Biography
Liz Rose had already secured major success as a co-writer on several of Taylor Swift’s early breakthroughs, among them “You Belong with Me,” and as co-author of Little Big Town’s Grammy-winning “Girl Crush,” before she stepped forward as a recording artist with her 2017 solo debut. Her first song to reach the charts had appeared eleven years earlier—Swift’s initial single, “Tim McGraw”—so the arrival of her own album, Swimming Alone, in 2017 marked her as a notably late starter. She was thirty-seven when that Swift collaboration became a hit, and by then she had already raised two children, one of them the singer-songwriter Caitlin Rose, who began releasing music in 2008, while quietly building a behind-the-scenes career in Nashville.
Born in Dallas, Texas, on December 22, 1968, Rose spent her childhood in the neighboring town of Irving. After marrying Johnny Rose, she relocated with him to Nashville, Tennessee, in 1994; once their children were old enough for school, she began pursuing songwriting full time. Her first position came at Jody Williams Music, where she promoted material from the King Lizard catalog, and she soon joined the company’s writing staff. In 2001 she earned her initial major placement when Billy Gillman cut “Elisabeth,” a song she had composed in honor of her niece’s struggle with neurofibromatosis. Two years later Gary Allan took “Songs About Rain” to number twelve on Billboard’s Hot Country Songs chart.
Her profile rose sharply in the mid-2000s after she began working with Taylor Swift. The pair first connected during a songwriting session at RCA’s ROG Café, where Swift, already familiar with Rose’s work, proposed they write together. Their partnership produced several tracks for Swift’s self-titled 2006 debut, including the first two singles, “Tim McGraw” and “Teardrops on My Guitar.” Those co-writes helped Rose receive the SESAC Songwriter of the Year award in 2007. She continued contributing to Swift’s projects through Fearless and Red, yet she also supplied material to other artists, among them Bonnie Raitt’s “I Don’t Want to Change” and the Eli Young Band’s “Crazy Girl,” the latter co-written with Lee Brice and named ACM Song of the Year in 2012. That body of work prompted her to establish the Liz Rose Music publishing company in 2010.
Another strong year arrived in 2014 when RaeLynn, a contestant on The Voice, reached the country top ten with “God Made Girls,” and Little Big Town recorded “Girl Crush,” which crossed over to broader audiences the following year. “Girl Crush” earned the Grammy for Best Country Song in 2016, clearing the path for Rose’s own recording debut; Swimming Alone appeared that summer.
Born in Dallas, Texas, on December 22, 1968, Rose spent her childhood in the neighboring town of Irving. After marrying Johnny Rose, she relocated with him to Nashville, Tennessee, in 1994; once their children were old enough for school, she began pursuing songwriting full time. Her first position came at Jody Williams Music, where she promoted material from the King Lizard catalog, and she soon joined the company’s writing staff. In 2001 she earned her initial major placement when Billy Gillman cut “Elisabeth,” a song she had composed in honor of her niece’s struggle with neurofibromatosis. Two years later Gary Allan took “Songs About Rain” to number twelve on Billboard’s Hot Country Songs chart.
Her profile rose sharply in the mid-2000s after she began working with Taylor Swift. The pair first connected during a songwriting session at RCA’s ROG Café, where Swift, already familiar with Rose’s work, proposed they write together. Their partnership produced several tracks for Swift’s self-titled 2006 debut, including the first two singles, “Tim McGraw” and “Teardrops on My Guitar.” Those co-writes helped Rose receive the SESAC Songwriter of the Year award in 2007. She continued contributing to Swift’s projects through Fearless and Red, yet she also supplied material to other artists, among them Bonnie Raitt’s “I Don’t Want to Change” and the Eli Young Band’s “Crazy Girl,” the latter co-written with Lee Brice and named ACM Song of the Year in 2012. That body of work prompted her to establish the Liz Rose Music publishing company in 2010.
Another strong year arrived in 2014 when RaeLynn, a contestant on The Voice, reached the country top ten with “God Made Girls,” and Little Big Town recorded “Girl Crush,” which crossed over to broader audiences the following year. “Girl Crush” earned the Grammy for Best Country Song in 2016, clearing the path for Rose’s own recording debut; Swimming Alone appeared that summer.
Singles
