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| '''Paul "Biff" Rose''' is an ] ] and ]. | |||
| Biff Rose is a performer who got his start in entertainment as a as a comedy sketch writer with ] for a host of television variety shows, ultimately finding work on the ] show. | |||
| ] wrote the music and lyrics, based on a melody crafted by Rose for a song called "Fill Your Heart". Tiny Tim recorded the song as the back side for his single, "Tiptoe through the Tulips." ] recorded the song, including it on his 1971 release, "]'. Bowie played another Rose song, "Buzz the Fuzz," once in live performance . His songs were also covered by John Denver and Pat Boone . | |||
| Following the release of |
Following the release of his debut record, Rose made appearances on '']'' at the end of the decade. . He performed on '']'', '']'' , and ] ''Playboy After Dark'' . He was the emcee at the Atlantic City Pop Festival of 1969 , and did the same job at the Atlanta Pop Festival of 1970 . | ||
| ⚫ | 2005 saw two small ] labels release compilations . One CD, released in the United States gathered his Tetragrammaton output, and a UK compilation covered Rose's work from 1968 through 1985. | ||
| 1978's ''Roast Beef'' was produced by ] and recorded in a single take. | |||
| ⚫ | 2005 saw |
||
| ==Musical Style== | ==Musical Style== | ||
| Rose's early work consists of unaccompanied piano and vocals as well as more heavily orchestrated numbers. 1978's ''Roast Beef'' was recorded by ] in a single take and has been described as, "wild, violent piano improvisations." . | |||
| Rose's later work is much different from that of his 60's and 70's output. Where those earlier works were piano based, and lyrics followed in the tradition of ], a poet whose work Rose returned again and again for lyrics, his newer recordings include piano ramblings and the negative use of ] On one of Rose's official websites, ] is targeted , resulting in accusations that Rose practices ] ; It is said that Rose denies the charge, though there are no sources cited to support this. | |||
| Rose's early work consists of unaccompanied piano and vocals as well as more heavily orchestrated numbers. His lyrics have been described as romantic and humorous, while promoting a left-wing ] philosophy . His piano-playing has been described as jaunty, reminiscent of pre-] Broadway ]. | |||
| Rose's work of the past ten years differs from his early recordings. He has introduced spoken word and ] elements into his songs; some recordings experiment with extended song forms and eccentric instrumentation. He makes controversial use of ]s. In his web-based art, Christ and Hitler are referenced often, apparently as icons/personifications of good and evil. Many of his websites, such as , openly deal with race and religion. This has resulted on various online postings criticizing Rose of being ] and ] . It is said that Rose denies the charge. | |||
| ==Discography== | ==Discography== | ||
| ⚫ | ] | ||
| ] | |||
| ===Officially Released=== | |||
| ===Full Length Releases === | |||
| ⚫ | *''The Thorn in Mrs. Rose's Side'' (1968, Tetragrammaton) | ||
| ⚫ | *''Biff, Cliff, and Warren'' (1961) | ||
| *'' |
*''Children of Light'' (1969, Tetragrammaton) | ||
| ⚫ | *''The Thorn in Mrs. Rose's Side'' (1968, Tetragrammaton |
||
| *''Children of Light'' (1969, Tetragrammaton, re-released on Buddah) | |||
| *''Biff Rose'' (1970, Buddah) | *''Biff Rose'' (1970, Buddah) | ||
