David Rose

Born in London on June 15, 1910, to Jewish parents and raised in Chicago, David Rose started out at 16 playing with Ted Fio Rito’s band before taking work as a standby pianist for NBC Radio. In the early 1930s, arranging for the Frank Trumbauer orchestra and leading a house band at Chicago station WGN, he built a name for himself with early swing originals like “Break It Down”, “Transcontinental”, and “Plantation Moods” — one piece recorded under three titles, including “Jigsaw Rhythm”, featuring Louis Prima.

Hollywood called next. Rose formed his own orchestra, hosted the twice-weekly Mutual Broadcasting program California Melodies, and rose to music director of the Mutual network. His first major composition, “Holiday for Strings”, became a hit, and he later followed it with signature works “The Stripper” and “Calypso Melody”. During World War II, he entered the Army, where he met Red Skelton; in 1948 he joined Skelton’s Raleigh Cigarette Program and stayed on as musical director of The Red Skelton Show for its 21-year run across CBS and NBC.

His television scoring — Bonanza, Leave It to Beaver, Little House on the Prairie, Highway to Heaven, Highway Patrol, some written under the pseudonym Ray Llewellyn — earned four Emmy Awards. A member of Phi Mu Alpha Sinfonia, Rose remained an active composer, arranger, and orchestra leader until his death on August 23, 1990.