Rose Lee Maphis (born Doris Helen Schetrompf; December 29, 1922October 26, 2021) was an American country singer and musician. She performed as a harmony singer and rhythm guitarist as a duo with her husband

Joe Maphis Otis Wilson "Joe" Maphis (May 12, 1921 – June 27, 1986), was an American country music guitarist. He married singer Rose Lee Maphis in 1953 and they performed together, later referred to as "Mr & Mrs Country Music". One of the flashiest c ...

. They were pioneers of the Bakersfield sound that developed in the mid-1950s. They appeared on numerous radio and television programs, including as cast members of ''

Town Hall Party ''Town Hall Party'' was an American country music program, firstly broadcast on radio and then television The first radio broadcast was in Autumn 1951 by stations KXLA-AM in Pasadena, California and KFI-AM in Los Angeles, California The televis ...

''.

Early life

Maphis (pronounced "MAY-fiss") was born Doris Helen Schetrompf on December 29, 1922 in

Baltimore, Maryland Baltimore ( , locally: or ) is the List of municipalities in Maryland, most populous city in the U.S. state of Maryland, fourth most populous city in the Mid-Atlantic (United States), Mid-Atlantic, and List of United States cities by popula ...

, to Margaret Helen (Schriever) and Stanley Schetrompf. She grew up on a farm in Hagerstown where her family produced eggs and butter, sold Christmas trees and rented out cabins near the river that ran though their property. As a child, Maphis listened to the ''

Grand Ole Opry The ''Grand Ole Opry'' is a weekly American country music stage concert in Nashville, Tennessee, founded on November 28, 1925, by George D. Hay as a one-hour radio "barn dance" on WSM. Currently owned and operated by Opry Entertainment (a divis ...

''. Rose attended business college after graduating high school in 1941.

Career

Her father hosted a picnic for WJEJ radio, introducing the station to his daughter who sang and played guitar. The station offered her a 15-minute spot on its Saturday night program. Before performing with her husband, Maphis was featured in a female quartet, a western group called The Saddle Sweethearts, who often played the same bill as

Gene Autry Orvon Grover "Gene" Autry (September 29, 1907 – October 2, 1998), nicknamed the Singing Cowboy, was an American singer, songwriter, actor, musician, rodeo performer, and baseball owner who gained fame largely by singing in a crooning s ...

and

Roy Acuff Roy Claxton Acuff (September 15, 1903 – November 23, 1992) was an American country music singer, fiddler, and promoter. Known as the "King of Country Music", Acuff is often credited with moving the genre from its early string band and "hoedown ...

. After performing with Saddle Sweethearts, she worked briefly for her father as a bookkeeper. She learned that

Mother Maybelle "Mother" Maybelle Carter (born Maybelle Addington; May 10, 1909 – October 23, 1978) was an American country musician and "among the first" to use the Carter scratch, with which she "helped to turn the guitar into a lead instrument". It w ...

and

The Carter Sisters The Carter Sisters, (also known as the second version of The Carter Family) were an American singing quartet consisting of Maybelle Carter and her daughters June Carter Cash, Helen Carter, and Anita Carter. Formed during World War II, the group r ...

were leaving the

Old Dominion Barn Dance Old Dominion Barn Dance is an American country music radio show broadcast over WRVA, Richmond, Virginia each Saturday night. Mary Workman, better known as "Sunshine Sue" was the host (1946–1957). Gregg Kimball of the Library of Virginia said of ...

and were looking for singers. She met her future husband Joe there. She and her husband would later be called "Mr. and Mrs. Country Music". A producer suggested the name "Rose of the Mountains" for her on her debut performance on a Hagerstown radio station, as she had a rose in her hair and was singing "Carry Me Back to the Mountains". Around the 1950s, Maphis and her husband were cast members of the television show ''Town Hall Party'' on

KTTV KTTV (channel 11) is a television station in Los Angeles, California, United States, serving as the West Coast flagship of the Fox network. It is owned and operated by the network's Fox Television Stations division alongside MyNetworkTV outle ...

Los Angeles Los Angeles ( ; es, Los Ángeles, link=no , ), often referred to by its initials L.A., is the largest city in the state of California and the second most populous city in the United States after New York City, as well as one of the world' ...

. The Maphises were best known for the self-penned

honky-tonk A honky-tonk (also called honkatonk, honkey-tonk, or tonk) is both a bar that provides country music for the entertainment of its patrons and the style of music played in such establishments. It can also refer to the type of piano (tack piano) ...

standard "

Dim Lights, Thick Smoke (And Loud, Loud Music) Dim may refer to: * Dim, a rhinoceros beetle in the 1998 Disney/Pixar animated film ''A Bug's Life'' * ''Dim'' (album), the fourth studio album by Japanese rock band The Gazette * Dim, Amur Oblast, a rural locality in Amur Oblast, Russia * Dim, I ...

