Maddox Brothers & Rose Photos

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rose en 67

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 were musical, and to help their income, they began to play for local dances, with the 12-year-old Rose (born Roselea Arbana Maddox on August 15, 1925, near Boaz, Ala.), 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 & 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 & 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 and King Records. In the 80s, she recorded two albums for Arhoolie Records and the famous Varrick album Queen of the West, with help from Merle Haggard and the Strangers and Emmylou Harris. Her son Donnie died in 1982; 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 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 through 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 it she was backed by such outstanding bluegrass musicians as Don Reno, Red Smiley and Bill Monroe. Her 1994 Arhoolie Records album, $35 and a Dream, was nominated for a Grammy. She died April 15, 1998, in Ashland, Ore.