Isaiah Ross (October 21, 1925 – May 28, 1993), known as Doctor Ross, was an American

blues Blues is a music genre and musical form which originated in the Deep South of the United States around the 1860s. Blues incorporated spirituals, work songs, field hollers, shouts, chants, and rhymed simple narrative ballads from the Afr ...

musician who usually performed as a

one-man band A one-man band is a musician who plays a number of instruments simultaneously using their hands, feet, limbs, and various mechanical or electronic contraptions. One-man bands also often sing while they perform. The simplest type of "one-man ban ...

, simultaneously singing and playing guitar, harmonica, and drums. Ross's primal style has been compared to

John Lee Hooker John Lee Hooker (August 22, 1912 or 1917 – June 21, 2001) was an American blues singer, songwriter, and guitarist. The son of a sharecropper, he rose to prominence performing an electric guitar-style adaptation of Delta blues. Hooker often ...

Blind Boy Fuller Blind Boy Fuller (born Fulton Allen, July 10, 1904February 13, 1941) was an American blues guitarist and singer. Fuller was one of the most popular of the recorded Piedmont blues artists, rural African Americans, along with Blind Blake, Josh Wh ...

and

Sonny Boy Williamson I John Lee Curtis "Sonny Boy" Williamson (March 30, 1914 – June 1, 1948) was an American blues harmonica player, singer and songwriter. He is often regarded as the pioneer of the blues harp as a solo instrument. He played on hundreds of rec ...

Early life

Charles Isaiah Ross was born on October 21, 1925 in the

Mississippi Delta The Mississippi Delta, also known as the Yazoo–Mississippi Delta, or simply the Delta, is the distinctive northwest section of the U.S. state of Mississippi (and portions of Arkansas and Louisiana) that lies between the Mississippi and Yazoo ...

town of

Tunica, Mississippi Tunica is a town in and the county seat of Tunica County, Mississippi, United States, near the Mississippi River. Until the early 1990s when casino gambling was introduced in the area, Tunica had been one of the most impoverished places in the Uni ...

, one of eleven children in a farming family of mixed

African-American African Americans (also referred to as Black Americans and Afro-Americans) are an Race and ethnicity in the United States, ethnic group consisting of Americans with partial or total ancestry from sub-Saharan Africa. The term "African American ...

and Native American heritage. His first instrument was the harmonica, which he learned to play at age nine. Ross served in the

United States Army The United States Army (USA) is the land service branch of the United States Armed Forces. It is one of the eight U.S. uniformed services, and is designated as the Army of the United States in the U.S. Constitution.Article II, section 2, cla ...

from 1943 to 1948 in the

Pacific Theater The Pacific Ocean is the largest and deepest of Earth's five oceanic divisions. It extends from the Arctic Ocean in the north to the Southern Ocean (or, depending on definition, to Antarctica) in the south, and is bounded by the continen ...

, and again from 1950 to 1951. He married shortly after leaving the army. During his service, Ross had accrued a collection of army medical books which, along with his habit of carrying his harmonicas in a

doctor's bag A medical bag (doctor's bag, physician's bag) is a portable bag used by a physician or other medical professional to transport medical supplies and medicine. Traditionally, the medical bag was made of leather, opened on the top with a split-hand ...

, earned him the nickname "Doctor Ross."

Career

Ross made his professional debut in 1942 at the age of seventeen, broadcasting on the radio station KFFA in

Helena, Arkansas Helena is the eastern portion of Helena–West Helena, Arkansas, a city in Phillips County, Arkansas. It was founded in 1833 by Nicholas Rightor and is named after the daughter of Sylvanus Phillips, an early settler of Phillips County and the n ...

. Ross regularly played parties and appeared on WROX and

WDIA WDIA (1070 AM) is a radio station based in Memphis, Tennessee. Active since 1947, it soon became the first radio station in the United States that was programmed entirely for African Americans. It featured black radio personalities; its success in ...

after his army service. In late 1951, Ross recorded his first

78 RPM record A phonograph record (also known as a gramophone record, especially in British English), or simply a record, is an analog sound storage medium in the form of a flat disc with an inscribed, modulated spiral groove. The groove usually starts nea ...

, "Country Clown," produced by

Sam Phillips Samuel Cornelius Phillips (January 5, 1923 – July 30, 2003) was an American record producer. He was the founder of Sun Records and Sun Studio in Memphis, Tennessee, where he produced recordings by Elvis Presley, Roy Orbison, Jerry Lee Lewis, ...

in Memphis and issued on the nascent

Chess Chess is a board game for two players, called White and Black, each controlling an army of chess pieces in their color, with the objective to checkmate the opponent's king. It is sometimes called international chess or Western chess to disti ...

label. Ross would issue two more singles recorded with Phillips, both on Phillips' own

Sun Records Sun Records is an American independent record label founded by producer Sam Phillips in Memphis, Tennessee in February 1952. Sun was the first label to record Elvis Presley, Charlie Rich, Roy Orbison, Jerry Lee Lewis, Carl Perkins, and Johnny C ...

label, in 1953 and 1954. In October 1954, Ross moved his family to

Flint, Michigan Flint is the largest city and seat of Genesee County, Michigan, United States. Located along the Flint River, northwest of Detroit, it is a principal city within the region known as Mid Michigan. At the 2020 census, Flint had a population of 8 ...

and began working at a

General Motors The General Motors Company (GM) is an American Multinational corporation, multinational Automotive industry, automotive manufacturing company headquartered in Detroit, Michigan, United States. It is the largest automaker in the United States and ...

factory, employment which he held for the rest of his life and afforded him a comfortable middle-class lifestyle. In 1958, Ross recorded "Industrial Boogie," a Flint-centric take on "

Boogie Chillen' "Boogie Chillen'" or "Boogie Chillun" is a blues song first recorded by John Lee Hooker in 1948. It is a solo performance featuring Hooker's vocal, electric guitar, and rhythmic foot stomps. The lyrics are partly autobiographical and alternate ...