", which was originally recorded by

Flatt and Scruggs Flatt and Scruggs were an American bluegrass duo. Singer and guitarist Lester Flatt and banjo player Earl Scruggs, both of whom had been members of Bill Monroe's band, the Bluegrass Boys, from 1945 to 1948, formed the duo in 1948. Flatt and Scru ...

Post-entertainment career

After the death of her husband, she worked as a seamstress at

Opryland theme park Opryland USA (later called Opryland Themepark and colloquially "Opryland") was a amusement park, theme park in suburban Nashville, Tennessee. It operated seasonally (generally March to October) from 1972 to 1997, and for a special Christmas-theme ...

designing for such stars as

Brenda Lee Brenda Mae Tarpley (born December 11, 1944), known professionally as Brenda Lee, is an American singer. Performing rockabilly, pop and country music, she had 47 US chart hits during the 1960s and is ranked fourth in that decade, surpassed only ...

and

Barbara Mandrell Barbara Ann Mandrell (born December 25, 1948) is an American country music singer and musician. She is also credited as an actress and author. During the late 1970s and early 1980s, she was considered among country's most successful music artist ...

. In her later years, and no longer well-known as a major star, she worked voluntarily as a greeter at the

Country Music Hall of Fame and Museum The Country Music Hall of Fame and Museum in Nashville, Tennessee, is one of the world's largest museums and research centers dedicated to the preservation and interpretation of American vernacular music. Chartered in 1964, the museum has amass ...

, sharing stories about the genre's legends. Maphis's guitar is on display, next to that of her husband's double-neck

Mosrite Mosrite is an American guitar manufacturing company, based in Bakersfield, California, from the late 1950s to the early 1990s. Founded by Semie Moseley, Mosrite guitars were played by many rock and roll and country artists. Mosrite guitars were ...

and sheet music for their recording "Dim Lights", in a montage called ''The Bakersfield Exhibit.'' Rose's last public appearance was on August 7, 2021 in Cumberland, Maryland for a 100th birthday celebration for her late husband. She died of kidney failure on October 26, 2021, in

Nashville, Tennessee Nashville is the capital city of the U.S. state of Tennessee and the county seat, seat of Davidson County, Tennessee, Davidson County. With a population of 689,447 at the 2020 United States census, 2020 U.S. census, Nashville is the List of muni ...

, at age 98. She had 3 children, Lorrie, Dale, and Jody. Jody Maphis is also a musician, who has performed with such stars as

Johnny Cash John R. Cash (born J. R. Cash; February 26, 1932 – September 12, 2003) was an American country singer-songwriter. Much of Cash's music contained themes of sorrow, moral tribulation, and redemption, especially in the later stages of his ca ...

Discography

Singles

Columbia Records

* 1955: "Honky Tonk Down Town / The Parting of the Way" * 1955 "I'm Willin' To Try / Let's Pull Together" * 1959: "Fire On the Strings / I Love You Deeply" (A-side by Joe Maphis)

Mosrite Records

* 1966: "Send Me Your Love A.P.O. / Write Him A Letter" * 1967: "Tunin' Up For The Blues / A Lifetime of Love" * 1967: "Country Girl Courtship / Pickin' and Guitin'"

Starday Records

* 1964: "Hoot'n Annie / Remember I'm Just As Close As the Phone" * 1965: "Hot Time in Nashville / I've Got To Take You Home" * 1965: "Your Little Black Book / Don't Pass Me By" * 1966: "Ridin' Down Ole 99 / Turn On The Bright Lights"

Chart Records

* 1969: "Gee Aren't We Lucky / Guitar Happy" * 1970: "Run That By Me One More Time / I Don't Care" * 1971: "Slippin', Pickin', Fiddlin' / If I'm Gonna Have Your Lovin'"

Albums

* 1961: ''Rose Lee Maphis'' * 1962: ''Rose Lee & Joe Maphis'' (with Joe Maphis and the Blue Ridge Mountain Boys) * 1964: ''Mr. and Mrs. Country Music'' (with Joe Maphis) * 1964: ''Hootenanny Star'' * 1978: ''Dim Lights, Thick Smoke'' (with Joe Maphis) * 1979: ''Boogie Woogie Flattop Guitar Pickin' Man'' (with Joe Maphis) * 1980: ''Honky Tonk Cowboy'' (with Joe Maphis)

References

Sources

External links

* * {{DEFAULTSORT:Maphis, Rose Lee 1922 births 2021 deaths American country singers Musicians from Baltimore 20th-century American women 21st-century American women