Ross the Boss
- FaceOff - עימות חזיתי
- 5 days ago
- 4 min read
His career connects the birth of punk in New York, and the rise of epic heavy metal on a global scale. Here are some interesting facts about Ross the Boss:
• Born Ross Friedman on January 3, 1954, in the Bronx, New York City, into a Jewish, working class family with deep European roots.
• His father’s family emigrated from the Austro Hungarian Empire in the early 20th century, while relatives who remained in Europe were murdered during the Holocaust, an awareness that shaped his identity from a young age.
• His grandfather, a refugee, decided the family would speak only English rather than Hungarian, which Ross never learned, reflecting a conscious break from Europe in favor of American survival.
• He attended Hebrew school at the Jacob Schiff Center on Valentine Avenue in the Bronx for four years leading up to his bar mitzvah, retaining a lifelong familiarity with Hebrew prayers and traditions.
• Ross grew up immersed in hard rock and blues, drawing early guitar inspiration from Ritchie Blackmore and Buck Dharma, and developing a heavy downstroke driven rhythm style.
• In 1973, co founded "The Dictators", an entirely Jewish, Bronx born band that predated the formal punk movement and stood apart from the transplanted CBGB scene.
• Ross recorded influential albums with "The Dictators" including "The Dictators Go Girl Crazy!" (1975), "Manifest Destiny" (1977), and "Bloodbrothers" (1978), blending hard rock power with street level wit and attitude.
• Became a fixture at CBGB, performing there 35 times over the years and helping define the sound and culture of early New York punk rock.
• In 1978, recorded "Bloodbrothers" at the Record Plant while Bruce Springsteen and the E Street Band were working next door on "Darkness on the Edge of Town", leading to Springsteen contributing the album’s spoken count in.
• In 1980, left "The Dictators" temporarily to join French hard rock band "Shakin’ Street", placing him on "Black Sabbath’s" "Heaven and Hell" tour as an opening act.
• During that tour, Ronnie James Dio personally introduced him to Joey DeMaio, who was working at the time as part of the tour’s technical crew and aspiring to form his own band.
• Ross jammed backstage with DeMaio inside "Black Sabbath" dressing rooms, directly leading to the formation of "Manowar" later in 1980.
• He became a founding member of "Manowar" and played guitar on the band’s first six studio albums: "Battle Hymns" (1982), "Into Glory Ride" (1983), "Hail to England" (1984), "Sign of the Hammer" (1984), "Fighting The World" (1987), "Kings of Metal" (1988).
• Ross helped establish the musical blueprint of epic heavy metal and early power metal, combining massive riffs, heroic melodies, and mythic themes.
• He has repeatedly cited "Battle Hymns" and "Hail to England" as the records that effectively launched power metal, pointing to guitar tuning and song architecture as defining elements.
• Ross departed "Manowar" in 1989 following internal tensions, closing one of the most influential chapters in classic heavy metal history.
• In the early 1980s, produced early "Anthrax" material and played a key role in securing their deal with "Megaforce Records".
• Later described not producing "Metallica", when given the opportunity, as one of the biggest regrets of his career.
• Ross reunited with Andy Shernoff and Handsome Dick Manitoba (Of "The Dictators") in 1990 for "Manitoba’s Wild Kingdom", releasing the album "...And You?" which received strong critical attention and MTV rotation.
• He maintained a long standing creative partnership with Albert Bouchard of "Blue Öyster Cult", mainly in the hard rock and punk infused project "The Brain Surgeons", releasing the albums: "Black Hearts of Soul" (2004) and "Denial of Death" (2006).
• He appeared on the final weekend of CBGB in October 2006, performing the last rock song ever played on its stage, "Blitzkrieg Bop", alongside Tommy Ramone.
• In 2007 Ross was a guest guitarist on "Atlantean Kodex's" album "The Pnakotic Demos".
In 2011 he contributing guest guitar work on "Burning Starr" final studio album "Land of the Dead".
• In 2012 Ross co-founded the epic heavy metal supergroup "Death Dealer" with former "Manowar" drummer Kenny "Rhino" Edwards, releasing the albums: "War Master" (2013), "Hallowed Ground" (2015), and "Conquered Lands" (2020).
• Ross formed his own band "Ross the Boss" in the mid 2000s, allowing full artistic control over songwriting and direction.
• "Ross the Boss" released acclaimed albums including "New Metal Leader" (2008), "Hailstorm" (2010), "By Blood Sworn" (2018), and "Born of Fire" (2020), praised for their authenticity and classic metal spirit.
• He performed in Tel Aviv in 2015 as part of The Metal All-Stars, describing the experience as deeply satisfying.
• Ross was inducted into the Hall of Heavy Metal History in 2017 for his contributions to speed metal and epic heavy metal guitar.
In 2020 he played guitar in the song "Battle Hymn" by the Swiss all-female traditional heavy metal band "Burning Witches" album "Dance with the Devil".
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