“Name me a song that everybody knows/And I’ll bet you it belongs to Acuff-Rose.” So sang the alt-country group Uncle Tupelo in their 1994 song “Acuff-Rose”. It’s a tribute to the powerhouse country music duo Roy Acuff and Fred Rose, who founded Nashville’s first major country publishing house, Acuff-Rose in the 1920s. Acuff-Rose served as a springboard for many well-loved country stars—including Hank Williams, for whom Rose served as producer for the entirety of his all-too-brief career.
Acuff-Rose would remain a major power player in Nashville long after Rose’s death in 1954. And on top of his business savvy, he was also a Hall of Fame songwriter, penning such country classics as “Blue Eyes Crying in the Rain”, the song that revived Willie Nelson’s career in 1975.
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Knowles Fred Rose was born in Evansville, Indiana, on this day (August 24) in 1898. Today, we’re diving into the incredible legacy he left behind in country music.
Who Was Fred Rose?
Fred Rose flexed his musical prowess early on, playing piano and singing even as a small child.
After moving to Chicago in his teens, Rose got his start busking for tips in bars before first tasting songwriting success with the Sophie Tucker hit “Red Hot Mama”.
More hits for other pop artists followed, including Ruth Etting and Johnny Marvin; Henry Burr; and Ben Selvin.
Additionally, Rose lent his piano skills to various Chicago radio stations and even recorded songs for the Brunswick label.
The Early Nashville Days
After a drinking problem cost Fred Rose his Chicago radio gig, he moved to Nashville and accepted a gig at WSM.
From 1933 to 1938, he split his time between Nashville, Chicago, and New York, performing on live radio shows and pitching his songs to music publishers.
The move to Nashville gave Rose a crash course in country music. He worked with Grand Ole Opry stars the Delmore Brothers, also writing songs for cowboy singer Ray Whitley.
In 1936, Fred Rose scored his first pop-western hit, “We’ll Rest at the End of the Trail,” recorded by Tex Ritter, the Sons of the Pioneers, and Bing Crosby.
A New Era for Nashville Artists
In 1942, Grand Ole Opry star Roy Acuff talked Fred Rose into partnering with him to launch a music publishing company in Nashville.
At first, Rose didn’t take Acuff seriously. But after thinking it over, he approached the man and said, “If you’re really serious, we’ll get it started.”
Thus began Acuff-Rose, whose founders vowed “that no man, or girl, that entered our door would be cheated our of a song, or one penny of anything that they’ve got coming.”
(At the time, it wasn’t uncommon for country singers to fall prey to unscrupulous agents, attorneys, promoters, and label executives.)
With Hank Williams as his star recruit, Rose would also go on to develop the careers of artists like Lefty Frizzell, Felice and Boudleaux Bryant, and Don Gibson.
However, he had a particularly special connection with Williams. The “Hillbilly Shakespeare” wrote songs at a near-manic pace. During their frequent meetings, Rose would help him sift through the material and extract the true gems.
He also co-wrote the songs “Kaw-Liga,” “Take These Chains From My Heart,” and “I’ll Never Get Out of This World Alive.”
Rose didn’t exclusively pen tracks for Williams, either. He saw his material recorded by everyone from Hank Snow to Bob Wills to George Strait to Jerry Lee Lewis.
A Lasting Legacy
On December 1, 1954, Fred Rose died of a heart attack in Nashville. He was just 56 years old.
Less than a decade later, he joined Hank Williams and Jimmie Rodgers as the first three inductees to the Country Music Hall of Fame when the institution opened in 1961.
His son, Wesley, stepped into his shoes at Acuff-Rose after his death. Wesley Rose ran the firm alongside Roy Acuff before selling the musical catalog to Gaylord Broadcasting Company in 1985.
Featured image by Michael Ochs Archives/Getty Images
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Country swing singer and songwriter Tex Williams performs on NBC radio circa 1947. (Photo by Michael Ochs Archives/Getty Images) -
The Chordettes pose for a studio group portrait in 1956 in the United States. (Photo by Gilles Petard/Redferns) -
SATURDAY NIGHT LIVE — Episode 5 — Pictured: Musical guests The Grateful Dead: (l-r) Bob Weir, Donna Godchaux, Jerry Garcia perform on November 11, 1978 — Photo by: Fred Hermansky/NBC/NBCU Photo Bank -
Willie Nelson performing at the Aragon Ballroom In Chicago, Ilinois, February 26, 1978. (Photo by Paul Natkin/Getty Images) -
Connie B. Gay (August 22, 1914 – December 3, 1989), founding president of the Country Music Association (Photo courtesy of Facebook) -
LONG BEACH, CALIFORNIA – MAY 09 : Kenny Rogers performs in concert, May 9, 1986 at Long Beach Arena in Long Beach, California. (Photo by Getty Images/Bob Riha, Jr.)
