Vincent Rose (1880-1944) was born in Palermo, Italy, and moved to the United States at the age of 17. However, he returned to Italy to study piano and violin. Soon after his return to the States he formed his own band sometime around 1905, Vincent Rose and His Montmartre Orchestra, and kept it together for over 35 years.

In 1920 he wrote “Whispering” with John Schonberger (lyric by Richard Coburn) which became an enormous instrumental hit for the Paul Whiteman Orchestra although Whiteman was not the first to record it. That same year Rose collaborated with Al Jolson and B. G. DeSylva on “Avalon” which was a big success for singer Jolson. However, the royalties were awarded to the Puccini estate after a court established that the melody was taken from an aria in the opera Tosca. Rose had another big hit, written with Harry Owens in 1923, “Linger Awhile.” Count Basie’s big band rendition was quite successful; however, it was Sarah Vaughan who later popularized it as a vocal.

But it is “Blueberry Hill,” written with Larry Stock and Al Lewis, which has lingered in public memory the longest and crossed over into different musical genres. Glenn Miller’s version rose to number one in 1940, and then in 1956 R&B/rock ‘n’ roll artist Fats Domino had a blockbuster hit with it.

- Sandra Burlingame