Arthur Ross (February 28, 1949 – May 30, 1996) was an American singer and songwriter most notable for his collaborations with

Leon Ware Leon Ware (February 16, 1940 – February 23, 2017) was an American songwriter, producer, composer, and singer. Besides a solo career as a performer, Ware was best known for producing hits for other artists including Michael Jackson, Quincy ...

. He was the younger brother of entertainer

Diana Ross Diana Ross (born March 26, 1944) is an American singer and actress. She rose to fame as the lead singer of the vocal group the Supremes, who became Motown's most successful act during the 1960s and one of the world's best-selling girl groups o ...

. Born in

Detroit Detroit ( , ; , ) is the largest city in the U.S. state of Michigan. It is also the largest U.S. city on the United States–Canada border, and the seat of government of Wayne County. The City of Detroit had a population of 639,111 at th ...

Michigan Michigan () is a state in the Great Lakes region of the upper Midwestern United States. With a population of nearly 10.12 million and an area of nearly , Michigan is the 10th-largest state by population, the 11th-largest by area, and the ...

, Ross hung around rougher sections of Detroit while his elder sister garnered fame as lead singer of

The Supremes The Supremes were an American girl group and a premier act of Motown Records during the 1960s. Founded as the Primettes in Detroit, Michigan, in 1959, the Supremes were the most commercially successful of Motown's acts and the most successful ...

in the 1960s and later solo fame in the 1970s. Shortly after Diana Ross had established herself as a solo artist, she recruited him to

Motown Motown Records is an American record label owned by the Universal Music Group. It was founded by Berry Gordy Jr. as Tamla Records on June 7, 1958, and incorporated as Motown Record Corporation on April 14, 1960. Its name, a portmanteau of ''moto ...

as an appointed songwriter in 1972. Ross collaborated with songwriter

and, together, the duo wrote hits for artists such as

Michael Jackson Michael Joseph Jackson (August 29, 1958 – June 25, 2009) was an American singer, songwriter, dancer, and philanthropist. Dubbed the "King of Pop", he is regarded as one of the most significant cultural figures of the 20th century. Over a ...

The Miracles The Miracles (also known as Smokey Robinson and the Miracles from 1965 to 1972) were an American vocal group that was the first successful recording act for Berry Gordy's Motown Records, and one of the most important and most influential groups ...

and

Marvin Gaye Marvin Pentz Gay Jr., who also spelled his surname as Gaye (April 2, 1939 – April 1, 1984), was an American singer and songwriter. He helped to shape the sound of Motown in the 1960s, first as an in-house session player and later as a solo ar ...

. Among the hits were the Top 20 "

I Wanna Be Where You Are "I Wanna Be Where You Are" is a song written by Arthur "T-Boy" Ross and Leon Ware for Michael Jackson, who took the song to number 7 in ''Cash Box'' and number 16 on the ''Billboard'' Hot 100 pop chart. It also reached number 2 on the ''Billboard ...

" and " I Want You". T-Boy had a falling out with Ware during recording sessions for Marvin Gaye's '' I Want You'' album. He quit the project and set out to become a singer in his own right, releasing his first album for

Motown Records Motown Records is an American record label owned by the Universal Music Group. It was founded by Berry Gordy, Berry Gordy Jr. as Tamla Records on June 7, 1958, and incorporated as Motown Record Corporation on April 14, 1960. Its name, a portmant ...

in 1979, ''Changes'' Despite performances from such artists as jazz pianist

Joe Sample Joseph Leslie Sample (February 1, 1939 – September 12, 2014) was an American keyboardist and composer. He was one of the founding members of The Jazz Crusaders in 1960, the band which shortened its name to "The Crusaders" in 1971. He remained ...

, the album sold only 12,000 copies. Frustrated with the business, Ross retired from music in the early 1980s, returning to Detroit, where he lived in seclusion, even from family members. During the weekend of June 22–23, 1996,"Brother of Diana Ross and his wife found slain", Associated Press article dated June 27, 1996, ''The Virginian-Pilot — Ledger-Star'', Norfolk, VA, USA. police found the decaying bodies of Ross and his wife, Patricia Ann Robinson, in a basement inside a dilapidated home in

Oak Park, Michigan Oak Park is a city in Oakland County, Michigan, Oakland County in the U.S. state of Michigan. As of the 2020 United States Census, 2020 census, the population of Oak Park was 29,560. As a northern suburb of Metro Detroit, Oak Park shares its sout ...

, a suburb bordering Detroit, known for its homicides and violent crime. The couple were, reportedly, bound and gagged and died of suffocation. The coroner later estimated that the bodies had been in the home for several days to a week. The date of the couple's deaths was estimated to be May 30, 1996. Ross was 47 years old and his wife was 54. Ross was not reported missing by his family. He had been scheduled to appear in a downtown Detroit courtroom on June 26, 1996, at a hearing on three charges of possessing a

controlled substance A controlled substance is generally a drug or chemical whose manufacture, possession and use is regulated by a government, such as illicitly used drugs or prescription medications that are designated by law. Some treaties, notably the Single C ...

. His work with Ware continues to be

covered Cover or covers may refer to: Packaging * Another name for a lid * Cover (philately), generic term for envelope or package * Album cover, the front of the packaging * Book cover or magazine cover ** Book design ** Back cover copy, part of co ...

. "I Want You" has been covered by the late Robert Palmer,

Madonna Madonna Louise Ciccone (; ; born August 16, 1958) is an American singer-songwriter and actress. Widely dubbed the " Queen of Pop", Madonna has been noted for her continual reinvention and versatility in music production, songwriting, a ...

, Michael McDonald, and even

herself on her 2007 album '' I Love You''. His sole rare album on Motown, ''

Changes Changes may refer to: Books * ''Changes'', the 12th novel in Jim Butcher's ''The Dresden Files'' Series * ''Changes'', a novel by Danielle Steel * ''Changes'', a trilogy of novels on which the BBC TV series was based, written by Peter Dickinson ...

'', was finally released on CD in August 2012. The album opens with his most covered song, " I Want You" and closes with another self-penned song " To The Baby", which he wrote for big sister Diana, a long-delayed tribute to her first two daughters,

Rhonda Ross Kendrick Rhonda Ross Kendrick (born Rhonda Suzanne Silberstein; August 14, 1971) is an American singer and actress. She is the daughter of singer and actress Diana Ross. She was born in Los Angeles and raised by Ross and her first husband, Robert Ellis S ...

and

Tracee Ellis Ross Tracee Joy Silberstein (born October 29, 1972), known professionally as Tracee Ellis Ross, is an American actress. She is known for her lead roles in the television series ''Girlfriends (2000 TV series), Girlfriends'' (2000–2008) and ''Black- ...

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Ross, Arthur T-Boy 1949 births 1996 deaths African-American male singer-songwriters Motown artists American rhythm and blues singer-songwriters Singers from Detroit 1996 murders in the United States 20th-century African-American male singers Singer-songwriters from Michigan