Roselea Arbana "Rose" MaddoxMany sources give her birth name as Brogdon. This is an error. She was recorded, with her birth family, as Rose Maddox in the 1940 US Census, and other sources report her second husband's name as Brogdon. (August 15, 1925 – April 15, 1998) was an American

country A country is a distinct part of the world, such as a state, nation, or other political entity. It may be a sovereign state or make up one part of a larger state. For example, the country of Japan is an independent, sovereign state, while the ...

singer-songwriter and

fiddle A fiddle is a bowed string musical instrument, most often a violin. It is a colloquial term for the violin, used by players in all genres, including classical music. Although in many cases violins and fiddles are essentially synonymous, th ...

player, who was the lead singer with the

Maddox Brothers and Rose The Maddox Brothers and Rose were an American country music group active from the 1930s to 1950s, consisting of four brothers, Fred, Cal, Cliff, and Don Maddox, along with their sister Rose; Cliff died in 1949 and was replaced by brother Henry. Orig ...

before a successful solo career. Her musical styles blended

hillbilly music Hillbilly is a term (often derogatory) for people who dwell in rural, mountainous areas in the United States, primarily in southern Appalachia and the Ozarks. The term was later used to refer to people from other rural and mountainous areas we ...

rockabilly Rockabilly is one of the earliest styles of rock and roll music. It dates back to the early 1950s in the United States, especially the Southern United States, South. As a genre it blends the sound of Western music (North America), Western music ...

and

gospel Gospel originally meant the Christian message ("the gospel"), but in the 2nd century it came to be used also for the books in which the message was set out. In this sense a gospel can be defined as a loose-knit, episodic narrative of the words an ...

. She was noted for her "reputation as a lusty firebrand", and her "colorful Western costumes"; she was one of the earliest clients of Hollywood tailor, Nathan Turk. Obituaries by Jeff Barnard and Bill Varbel
ModestoRadioMuseum.org. Retrieved March 28, 2013

Biography

She was born in Boaz, Alabama, and traveled west at the age of seven with her family, who had been

sharecroppers Sharecropping is a legal arrangement with regard to agricultural land in which a landowner allows a tenant to use the land in return for a share of the crops produced on that land. Sharecropping has a long history and there are a wide range ...

. She later said in an interview:

Cotton prices failed in Alabama. So we left for California, the Land of Milk and Honey... We only had $35 when we left there, and a dream of going to California. That was my mother's dream. Hitchhikin'. All of us. Five kids.... The brakemen helped us get on the right trains and they got us food from the caboose. Sometimes the brakemen locked us in the boxcars and told us to be quiet.... We got to Los Angeles, California, in 1933. The Salvation Army heard there was a family coming. They didn't have enough room there, so Dad and Cal slept in jail. At least it was a place to stay. We went from L.A. up to Oakland on the freights. We lived in Pipe City. There were these huge culvert pipes and all the migrants were living inside culverts. The mayor of Pipe City gave us his pipe to stay in. My mother got tired of asking for food every day. That's when we hit the front page of the ''Oakland Tribune'' as a family come west on the freights looking for work.

After her father eventually found work, the family ended up in

Modesto, California Modesto () is the county seat and largest city of Stanislaus County, California, United States. With a population of 218,464 at the 2020 census, it is the 19th largest city in the state of California and forms part of the Sacramento-Stockton- ...

. Rose first performed with her brothers in amateur shows at the age of 11, and while in her teens began performing with them on local radio station KTRB. The station offered her brothers a regular slot on condition that Rose sing with them, despite the opposition of their mother, who managed the group.Biography by John Bush
''

AllMusic AllMusic (previously known as All Music Guide and AMG) is an American online music database. It catalogs more than three million album entries and 30 million tracks, as well as information on musicians and bands. Initiated in 1991, the databas ...

''. Retrieved March 28, 2013 After the brothers had served in

World War II World War II or the Second World War, often abbreviated as WWII or WW2, was a world war that lasted from 1939 to 1945. It involved the vast majority of the world's countries—including all of the great powers—forming two opposin ...

, Rose first recorded with them, for

Four Star Records 4 Star Records was a record label that recorded many well-known country music acts in the 1950s. The label, founded after World War II, was home to singers such as Hank Locklin, Maddox Brothers and Rose, Rose Maddox, Webb Pierce, Cousin Ford Lew ...

