In 1895, he was described by Ernest Jarrold in Munsey's Magazine as being in the "front rank" of successful popular song writers, with a reputation as a "graceful, prolific, and versatile composer".

[2] His other successes as a songwriter included "Johnny Get Your Gun" (1886, credited as F. Belasco), and his most famous work, "With All Her Faults I Love Her Still" (1888), which sold more than 100,000 copies[a] in piano sheet music.

Rosenfeld was regarded as "a master of the tragic boy-girl tale set to music", and became a well-known local character, noted for his loves of poker, women and gambling.

Reputedly, he visited the office of songwriter Harry Von Tilzer, who used a piano with muffled keys to reduce the likelihood of complaints from his neighbors, and commented that the sound reminded him of tin cans, to which von Tilzer replied, "Yes, I guess this is a tin pan alley."

The phrase was contained in the title of one of Rosenfeld's articles and became widely used as a description of the area of songwriting offices on West 28th Street in Manhattan.