Biff Rose

Paul "Biff" Rose (born 1937)[1] is an American comedian and singer-songwriter.

Biography

Born in New Orleans, Rose moved to Hollywood where he found a job working as a comedy sketch writer with George Carlin working sometimes on the Mort Sahl show.[2] Eventually, Rose moved to songwriting.

Following the release of 1968's The Thorn in Mrs. Rose's Side, Rose made a string of appearances on Johnny Carson's The Tonight Show from 1968 to 1970.[3][4] Rose performed on The Smothers Brothers Comedy Hour,[5] and American Bandstand,[6] and Hugh Hefner's Playboy After Dark. He emceed the Atlantic City Pop Festival of 1969,[7] and the Atlanta Pop Festival of 1970.[8]

Music

Rose recorded his first two records for Tetragrammaton Records. Following the release of 1968's The Thorn in Mrs. Rose's Side, which contained his hit single "Buzz the Fuzz", Rose made 12 appearances on Johnny Carson's The Tonight Show from 1968 to 1970.[9] He performed his songs ("Gentle People" and "Myrtle's Pies") on The Smothers Brothers Comedy Hour,[10][11] He also appeared on American Bandstand,[12] The Merv Griffin Show, The David Frost Show and Hugh Hefner's Playboy After Dark. He was master of ceremonies at the Atlantic City Pop Festival of 1969.[13]

The song "Fill Your Heart", one of Rose's best-known compositions, was adopted by Tiny Tim as the B-side of his 1968 hit single "Tiptoe through the Tulips" before the release of Biff's own version and recorded by David Bowie on his album Hunky Dory (1971) in an arrangement closely following the Rose version. Rose wrote the song with Paul Williams: Williams later wrote that Rose was his first songwriting collaborator and his first connection to A&M Records, having arranged a meeting for him with the publisher Chuck Kaye. Rose and Williams also wrote "I'll Walk Away", from Rose's third, eponymous, record, and "Someday", recorded by Sajid Khan in 1969 (Rose having composed the music and Williams the lyrics).

Rose's songs have also been covered by John Denver ("Molly"), Vetiver ("To Baby") and Pat Boone.

Racism allegations

In October, 2017, weekly paper Indy Week noted what it termed "blatantly racist and anti-semitic material" on Rose's website. One song referenced anti-semitic murders as being favorable. In another song, he referenced anti African American sentiment.[14]

David Bowie

Songs from Rose's first album, "The Thorn in Mrs. Rose's Side"(1968), strongly influenced David Bowie's early work, particularly his Hunky Dory record. Rick Wakeman (keyboard player of Yes and session musician early in his career) played piano on many of Hunky Dory's tracks, among them, Changes, Life on Mars and Fill Your Heart. When asked about his involvement with Bowie and Hunky Dory, Wakeman stated in an interview, "He (Bowie) played me some tracks by Biff Rose too and I remember going out and getting a Biff Rose album myself as he had obviously influenced David and I wanted to involve myself in David’s influences in order to give my very best for the Hunky Dory music."[15]

In another interview from 2010, Wakeman discusses artists' influences on each other and said: "David Bowie’s hero, vocally, was Biff Rose. I’d never heard of Biff Rose but I found all of Biff Rose’s stuff."[16]

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 [some copies titled Ride On] (1970, Buddha)
  • Uncle Jesus, Aunty Christ (1972, United Artists)
  • Roast Beef (1978, Pacific Arts)
  • Thee Messiah Album/Live at Gatsby's (1979, Pacific Arts)

References

  1. ↑ O'Leary, Chris (2015). Rebel Rebel: All the Songs of David Bowie From '64 to '76. John Hunt Publishing. ISBN 1780997132.
  2. ↑ "Archived copy". Archived from the original on 2005-08-28. Retrieved 2005-10-01.
  3. ↑ "Columns: April 1969". Robert Christgau. Retrieved 2013-03-18.
  4. ↑ "Archived copy". Archived from the original on 2007-09-27. Retrieved 2005-09-11.
  5. ↑ "Smothers Brothers Comedy Hour - Episode Schedule". Smothersbrothers.com. Retrieved 2013-03-18.
  6. ↑ TV.com. "American Bandstand - Season 13, Episode 21: Joe South / Biff Rose / Rhetta Hughes". TV.com. Retrieved 2013-03-18.
  7. ↑ "BR's Classic Rock Photos - Atlantic City Pop Festival". E-rockworld.com. Retrieved 2013-03-18.
  8. ↑ "Archived copy". Archived from the original on 2005-04-05. Retrieved 2005-09-11.
  9. ↑ "Columns: April 1969". Robert Christgau. Retrieved 2013-03-18.
  10. ↑ "Smothers Brothers Comedy Hour - Episode Schedule". Smothersbrothers.com. Retrieved 2013-03-18.
  11. ↑ footage of which can be seen on YouTube."Gentle People". YouTube. 2009-07-22. Retrieved 2013-03-18.
  12. ↑ "American Bandstand - Season 13, Episode 21: Joe South / Biff Rose / Rhetta Hughes". TV.com. Retrieved 2013-03-18.
  13. ↑ "BR's Classic Rock Photos - Atlantic City Pop Festival". E-rockworld.com. Retrieved 2013-03-18.
  14. ↑ “Heading to Biff Rose Tonight? You Might Want to Check His Website”, ‘ ‘ [Indy Week]], Raleigh, 5 October 2017.
  15. ↑
  16. ↑ [/URL=http://www.metal-discovery.com/Interviews/rickwakeman_interview_2010_pt3.htm]
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