Rosie Hamlin: Difference between revisions

| honorific_prefix =

| name = Rosie Hamlin

| honorific_suffix =

| image = Rosie_Hamlin_c._1960s.jpg

| image_upright =

| image_size =

| landscape = <!-- yes, if wide image, otherwise leave blank -->

| alt = A woman with long black hair looks into the camera

| caption = Hamlin {{circa}} 1961

| background = solo_singer

| birth_name = Rosalie Méndez Hamlin

| alias =

| birth_date = {{birth date|1945|07|21}}

| birth_place = [[Klamath Falls, Oregon|Klamath Falls]], [[Oregon]], U.S.

| origin =

| death_date = {{death date and age|2017|03|30|1945|07|21}}

| death_place = [[Belen, New Mexico]], U.S.

| genre = {{hlist| [[Doo-wop]]<ref>{{cite book|title=All Music Guide to Soul: The Definitive Guide to R&B and Soul|editor=Bogdanov, Vladmir|publisher=Hal Leonard Corporation|year=2003|ppage=586|isbn= 978-0-879-30744-8}}</ref> | [[Rhythm and blues|R&B]] }}

| occupation = Singer-songwriter

| instrument = {{hlist|Vocals|piano}}

| years_active = 1960–1963, 2002

| label =

| associated_acts past_member_of = [[Rosie and the Originals]]

| website = <!-- {{URL|www.example.com}} or {{official URL}} -->

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'''Rosalie "Rosie" Méndez Hamlin''' (July 21, 1945 – March 30, 2017)<ref>{{cite webmagazine|workmagazine=Rolling Stone|url=https://www.rollingstone.com/music/music-news/rosie-hamlin-rosie-and-the-originals-angel-baby-singer-dead-at-71-193398/|title=Rosie Hamlin, Rosie and the Originals' 'Angel Baby' Singer, Dead at 71|author=Kreps, Daniel|date=April 1, 2017|accessdate=October 27, 2017}}</ref> was an American singer and songwriter who was the frontwoman of the group [[Rosie and the Originals]], best known for the 1960 song "[[Angel Baby (Rosie and the Originals song)|Angel Baby]]", which became a [[Top 40]] hit in 1961 when Hamlin was only fifteen15 years old. She wouldmarried formallyguitarist, retireNoah fromTafolla, theand musicthey industryhad intwo 1963children after(Joseph startingand aDeborah) familybefore withthey herdivorced. husbandHamlin andhad guitarist,a Noahthird Tafollachild (John) several years later. Hamlin performedcontinued to perform including performing at several revival concerts until 2002, before retiring from live performances due to advanced [[fibromyalgia]].

Hamlin's "Angel Baby" was covered by several artists, including [[Linda Ronstadt]] and [[John Lennon]], who cited Hamlin as one of his favorite singers.<ref name=ny/> She was the first [[Hispanic and Latino Americans|Latina]] to be honored by the [[Rock and Roll Hall of Fame]], as well as the first Latina to appear on [[Dick Clark]]'s ''[[American Bandstand]]'' in 1961.<ref name=oc/><ref name=ny>{{cite web|work=[[The New York Times]]|url=https://www.nytimes.com/2017/04/05/arts/music/rose-hamlin-dead-sang-angel-baby.html|title=Rose Hamlin, a One-Hit Wonder With ‘Angel'Angel Baby,’' Dies at 71|date=April 5, 2017|author=The Associated Press|accessdate=October 28, 2017}}</ref>

Rosalie "Rosie" Méndez Hamlin was born in [[Klamath Falls, Oregon]], on July 21, 1945, to a Ofelia Juana Méndez and Harry Hamlin (not to be confused with the [[Harry Hamlin|actor of the same name]]). Her mother was [[Mexican people|Mexican]], and her father was of [[English-American|Anglo-American]] ancestry.<ref name=oc>{{cite web|url=http://www.ocweekly.com/music/angel-baby-singer-dead-at-71-8009093|work=OC Weekly|title="Angel Baby" Singer Rosie Hamlin of Rosie and The Originals Dead at 71|author=San Roman, Gabriel|date=April 3, 2017|accessdate=October 27, 2017}}</ref><ref name=latinas>{{cite book |last=Ruiz |first=Vicki L. |date=2006 |title=Latinas in the United States: A Historical Encyclopedia |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=_62IjQ-XQScC&pg=PA308&source=gbs_toc_r&cad=4#v=onepage&q&f=false |location=[[Bloomington, Indiana]] |publisher=Indiana University Press |page=308 |isbn=0-253-34680-0}}</ref> She spent part of her childhood between [[Anchorage, Alaska]] and California, before her family moved to [[National City, California]]. Hamlin came from a musical family; her father and grandfather were both musicians who had backgrounds in [[vaudeville]].<ref name=autobio/>