, in 1947. The group began to be successful in the late 1940s, and she and her brothers moved to live in Hollywood. They toured widely, and appeared regularly on the ''

Louisiana Hayride ''Louisiana Hayride'' was a radio and later television country music show broadcast from the Shreveport Municipal Memorial Auditorium in Shreveport, Louisiana, that during its heyday from 1948 to 1960 helped to launch the careers of some of th ...

'' radio show. Rose became noted for her colorful performances, once shocking a

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 ...

audience by appearing with a bare midriff. She also recorded as a duo, Rosie and Retta, with her sister-in-law.Biography
Oldies.com. Retrieved March 28, 2013 Her first marriage was to E.B. Hale during the Second World War, when she was 16. She married club owner Jim Brogdon in the late 1950s; they separated after six years. After the Maddox Brothers group broke up in 1957, Rose initially performed with her brother Cal and then started a solo career. She had 14 hits on the ''

Billboard A billboard (also called a hoarding in the UK and many other parts of the world) is a large outdoor advertising structure (a billing board), typically found in high-traffic areas such as alongside busy roads. Billboards present large advertise ...

'' country singles chart between 1959 and 1964, including several duets with

Buck Owens Alvis Edgar Owens Jr. (August 12, 1929 – March 25, 2006), known professionally as Buck Owens, was an American musician, singer, songwriter, and band leader. He was the lead singer for the Buckaroos, Buck Owens and the Buckaroos, which had 21 ...

, and also recorded with

Bill Monroe William Smith "Bill" Monroe (; September 13, 1911 – September 9, 1996) was an American mandolinist, singer, and songwriter, who created the bluegrass music genre. Because of this, he is often called the " Father of Bluegrass". The genre take ...

. Her biggest hit, "Sing a Little Song of Heartache," reached no.3 on the country chart at the end of 1962. She then began to specialize in bluegrass recordings, recording the commercially successful and influential album ''Rose Maddox Sings Bluegrass'' for

Capitol Records Capitol Records, LLC (known legally as Capitol Records, Inc. until 2007) is an American record label distributed by Universal Music Group through its Capitol Music Group imprint. It was founded as the first West Coast-based record label of note ...

. After her contract with the company ended in 1965, she began to concentrate on tours, performing with her brothers Cal and Henry and son Donnie – who died in 1982 – in the UK, Europe and elsewhere. She also performed regularly with bluegrass musician

Vern Williams Vern Williams (born Delbert Lavern Williams) (December 9, 1930 – June 6, 2006) was a singer and mandolin player who was instrumental in introducing bluegrass music to the West Coast of the United States. Early life Williams was born on Decembe ...

. She suffered several heart attacks from the late 1960s onwards, but continued to perform and record, for several labels. In 1996, she was nominated for a

Grammy award The Grammy Awards (stylized as GRAMMY), or simply known as the Grammys, are awards presented by the Recording Academy of the United States to recognize "outstanding" achievements in the music industry. They are regarded by many as the most pres ...

for her Arhoolie bluegrass album, ''$35 and a Dream''. Her final album was ''The Moon Is Rising'', also in 1996. Maddox also acted in movies including ''

The Hi-Lo Country ''The Hi-Lo Country'' is a 1998 American Western film directed by Stephen Frears, starring Billy Crudup, Penélope Cruz, Woody Harrelson, Cole Hauser, Sam Elliott, Patricia Arquette, Enrique Castillo, and Katy Jurado. It is set in post-World War ...

'' (1998), and the documentaries '' The Women of Country'' (1993) and '' Woody Guthrie: Hard Travelin''' (1984). In later years she lived in

Ashland, Oregon Ashland is a city in Jackson County, Oregon, United States. It lies along Interstate 5 approximately 16 miles (26 km) north of the California border and near the south end of the Rogue Valley. The city's population was 21,360 at the 2020 cen ...

, near where her brother Don Maddox had bought a ranch in 1958. She died in Ashland of kidney failure in 1998, at the age of 72.

Legacy

Emmylou Harris Emmylou Harris (born April 2, 1947) is an American singer, songwriter and musician. She has released dozens of albums and singles over the course of her career and has won 14 Grammys, the Polar Music Prize, and numerous other honors, including ...

believes Maddox has never received the recognition she deserves, in part because of what Harris calls a reluctance in American society to celebrate the value of white country and roots music.

