Rose Maddox
b. Roselea Arbana Maddox, 15 December 1926, near Boaz, Alabama, USA. In the Depression days of 1933, Charlie and Lula Madox 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 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 on 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 Sacramento station. In 1946, they reformed 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 colourful hillbilly band in America’. Cliff died in 1948,and his place was taken by Henry. 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 to a solo career. In 1957, she signed for Capitol 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 which have 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 and King. In the '80s, she recorded two albums for Arhoolie Records and her famous Varrick album QUEEN OF THE WEST, on which she was helped by Merle Haggard and the Strangers and Emmylou Harris. Her son, Donnie, died in 1982 and she sang gospel songs with the Vern Williams band at his funeral. She frequently appeared with 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. Her situation was aggravated by the fact that she had no health insurance but benefit concerts were held to raise the funds. Rose Maddox possessed a powerful, emotive voice and was gifted with the ability to sing music of all types. Her recordings range from early hillbilly songs and gospel tunes through to rockabilly numbers that have 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 it she is backed by such outstanding bluegrass musicians as Don Reno, Red Smiley and Bill Monroe.