Hamlin began singing with a band at thirteen13.<ref name=autobio/> She wrote the [[lyrics]] for "Angel Baby" as a poem for "[her] very first boyfriend" when she was 14 years old, still attending [[Mission Bay High School]] in [[San Diego, California|San Diego]], [[California]].<ref>{{cite web |url=http://www.sandiegoreader.com/bands/rosie-and-originals|title=Rosie and the Originals |publisher=San Diego Reader |accessdate=22 September 2013}}</ref><ref>{{Cite web |last=Kahn |first=Harvey M. |date=December 27, 2019 |orig-date=December 27, 2019 |title=Rosie and the Originals took "Angel Baby" from San Marcos to Madison Square Garden |url=https://thecoastnews.com/rosie-and-the-originals-took-angel-baby-from-san-marcos-to-madison-square-garden/ |url-status=live |access-date=December 31, 2024 |website=The Coast News Group |language=en-us}}</ref><ref>{{Cite web |last=McWhinney |first=Jakob |date=April 3, 2024 |orig-date=April 3, 2024 |title=Song of the Week: 'Lonely Blue Nights' |url=https://voiceofsandiego.org/2024/04/03/song-of-the-week-lonely-blue-nights/ |url-status=live |access-date=2024-12-31 |website=Voice of San Diego |language=en-US}}</ref> During her childhood, Hamlin was trained to play [[piano]].<ref name=autobio>{{cite web|url=http://www.rosieandtheoriginals.com/wordpress/biographies/autobiography-of-rosalie-hamlin|work=Rosieandtheoriginals.com|title=Autobiography of Rosalie Hamlin|date=6 July 2010 |accessdate=October 27, 2017}}</ref>

At age fifteen, Hamlin and some friends rented the only [[recording studio]] they could find within 100 miles of San Diego located in [[San Marcos, California]], to [[sound recording and reproduction|record]] the song. The studio was owned by an airplane mechanic who had taken part of his hangar to make it.<ref name=" Interview With Rosie Hamlin ">{{cite web|url= http://www.classicbands.com/RosieHamlinInterview.html |title=Interview With Rosie Hamlin |publisher=Classic Bands|date= |accessdate=June 11, 2016}}</ref> After taking the [[master recording|master]] to a [[Kresge's]] [[department store]] in downtown San Diego, they convinced a [[management|manager]] to play it in the listening booth of the store's music department.<ref name=autobio/><ref name=guevarra/> The song received positive reactions from teenage listeners, and a [[A&R|scout]] from [[Highland Records]] offered the group a [[recording contract]], under the condition that the company take possession of the master recording, and that David Ponce be named as the author of the song, as he was the eldest member of the group.<ref name=guevarra>{{cite book|title=Becoming Mexipino: Multiethnic Identities and Communities in San Diego|pages=90–1|author= Guevarra, Rudy P. Jr.|publisher=Rutgers University Press|year=2012|isbn= 978-0-813-55326-9}}</ref> Hamlin along with her band performed six shows with [[Jackie Wilson]] at the [[Paramount Theatre (Brooklyn)|Brooklyn Paramount Theatre]] in [[New York City]] in late 1960.<ref name=autobio/>

"Angel Baby", which featured Hamlin's noted [[contralto]]soprano vocals,<ref>{{cite book|title=Rock-N-Roll Gold Rush |last=Dean |first= Maury|authorlink= |coauthors= |year= 2003|publisher= Algora Publishing|location= |isbn= 0-87586-207-1|p=142}}</ref> made its [[radio]] debut in November 1960,<ref>{{cite web|author=Tim Warden |url=http://www.las-solanas.com/arsa/charts_view.php?svid=19246 |title=KRLA 1110 Los Angeles Survey 11/18/60 |website=Las-solanas.com |date=November 18, 1960 |accessdate=November 30, 2015}}</ref> before the group had even received their contract; the track was also played on K-Day Radio from disc jockey [[Alan Freed]].<ref name=guevarra/> When the group formally established a contract, Hamlin found that she was ineligible to collect record [[royalties]] from the song because she was not listed as the [[songwriter]]. This led to the group's break-up, and although Hamlin secured the [[copyright]] to her music in 1961, decades of battles over royalties followed. "Angel Baby" charted at number 5 on the [[Billboard Hot 100|Billboard Singles Chart]].<ref name=ny/><ref>{{cite book|publisher=Billboard Books|title=The Billboard Book of One-hit Wonders