| *''Half Live at the Bitter End'' (1971, Buddah) | *''Half Live at the Bitter End'' (1971, Buddah) | ||
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| *''Roast Beef'' (1978, Down Pat/Pacific Arts) | *''Roast Beef'' (1978, Down Pat/Pacific Arts) | ||
| *''Thee Messiah Album/Live at Gatsby's'' (1979, Pacific Arts) | *''Thee Messiah Album/Live at Gatsby's'' (1979, Pacific Arts) | ||
| ⚫ | *''Bone Again'' (1996, |
||
| ⚫ | *''The Elizabethan Period'' (2000, GoddessOne) | ||
| *''E-Stir Parade'' (2003, Wascals) | |||
| ⚫ | *''Live At The Earl Of Oldtown'' (recorded 1977, released 2003, |
||
| ⚫ | *''The Knight Wigguh and the Nippie Higger'' (2004, |
||
| === |
===Self Released=== | ||
| ⚫ | *''Biff, Cliff, and Warren'' (1961 live to tape recording) | ||
| *''What's Gnawing At Me/Molly'' (1968, Tetragrammaton) | |||
| *''Banjo and Ballyhoo'' (1963, self released home recording, Angry young man recordings) | |||
| *''Buzz the Fuzz/Gentle People'' (1968, Tetragrammaton) | |||
| ⚫ | *''Bone Again'' (1996, released on cdr byFast Eddy) | ||
| *''Take Care of My Brother/Myrtle's Pies'' (1969, Tetragrammaton, non-album single) | |||
| ⚫ | *''The Elizabethan Period'' (2000, released on cdr by GoddessOne) | ||
| *''I Forgot to Tell You/The Captain'' (1970, Buddah) | |||
| *''E-Stir Parade'' (2003, released on cdr by Wascal's Wecord & Stuff) | |||
| *''Rudolph'' (1971, United Artists) | |||
| ⚫ | *''Live At The Earl Of Oldtown'' (recorded 1977, released 2003, released on cdr by Wascal's Wecord & Stuff) | ||
| *''Garbage/Lord I Done Bumped Into You'' (1972, United Artists) | |||
| ⚫ | *''The Knight Wigguh and the Nippie Higger'' (2004, released on cdr by Wascal's Wecords & Stuff) | ||
| ⚫ | ===Compilations=== | ||
| ⚫ | *''Urban (folk) Renewal: Blue Dog Cellar'' |
||
| ===Out of Print Compilations=== | |||
| ⚫ | *''Put Your Hand in the Hand'' |
||
| ⚫ | *''Urban (folk) Renewal: Blue Dog Cellar'' (1962, Kimberly) | ||
| ⚫ | *''The Acoustic Highway Collection: The Road To Country Rock '' |
||
| ⚫ | *''Put Your Hand in the Hand'' (mid 1970's, Pickwick) | ||
| ⚫ | ===In Print Compilations=== | ||
| ⚫ | *''The Acoustic Highway Collection: The Road To Country Rock '' (EMI, 1996) | ||
| *''The Thorn in Mrs. Rose's Side/Children of Light'' (2005, Water Records) | *''The Thorn in Mrs. Rose's Side/Children of Light'' (2005, Water Records) | ||
| *''Fill Your Heart With Biff Rose'' (2005 |
*''Fill Your Heart With Biff Rose'' (2005 RPM Records) | ||
| ⚫ | ==References== | ||
| ⚫ | ==References== | ||
| * Promotion for the includes very detailed bio of Biff Rose by Thom Moore. | |||
| * |
* | ||
| * San Francisco free weekly piece by Kimberly Chun | |||
| * | * | ||
| * |
* , reviews an early Tonight Show appearance. | ||
| * |
* . | ||
| * |
* review of 1972 album ''Uncle Jesus Auntie Christ'' | ||
| * Richie Unterberger's biography on ]. | * Richie Unterberger's biography on ]. | ||
| * and |
* and Springsteen show with Biff Rose. | ||
| * |
* talks of Biff Rose. | ||
| ==External |
==External Links== | ||
| * | * | ||
| * | * | ||
| * | * | ||
| * | |||
| * Biff Rose's musings. | * Biff Rose's musings. | ||
| ] | ] | ||
| ] | ] | ||
| ] | ] | ||
| ] | |||
| {{Persondata | {{Persondata | ||
Revision as of 03:46, 21 March 2006
Biff Rose is a performer who got his start in entertainment as a as a comedy sketch writer with George Carlin for a host of television variety shows, ultimately finding work on the Mort Sahl show.
