Country music star Rose Lee Maphis, one half of country music husband-and-wife duo Rose Lee & Joe Maphis, passed away October 26, 2021. She was 98 years old.
Maphis was born 1922 in Baltimore and started her career on Maryland radio. She soon became part of a group named the Saddle Sweethearts and while working the Old Dominion Barn Dance in Richmond, Virginia, in the mid to late 1940s, she met her future husband Joe Maphis. The couple moved to California and married there in 1952.
Her husband Joe became known as one of country music's most versatile guitarists and played on countless recording sessions for both stars and unknowns alike. In 1953, they couple wrote and recorded "Dim Lights, Thick Smoke (And Loud, Loud Music)" (inspired by the infamous Blackboard Club), which became a hit in their version and a classic in honky-tonk country music. It has also been covered a lot of times through the decades by various artists. During the 1950s, Rose Lee and Joe Maphis were stars in California's country music scene, appearing on various radio and TV shows, including the famed Town Hall Party.
Later on, Rose Lee Maphis concentrated more on raising their children but returned to recording in the 1960s. In 1968, the family relocated to Nashville where they cut more albums. Following her husband's death, she ceased performing but went on to work at Opryland and later greeted the fans at Country Music Hall of Fame tours.
Watch Rose Lee & Joe Maphis perform their hit "Dim Lights, Thick Smoke" at the Town Hall Party.
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