Rosalie Allen

Rosalie Allen
Born Julie Marlene Bedra
or Julia Marlene Bedra
(1924-06-27)June 27, 1924
Old Forge, Pennsylvania
Died September 24, 2003(2003-09-24) (aged 79)
or September 23, 2003
Nationality American

Rosalie Allen (born Julie Marlene Bedra; June 27, 1924 – September 24, 2003) was an American singer.

Early years

Rosalie Allen was born Julie Marlene Bedra in Old Forge, Lackawanna County, Pennsylvania. (Another source gives her first name as Julia, rather than Julie, and her date of death as September 23, 2003.)[1] Allen grew up the daughter of a Polish immigrant chiropractor in a family of 12 children in Pennsylvania. At age 9 she worked as a dishwasher to help with the family's finances.[1]

Inspired by the singing cowboys of the 1930s, she taught herself to sing and play her brother's guitar.

Recording

In 1945, Allen signed a five-year contract with Spin Records.[2]

Allen's first hit came in 1946 with RCA Victor with a yodeling update of Patsy Montana's "I Want to Be a Cowboy's Sweetheart." Allen's final hits paired her with yodeler Elton Britt. Their first single, "Beyond the Sunset," hit number seven in 1950. They also recorded "The Yodel Blues" and "Quicksilver."

Radio

Allen's radio debut came in Wilkes-Barre, Pennsylvania; she went from there to York, Pennsylvania, and later performed on Denver Darling's Swing Billies pseudo-western radio show in New York City.[1]

In 1944, Allen became a disc jockey. Her half-hour program, Prairie Stars on WOV in New York,[1] was so popular that Country Music magazine named her the most famous country music personality in Manhattan. She stayed with the show until rock music bumped her off the air in 1956. In the 1940s,[3] she ran a country western record shop called Rosalie Allen's Hillbilly Music Center on West 54th Street in New York City, one of the first record stores in the United States to sell only country music.[3] Allen retired to Alabama to raise a family.

Recognition

In 1999, Allen's work in radio was recognized and she was the first woman inducted into the Country Music Disc Jockey Hall of Fame.

Death

After a brief battle with congestive heart failure, Allen died on September 24, 2003.

Discography

References

  1. 1 2 3 4 Martin, Douglas (October 26, 2003). "Yodeling Cowgirl Rosalie Allen, 79". Santa Cruz Sentinel. California, Santa Cruz. The New York Times. p. 19. Retrieved May 12, 2016 – via Newspapers.com.
  2. ↑ "American Folk Tunes: Signs Contract" (PDF). Billboard. December 15, 1945. p. 84. Retrieved 13 May 2016.
  3. 1 2 NY Times obituary October 26, 2003
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