Dolly Parton Dolly Rebecca Parton (born January 19, 1946) is an American singer-songwriter, actress, philanthropist, and businesswoman, known primarily for her work in country music. After achieving success as a songwriter for others, Parton made her album d ...

also credits Maddox as an early influence.

Laura Cantrell Laura Cantrell (born July 16, 1967) is a country singer-songwriter and DJ from Nashville, Tennessee. Biography Cantrell moved to New York City from her native Nashville to study English at Columbia University. She briefly recorded songs with ...

's song "California Rose" was written in memory of Maddox. Her life story and that of the band were told in the biography, ''Ramblin' Rose: The Life and Career of Rose Maddox'' by Jonny Whiteside. The book won an award for excellence in 1998 from the Association for Recorded Sound Collections (ARSC).

Discography

Albums

Maddox Brothers and Rose * ''A Collection of Standard Sacred Songs'' (

King King is the title given to a male monarch in a variety of contexts. The female equivalent is queen, which title is also given to the consort of a king. *In the context of prehistory, antiquity and contemporary indigenous peoples, the tit ...

, 1959) * ''Maddox Bros. and Rose'' (King, 1960) * ''I'll Write Your Name in the Sand'' (King, 1961) * ''Maddox Brothers and Rose'' (Wrangler, 1962) * ''Go Honky Tonkin!'' (Hilltop, 1965) * '' America's Most Colorful Hillbilly Band, v.1'' ( Arhoolie, 1976 P 1993 D * ''America's Most Colorful Hillbilly Band, v.2'' (Arhoolie, 1976 P 1995 D * ''Old Pals of Yesterday'' (Picc-A-Dilly, 1980) * ''On the Air, v.1'' (Arhoolie, 1983 P 1996 D * ''Maddox Bros. and Rose: Columbia Historic Edition'' ( Columbia, 1984) * ''On the Air, v.2'' (Arhoolie, 1985 P 1996 D * ''Live – On the Radio'' (Arhoolie, 1996) recorded 1953 * ''The Hillbilly Boogie Years'' (Rockateer, 1996) all Columbia recordings * ''The Most Colorful Hillbilly Band in America'' ( Bear Family, 1998) 4-CD set * ''A Proper Introduction to Maddox Brothers & Rose: That'll Learn Ya Durn Ya'' (

Proper Proper may refer to: Mathematics * Proper map, in topology, a property of continuous function between topological spaces, if inverse images of compact subsets are compact * Proper morphism, in algebraic geometry, an analogue of a proper map for ...

, 2004) Solo/Compilations *''Precious Memories'' ( Columbia, 1958) *''The One Rose'' (

Capitol A capitol, named after the Capitoline Hill in Rome, is usually a legislative building where a legislature meets and makes laws for its respective political entity. Specific capitols include: * United States Capitol in Washington, D.C. * Numerous ...

, 1960) *''Glorybound Train'' (Capitol, 1961) *''A Big Bouquet of Roses'' (Capitol, 1961) *''Rose Maddox Sings Bluegrass'' (Capitol, 1962 P 1996 D *''Alone with You'' (Capitol, 1963) *''Rosie'' ( Starday, 1970) *''Reckless Love & Bold Adventure'' ( Takoma, 1977) *''Rose of the West Coast Country'' (Arhoolie, 1980) *''This is Rose Maddox'' (Arhoolie, 1982) *''A Beautiful Bouquet'' (Arhoolie, 1983) *''Queen of the West'' (Varrick, 1984) (with The Strangers) *''California Rose'' ( See for Miles, 1989) *''$35 and a Dream'' (Arhoolie, 1994) *''The One Rose: The Capitol Years'' ( Bear Family, 1994) 4-CD set *''The Moon is Rising'' (Country Town Music, 1996) *''The Legendary Queen of the West'' (Boothill, 2000)

Chart singles

Notes

References

External links

New York Times obituary
*
Fan site with biographies, discographies, etc. "Remembering Rose Maddox", Country Standard Time Editorial, May 1998
{{DEFAULTSORT:Maddox, Rose 1925 births 1998 deaths People from Boaz, Alabama American country singer-songwriters American women country singers Western swing performers Grand Ole Opry members Musicians from Ashland, Oregon Western swing fiddlers Four Star Records artists Starday Records artists 20th-century American violinists 20th-century American singers Writers from Ashland, Oregon Women violinists Singer-songwriters from Oregon 20th-century American women singers Country musicians from Alabama Arhoolie Records artists Singer-songwriters from Alabama