|ppage=108|author=Jancik, Wayne|year=1998|isbn= 978-0-823-07622-2}}</ref> On March 30, 1961, Hamlin appeared with Rosie and the Originals on [[Dick Clark]]'s ''[[American Bandstand]]'', performing "Lonely Blue Nights",<ref>{{cite episode|series=American Bandstand|people=[[Dick Clark|Clark, Dick]]|season=4|number=149|title=AB-965: Joe Jones / Rosie Hamlin|network=ABC|airdate=March 30, 1961}}</ref> making her the first Latina to appear on the series.<ref name=ny/>

Hamlin formally retired from the music industry in 1963 after her marriage to Originals guitarist Noah Tafolla.<ref name=noise>{{cite web|work=Noise11|url=http://www.noise11.com/news/r-i-p-rosie-hamlin-of-rosie-the-originals-1947-2017-20170403|title=R.I.P. Rosie Hamlin of Rosie & The Originals 1947-2017|author=Wink, Roger|date=April 3, 2017|accessdate=October 28, 2017}}</ref> The couple had two children,<ref name=cb>{{cite web|url=http://faculty.atu.edu/cbrucker/Engl1053/p/16Rosie.pdf|work=Arkansas Tech University|title=Rosie and the Originals|accessdate=October 28, 2017}}</ref> Joseph ({{abbr|b.|born}} 1962)<ref>{{cite web|work=[[CaliforniaJoey Birth IndexTafolla|Joey]]|url=https://www.californiabirthindex.org/birth/joseph_a_tafolla_born_1962_8222685|title=The Birth of Joseph Tafolla|accessdate=October 28, 2017}}</ref> and Deborah ({{abbr|b.|born}} 1964).<ref>{{cite web|work=California Birth Index|url=https://www.californiabirthindex.org/birth/deborah_a_tafolla_born_1964_9000048|title=The Birth of Deborah Tafolla|accessdate=October 28, 2017}}</ref><ref>{{cite web|work=The San Diego Union-Tribune|url=http://www.sandiegouniontribune.com/obituaries/sd-me-rosie-hamlin-obituary-20170401-story.html|title=Rosie Hamlin, the singer in San Diego's Rosie and The Originals, dead at 71|author=Varga, George|date=April 1, 2017|accessdate=October 28, 2017}}</ref>

Hamlin died in her sleep of undisclosed causes on March 30, 2017<ref name=oc/> at her home in [[New Mexico]].<ref>{{cite web|work=Noblin Funeral Service|url=http://www.noblinfuneralservice.com/book-of-memories/2893076/Hamlin-Rosalie/obituary.php|title=Rosalie Hamlin|accessdate=October 28, 2017}}</ref> Her family confirmed she had suffered health problems in the course of her later life which prevented her from performing live.<ref name=oc/>

Hamlin's track "Angel Baby" was cited by [[John Lennon]] as one of his favorite songs, and he covered the track in 1975.<ref>{{cite web|url=https://www.seattletimes.com/nation-world/angel-baby-singer-dead-at-71/|work=The Seattle Times|date=April 3, 2017|author=Galvan, Astrid|title=‘Angel'Angel Baby’Baby' singer dies; classic hit covered by Lennon|accessdate=October 28, 2017}}</ref> She was the first Latina to be inductedhonored intoby the [[Rock and Roll Hall of Fame]], on thetheir Wall of One-Hit Wonders.<ref name=oc/><ref name=cb/> In July 2007, a concert honoring Hamlin was held at the Pearson Park Amphitheater in [[Anaheim, California]].<ref>{{cite web|work=The Orange Country Register|title=‘Angel'Angel Baby’Baby' singer to be honored with concert|date=July 2, 2007|accessdate=October 28, 2017|url=http://www.ocregister.com/2007/07/02/angel-baby-singer-to-be-honored-with-concert/}}</ref>

{{PortalbarPortal bar|1960s|Rock and Rollmusic|Hispanic and Latino Americans|Oregon|California|Alaska}}

[[Category:Hispanic and Latino American femalewomen singers]]