Vincent Rose

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Vincent Rose was a musician and band leader. b. 1880, Palermo, Italy, d. 1944, Rockville Center, NY, USA.

Vincent Rose has one of the longest histories as a band leader. He achieved much popularity with his Montmartre Orchestra in the 1920s, and recorded with the group for RCA. The same personnel later recorded for the Columbia label as the Hollywood Orchestra. After leaving California, he settled in New York, but continued to record as "Vincent Rose and His Orchestra" for various labels throughout the 1930s.

He was very active as a songwriter, publishing well over 200 songs. Among his hits are:

1920 "Whispering"
1920 "Avalon", with lyrics by Al Jolson, a big hit for Jolson.
1923 "Linger Awhile"
1940 "Blueberry Hill"

There's an interesting sidelight to the song "Avalon". In 1921, the estate and the publisher of Puccini's operas, G. Ricordi, sued all parties associated with that song, claiming the melody was "lifted" from the aria "E lucevan le stella" from Puccini's opera "Tosca". The Court found for Puccini and his publisher, and they were awarded $25,000 in damages, plus all future print royalties earned by "Avalon."

[edit] Songwriters On Parade

In the late 1930s and early 1940s Rose and several of his fellow hitmakers formed a sensational review called "Songwriters On Parade", performing all across the Eastern seaboard on the Loew's and Keith circuits.