Rosie Flores born 10 September 1950

Rosie Flores (born September 10, 1950) is an American rockabilly and country music artist. Her music blends rockabilly, honky tonk, jazz, and Western swing along with traditional influences from her Tex-Mex heritage. Since the late '70s, guitarist, singer, and songwriter Flores has been an important figure on the roots music scene in both Austin, Texas and Los Angeles. She's a hard-working, independently minded artist who's well-respected for her gritty, energetic vocals and fiery guitar solos.

Rosie Flores was born in San Antonio, Texas, United States, where she lived until the age of twelve, when her family moved to San Diego. In interviews, Flores has recalled that growing up, she loved to watch musical television shows like The Dick Clark Show and Hit Parade. She began singing as a young child, and her brother, Roger, taught her to play rhythm guitar when she was a teenager.

Flores formed her first band, Penelope's Children, while still in high school in California. In the 1970s, Flores played the San Diego nightclub circuit and was the namesake of the alt country/cowpunk band Rosie and the Screamers. After leaving the Screamers, she joined a cowpunk all-female band called Screamin' Sirens in the 1980s. The latter band produced a series of 7-inch singles and tracks for compilation albums before releasing an album in 1987, Voodoo.

                   

Flores has revealed that, under pressure from her manager, she had an abortion in 1986, shortly after signing with Warner Bros. She later regretted the decision. She has never been married, and has said that her lifestyle, which involves frequent touring, makes it difficult to maintain long-term relationships. Flores's self-titled solo debut came out on Warner Bros./Reprise in 1987. The single, "Crying Over You", put her on the Billboard chart for the first time. Since then, Flores has recorded ten additional solo albums.

Flores has toured widely, appearing in the United States, Europe, Asia, and Australia, and also performing frequently in Austin, continuing into 2019. In 1995, she joined Wanda Jackson on a coast-to-coast North American tour, and she toured as a member of Asleep at the Wheel in 1997. She has also traveled with a concert tribute she created to honor Janis Martin, a program which she performed at the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame and Museum among other places. In 2012, she was part of the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame's tribute to Chuck Berry. Her media appearances include Austin City Limits and Late Night with Conan O'Brien, and she had a cameo role in the 1993 film The Thing Called Love.

In addition to her work as a performer and songwriter, Flores has helped to revive the careers of female rockabilly musicians from previous generations and to create new interest in their music. Her album Rockabilly Filly, released on Hightone Records in 1995, included vocals from early rock and roll musicians Janis Martin and Wanda Jackson. In 2007, Flores brought Janis Martin to a recording studio in Blanco, Texas, to record what would be both Martin's first solo album in thirty years as well as her last before her death of cancer. After the project was turned down by a number of record labels, Flores raised more than $16,000 on Kickstarter to release the album, which was titled Janis Martin: The Blanco Sessions. Flores is credited as a producer.

After a short hiatus, in 2009, Flores celebrated over two decades of recording with Girl of the Century, an album recorded with the Mekons' Jon Langford and the Pine Valley Cosmonauts for Bloodshot Records. Her raucous 11th album, Working Girl's Guitar, which appeared in 2012, was the first in which she handled all the production and guitar leads herself. With 2019's Simple Case of the Blues, Flores put the focus on her love of blues and vintage R&B, covering classic tunes by Wilson Pickett and Roy Brown along with a fresh batch of originals steeped in the classic styles. When not on the road, Flores gigs regularly in Austin, Texas with the Blue Moon Jazz Quartet as well as her more roots-oriented project the Rhythm Rockers.

Rosie Flores is a serious gear nerd. Given the chance, she’ll talk your ear off about the intricacies of amplifier wiring, effects pedals (one of her favorites is called the Sex Drive), gauges of guitar strings and other esoterica. She owns, at any one time, about 10 guitars, but her current go-to axe is the custommade Deluxe Steel Topcaster featured on the cover of her latest album, Working Girl’s Guitar. The guitar was crafted by James Trussart, who has built guitars for rock royalty, including Bob Dylan, Eric Clapton and the Rolling Stones’ Keith Richards. She uses Fender amplifiers, and has also played Fender Telecasters, Gretsch electrics, Gibson Les Pauls, and various acoustic guitars.

She currently resides in Austin, Texas, where August 31 was declared Rosie Flores Day by the Austin City Council in 2006.

(Edited from Wikipedia , AllMusic & Austin Woman Magazine)