949) is an English keyboardist best known as a former member of the progressive rock band Yes across five tenures between 1971 and 2004, and for his solo albums released in the 1970s. Born and raised ...

worked as a session musician on that album and commented that Rose's version had "obviously influenced David" in the recording.

Racism

In October 2017,

Indy Week ''Indy Week'', formerly known as the ''Independent Weekly'' and originally the ''North Carolina Independent'', is a tabloid-format alternative weekly newspaper published in Durham, North Carolina, United States, and distributed throughout the Res ...

pointed out that Rose's website contained "blatantly racist and

anti-semitic Antisemitism (also spelled anti-semitism or anti-Semitism) is hostility to, prejudice towards, or discrimination against Jews. A person who holds such positions is called an antisemite. Antisemitism is considered to be a form of racism. Antis ...

material". Rose has since taken down one website but operates several others along with several social media accounts where he continues to express himself with

racist Racism is the belief that groups of humans possess different behavioral traits corresponding to inherited attributes and can be divided based on the superiority of one race over another. It may also mean prejudice, discrimination, or antagonism ...

and anti-semitic language and ideas. He continues to make drawings on his social media pages that utilize visual

ethnic stereotypes An ethnic stereotype, racial stereotype or cultural stereotype involves part of a system of beliefs about typical characteristics of members of a given ethnic group, their status, societal and cultural norms. A national stereotype, or nation ...

, like

Stereotypes of African Americans Stereotypes of African Americans are misleading beliefs about the culture of people of African descent who reside in the United States, largely connected to the racism and discrimination which African Americans are subjected to. These beliefs ...

and

Jewish nose Jewish nose or Jew's nose is a usually exaggerated ethnic stereotype that refers to a hooked nose with a convex nasal bridge and a downward turn of the tip of the nose.. The 'Jewish nose' was singled out as a hostile caricature of Jews in mid-13t ...

along with graphic depictions of

homophobia Homophobia encompasses a range of negative attitude (psychology), attitudes and feelings toward homosexuality or people who are identified or perceived as being lesbian, gay or bisexual. It has been defined as contempt, prejudice, aversion, h ...

and

misogyny Misogyny () is hatred of, contempt for, or prejudice against women. It is a form of sexism that is used to keep women at a lower social status than men, thus maintaining the societal roles of patriarchy. Misogyny has been widely practiced fo ...

Full-length releases

*'' The Thorn in Mrs. Rose's Side'' (1968, Tetragrammaton, re-released on Buddha) *''Children of Light'' (1969, Tetragrammaton, re-released on Buddha) *''Biff Rose'' ome copies titled ''Ride On''(1970, Buddha) *''Half Live at the Bitter End'' (1971, Buddah) *''Uncle Jesus, Aunty Christ'' (1972, United Artists) *''Roast Beef'' (1978, Pacific Arts) *''Thee Messiah Album/Live at Gatsby's'' (1979, Pacific Arts)

References

External links