Rosie Flores | |
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_(cropped).jpg) Rosie Flores at the67th Annual Peabody Awards in 2008 | |
| Background information | |
| Birth name | Rosalie Flores[1] |
| Born | (1950-09-10)September 10, 1950 (age 74) |
| Origin | San Antonio, Texas, U.S. |
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| Years active | 1968–present |
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| Website | rosieflores |
Rosie Flores (bornRosalie Flores; September 10, 1950)[2] is an American singer, songwriter and musician. She currently resides inAustin, Texas, where August 31 was declared Rosie Flores Day by the Austin City Council in 2006.[3]
Rosie Flores was born inSan Antonio,Texas, United States,[2] where she lived until the age of twelve, when her family moved toSan Diego.[2] In interviews, Flores has recalled that growing up, she loved to watch musical television shows likeThe Dick Clark Show andHit Parade. She began singing as a young child, and her brother, Roger, taught her to play rhythm guitar when she was a teenager.[4]
Flores formed her first band, Penelope's Children, while still in high school in California.[5] In the 1970s, Flores played the San Diego nightclub circuit and was the namesake of thealt country/cowpunk band Rosie and the Screamers.[2] After leaving the Screamers, she joined a cowpunkall-female band calledScreamin' Sirens in the 1980s.[6] The latter band produced a series of 7-inch singles and tracks for compilation albums before releasing an album in 1984,Fiesta.produced by Brian Ahern, Michael Reid and Greg Humphries.
Flores's self-titled solo debut came out onWarner Bros./Reprise in 1987.[2] The single, "Crying Over You", put her on theBillboard chart for the first time.[7] Since then, Flores has recorded 13 additional solo albums.
Flores has toured widely, appearing in the United States, Europe, Asia, Australia,and New Zealand. and also performing frequently in Austin, continuing into 2024.[8] In 1995, she organized a tour withWanda Jackson on a coast-to-coast North American tour,[9] and she toured for 8 months as a member ofAsleep at the Wheel in 1997.[10] She has also traveled with a concert tribute she created to honorJanis Martin, a program which she performed at theRock and Roll Hall of Fame and Museum among other places.[11] In 2012, she was part of the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame's tribute to Chuck Berry.[12] Her media appearances includeAustin City Limits andLate Night with Conan O'Brien, and she had a cameo role in the 1993 filmThe Thing Called Love featuring River Phoenix and Sandra Bullock.
In addition to her work as a performer and songwriter, Flores has helped to revive the careers of female rockabilly musicians from previous generations and to create new interest in their music. Her albumRockabilly Filly, released on Hightone Records in 1995, included vocals from early rock and roll musiciansJanis Martin andWanda Jackson.[13] In 2007, Flores brought Janis Martin to a recording studio in Blanco, Texas, to procuce with Bobby Trimble a record that would be both Martin's first solo album in thirty years as well as her last before her death of cancer.[14] After the project was turned down by a number of record labels, Flores raised more than $16,000 on Kickstarter to release the album, which was titledJanis Martin: The Blanco Sessions. Flores is credited as a producer.[15]
Flores's current (as of 2013–2018) guitar of choice is her James Trussart SteelTopCaster. She usesFender amplifiers, and has also playedFender Telecasters,Gretsch electrics,Gibson Les Pauls, and various acoustic guitars.[16]
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According toAllMusic, Flores's "talent foralternative country androckabilly made her a favorite with both audiences and critics."[2]Nashville Scene defined Flores as a "New Wavecountry-rocker".[17]San Diego Tribune described Flores as a "dynamo of rockabilly andcow-punk" who is "equally gifted as a singer, songwriter, guitarist and band leader [and] shines whether performing country, rock, swing or any of the other earthy American styles she has made her own."[18]
Flores has revealed that, under pressure from her manager, she had an abortion in 1986, shortly after signing with Warner Bros. She later regretted the decision.[5] She has never been married, and has said that her lifestyle, which involves frequent touring, makes it difficult to maintain long-term relationships.[16]
| Year | Association | Category | Nominated Work | Result |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1986 | Academy of Country Music | Top New Female Vocalist | Herself | Nominated |
| 2007 | Peabody Awards | N/A | Whole Lotta Shakin' | Won |
| 2014 | Ameripolitan Music Awards | Honky Tonk Female | Herself | Won |
| 2014 | Ameripolitan Music Awards | Rockabilly Female | Herself | Won |
| 2024 | National Endowment for the Arts | National Heritage Fellow | Lifetime career | Won |
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| National | |
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