Rose, Fred

Rose, Fred

(born Aug. 24, 1897, Evansville, Ind., U.S.—died Dec. 1, 1954, Nashville, Tenn.) U.S. singer and songwriter, a pioneer of country music. He grew up in St. Louis, and he performed at Chicago nightclubs as a teenager. He wrote and recorded popular music in the 1920s, including “Honest and Truly.” As country music emerged, Rose became one of its foremost songwriters. He had his own Nashville radio show and later wrote songs for Gene Autry's films. Many of his songs have become classics, including “Tears on My Pillow” (1941) and “A Mansion on the Hill” (1948), cowritten with Hank Williams, whose career he helped foster. In 1942 he and Roy Acuff cofounded the Acuff-Rose Publishing Co. Rose was one of the first three musicians elected to the Country Music Hall of Fame.