" by John Lee Hooker, released on his own DIR label. From 1960 to 1963, Detroit-based

Fortune Records Fortune Records was an American family operated, independent record label located in Detroit, Michigan from 1946 to 1995. The label owners were Jack and Devora Brown, their son Sheldon Brown recorded for the label. Original releases tapered off ...

released four singles by Ross, including 1961's "Cat Squirrel," which later brought Ross to the attention of rock audiences when the song was covered on the debut albums of both

Cream Cream is a dairy product composed of the higher-fat layer skimmed from the top of milk before homogenization. In un-homogenized milk, the fat, which is less dense, eventually rises to the top. In the industrial production of cream, this process ...

and Jethro Tull. Following his Fortune singles, which were recorded with accompanists, Ross began recording many of his songs solo, providing vocals, guitar,

hi-hat A hi-hat (hihat, high-hat, etc.) is a combination of two cymbals and a pedal, all mounted on a metal stand. It is a part of the standard drum kit used by drummers in many styles of music including rock, pop, jazz, and blues. Hi-hats consist o ...

and

bass drum The bass drum is a large drum that produces a note of low definite or indefinite pitch. The instrument is typically cylindrical, with the drum's diameter much greater than the drum's depth, with a struck head at both ends of the cylinder. Th ...

played with foot pedals, and harmonica with a neck rack. The

left-handed In human biology, handedness is an individual's preferential use of one hand, known as the dominant hand, due to it being stronger, faster or more dextrous. The other hand, comparatively often the weaker, less dextrous or simply less subjecti ...

Ross added to his colorful presentation by playing a right-handed guitar upside down, with the bass strings on the bottom. Ross's first album, ''Call the Doctor'', was recorded as a one-man band and issued in August 1965. The same year, he toured Europe with the

American Folk Blues Festival The American Folk Blues Festival was a music festival that toured Europe as an annual event for several years beginning in 1962. It introduced audiences in Europe, including the UK, to leading blues performers of the day such as Muddy Waters, Howl ...

. In 1971, Fourtune issued his second album, ''Doctor Ross the Harmonica Boss'', recorded with the Disciples. He recorded live albums in Germany and Switzerland in 1972. Two years later, Ross played on the Big Bear Records package tour and album ''American Blues Legends '74''. In 1981, Ross won a

Grammy Award The Grammy Awards (stylized as GRAMMY), or simply known as the Grammys, are awards presented by the Recording Academy of the United States to recognize "outstanding" achievements in the music industry. They are regarded by many as the most pres ...

for Best Ethnic or Traditional Recording for his appearance on ''Rare Blues'', a 1980 compilation album of blues artists recorded in Chicago from 1963 to 1965. In the latter part of his career, Ross was a frequent fixture at blues festivals in both the United States and Europe. His last album was recorded live in 1991 at the Burnley Blues Festival in England.

Death

Ross died at the age of 67 on May 28, 1993, while working at a

Chevrolet Chevrolet ( ), colloquially referred to as Chevy and formally the Chevrolet Motor Division of General Motors Company, is an American automobile division of the American manufacturer General Motors (GM). Louis Chevrolet (1878–1941) and ous ...

plant in Flint, Michigan and was interred at Sunset Hills Cemetery in Flint Township. After his death, a music scholarship in his name was established at

Mott Community College Mott Community College (officially Charles Stewart Mott Community College or abbreviated MCC) is a public community college in Flint, Michigan. It is named for politician, businessman, and philanthropist Charles Stewart Mott. Its district is t ...

in Flint.

Discography

Studio albums

*''Call the Doctor'' (Testament, 1965) *''Doctor Ross the Harmonica Boss'' (Fortune, 1971) *''Jivin' the Blues'' (Big Bear, 1974)

Live albums

*''The Flying Eagle'' (Blue Horizon, 1965) *''Live + Well'' (Ornament, 1972) *''Live at Montreux'' (Polydor, 1972) *''The Harmonica Boss'' (Big Bear, 1974) *''One Man Band'' (Takoma, 1981) *''I Want All My Friends to Know'' (JSP, 1991)

Singles

*"Country Clown" / "Doctor Ross Boogie" (Chess, 1952) *"Come Back Baby" / "Chicago Breakdown" (Sun, 1953) *"The Boogie Disease" / "Juke Box Boogie" (Sun, 1954) *"Industrial Boogie" / "Thirty-Two Twenty" (DIR, 1958) *"Sugar Mama" / "I'd Rather Be an Old Woman's Baby Than a Young Girl's Slave" (Fortune, 1960) *"Cat Squirrel" / "The Sunnyland" (Fortune, 1961) *"Cannonball" / "Numbers Blues" (Fortune, 1963) *"Call the Doctor" / "New York Breakdown" (Fortune, 1963)

Compilations

*''His First Recordings'' (Arhoolie, 1972) *''Memphis Breakdown'' (P-Vine, 1987) *''Boogie Disease'' (Arhoolie, 1992) *''The Harmonica Boss'' (Fortune, 1995) *''Juke Box Boogie: The Sun Years, Plus'' (Bear Family, 2013)

References

External links

* {{DEFAULTSORT:Ross, Doctor American blues singer-songwriters American blues guitarists American male guitarists Country blues musicians Delta blues musicians Detroit blues musicians Juke Joint blues musicians Chess Records artists 1925 births 1993 deaths One-man bands 20th-century American guitarists People from Tunica, Mississippi Arhoolie Records artists African-American male singer-songwriters African-American guitarists Southland Records artists 20th-century African-American male singers Singer-songwriters from Mississippi