Paul Williams wrote the music and lyrics, based on a melody crafted by Rose for a song called "Fill Your Heart". Tiny Tim recorded the song as the back side for his single, "Tiptoe through the Tulips." David Bowie recorded the song, including it on his 1971 release, "Hunky Dory'. Bowie played another Rose song, "Buzz the Fuzz," once in live performance . His songs were also covered by John Denver and Pat Boone .
Following the release of his debut record, Rose made appearances on The Tonight Show at the end of the decade. . He performed on The Smothers Brothers Comedy Hour, American Bandstand , and Hugh Hefner's Playboy After Dark . He was the emcee at the Atlantic City Pop Festival of 1969 , and did the same job at the Atlanta Pop Festival of 1970 .
2005 saw two small indie (music) labels release compilations . One CD, released in the United States gathered his Tetragrammaton output, and a UK compilation covered Rose's work from 1968 through 1985.
Musical Style
Rose's early work consists of unaccompanied piano and vocals as well as more heavily orchestrated numbers. 1978's Roast Beef was recorded by Mike Nesmith in a single take and has been described as, "wild, violent piano improvisations." .
Rose's later work is much different from that of his 60's and 70's output. Where those earlier works were piano based, and lyrics followed in the tradition of Joseph Newman, a poet whose work Rose returned again and again for lyrics, his newer recordings include piano ramblings and the negative use of Racist Stereotypes On one of Rose's official websites, Judaism is targeted , resulting in accusations that Rose practices antisemitism ; It is said that Rose denies the charge, though there are no sources cited to support this.
Discography
Officially Released
- The Thorn in Mrs. Rose's Side (1968, Tetragrammaton)
- Children of Light (1969, Tetragrammaton)
- Biff Rose (1970, Buddah)
- Half Live at the Bitter End (1971, Buddah)
- Uncle Jesus, Aunty Christ (1972, United Artists)
- Hamburger Blues (1974, Sweet Jane Limited)
- Roast Beef (1978, Down Pat/Pacific Arts)
- Thee Messiah Album/Live at Gatsby's (1979, Pacific Arts)
Self Released
- Biff, Cliff, and Warren (1961 live to tape recording)
- Banjo and Ballyhoo (1963, self released home recording, Angry young man recordings)
- Bone Again (1996, released on cdr byFast Eddy)
- The Elizabethan Period (2000, released on cdr by GoddessOne)
- E-Stir Parade (2003, released on cdr by Wascal's Wecord & Stuff)
- Live At The Earl Of Oldtown (recorded 1977, released 2003, released on cdr by Wascal's Wecord & Stuff)
- The Knight Wigguh and the Nippie Higger (2004, released on cdr by Wascal's Wecords & Stuff)
Out of Print Compilations
- Urban (folk) Renewal: Blue Dog Cellar (1962, Kimberly)
- Put Your Hand in the Hand (mid 1970's, Pickwick)
In Print Compilations
- The Acoustic Highway Collection: The Road To Country Rock (EMI, 1996)
- The Thorn in Mrs. Rose's Side/Children of Light (2005, Water Records)
- Fill Your Heart With Biff Rose (2005 RPM Records)
References
- Review adressing the peculiarities in Rose's later work
- 2005 Interview in Bay GuardianSan Francisco free weekly piece by Kimberly Chun
- Reviews of Biff's albums 1968-1970
- Robert Christgau column, reviews an early Tonight Show appearance.
- Robert Christgau review.
- Biff Rose review of 1972 album Uncle Jesus Auntie Christ
- Biff Rose Richie Unterberger's biography on allmusic.com.
- Here and Springsteen show with Biff Rose.
- 2004 Paul Williams liner notes talks of Biff Rose.
External Links
- One Biff Rose official website
- Another Biff Rose official website
- Here's another Biff Rose official website
- And one more Biff Rose official website
- Biff Rose's message board Biff Rose's musings.