*Tony Rose, pioneering music executive, producer, and NAACP Image Award-winning book publisher, died peacefully at his Phoenix home on Tuesday, May 30, 2025, at the age of 74. His wife of 43 years, Yvonne Rose, and sister, Felicia Rose, were by his side.
Best known as one of the architects of Boston’s influential Black music scene in the late 1970s and 1980s, Rose helped launch the careers of global superstars and played a pivotal behind-the-scenes role in shaping a movement that brought R&B, electro-funk, and pop to international stages.
Born Conant Burleigh Peter Joseph Rose in Boston’s Roxbury neighborhood, Rose served in the U.S. Air Force during the Vietnam War before studying at the University of Massachusetts, UCLA, and the New England Conservatory of Music. He began his music career in Los Angeles, with early roles at WEA and RCA Records, and honed his skills in publicity with Warren Lanier Public Relations.
In the late ’70s, Rose returned to Boston and quickly became a major force in the city’s burgeoning Black music scene. Working closely with Maurice Starr and Michael Jonzun, he helped define a sound and a business infrastructure that would birth acts like New Edition, New Kids on the Block, The Jonzun Crew, and Prince Charles and the City Beat Band.
Rose managed and produced Prince Charles (Charles Alexander), releasing multiple albums—including Gang War (1980), Stone Killers (1982), and Combat Zone (1984)—through his Solid Platinum Records and Productions. The group’s success earned Rose a historic production deal with Virgin Records, making Solid Platinum the first African American-owned production company signed to the label. Their records achieved Gold status and charted alongside Thriller at the height of their popularity.
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A multi-talented executive, Rose also owned Boston’s Hit City Recording Studio in the late ’80s, which recorded acts like New Kids on the Block before he sold the facility to Starr in 1990. He was also the creative force behind Dance Slam, a local dance television pilot spotlighting young Boston talent.
Rose’s second act was just as impactful. In 1996, he founded Amber Books, one of the most enduring and successful African American-owned publishing houses in the U.S., publishing more than 1,000 titles. His own books include Before the Legend: The Rise of New Kids on the Block and a Guy Named Maurice Starr (2011), America: The Black Point of View (2015), and The Autobiography of an American Ghetto Boy (2016).
In 2013, Rose received an NAACP Image Award for Outstanding Literature. He also co-founded The African American Pavilion at BookExpo America and led major charitable efforts, including the Katrina Literary Collective, which donated more than 90,000 books to Hurricane Katrina survivors.
Tony Rose’s contributions to music and publishing earned him Gold and Platinum records, Ampex Golden Reel Awards, and a reputation as a visionary mentor, entrepreneur, and advocate for Black excellence in entertainment and literature.
Tony Rose’s legacy lives on through the music he helped create the artists he supported, and the stories he helped tell. His archives are housed at the University of Massachusetts Boston, and his impact endures in every note and every page.
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