 Philadelphia has given the world a seemingly endless supply of major R&B, jazz, rap and gospel artists, but the East Coast city has never been famous for country. However, Philadelphia is the home town of Clarice Rose, a country-pop singer along the lines of Tricia Yearwood, Kathy Mattea and K.T. Oslin. Rose, whose influences include Tanya Tucker and Wanda Jackson, isn’t a country purist or a hardcore honky-tonker–her music is country mixed with rock and pop, and many of Rose‘s songs have a strong adult contemporary influence. Clarice Rose is the daughter of Henry Rose, a former country singer who was active in the 1950s. Back then, Henry Rose and a Philadelphia guitarist attracted the attention of Dick Clark (who hosted American Bandstand in Philly before moving to Los Angeles) and were scheduled to perform on his Talent Trend contest. But the guitarist is said to have gotten cold feet and left Henry Rose stranded. Although Henry Rose didn’t get very far as a country singer–he supported his family by working as a supervisor in a meat-packing plant–the Pennsylvanian did a lot to encourage his daughter’s interest in music. Clarice Rose was only eight when she sang the Captain & Tennille‘s “Love Will Keep Us Together” at a cousin’s wedding; at 14, she recorded her first album and regularly performed live gigs with a New Jersey country act called Craig Moore & the Country Moore Band. As an adult, Rose performed both country and rock gigs around the Philadelphia area and made a number of visits to Nashville. During a late 1990s visit, she met two famous Music City veterans who would end up producing her second album. One was songwriter Bobby Braddock, whose songs had been recorded by everyone from Tammy Wynette (“D-I-V-O-R-C-E”) to the Statler Brothers. The other was Larry Butler, known for his work with Johnny Cash and Kenny Rogers. When Butler and Braddock produced Rose‘s self-titled second album, she was without a record deal. But in 2000, Rose signed with Majera Entertainment–a small indie label based in the Philly suburbs. In 2001, Majera released that self-titled album and chose the bluesy “A Mile a Minute” as the first single. ~ Alex Henderson, All Music Guide
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