Ronald Patrick Ross McManus (20 October 1927 – 24 November 2011) was an English musician, singer and trumpet player of Irish descent. He performed with

Joe Loss Sir Joshua Alexander "Joe" Loss (22 June 1909 – 6 June 1990) was a British dance band leader and musician who founded his own eponymous orchestra. Life Loss was born in Spitalfields, London, the youngest of four children. His parents, Isr ...

and his orchestra. He was the father of Elvis Costello.

Life and career

McManus was born on Conway Street,

Birkenhead Birkenhead (; cy, Penbedw) is a town in the Metropolitan Borough of Wirral, Merseyside, England; historically, it was part of Cheshire until 1974. The town is on the Wirral Peninsula, along the south bank of the River Mersey, opposite Liver ...

,Thomson, Graeme. ''Complicated Shadows: The Life and Music of Elvis Costello''. Edinburgh: Canongate Ltd (2005) to Mabel and Pat McManus. He began singing at the age of nine as a chorister at St Thomas' Roman Catholic Church. He attended Saint Anselm's College. He later adapted his surname to MacManus. Prior to joining the

Band, he had his own band called Ross MacManus & The New Era Music from 1950 until 1955. That

bebop Bebop or bop is a style of jazz developed in the early-to-mid-1940s in the United States. The style features compositions characterized by a fast tempo, complex chord progressions with rapid chord changes and numerous changes of key, instrumen ...

band played at various Liverpool nightspots. He later joined Joe Loss in March 1955. He wrote and sang "Patsy Girl", a 1964 single credited to Ross McManus and the Joe Loss Blue Beats. The song was featured on the "Fathers" episode of

Bob Dylan Bob Dylan (legally Robert Dylan, born Robert Allen Zimmerman, May 24, 1941) is an American singer-songwriter. Often regarded as one of the greatest songwriters of all time, Dylan has been a major figure in popular culture during a career sp ...

's radio series, ''

Theme Time Radio Hour ''Theme Time Radio Hour'' (''TTRH'') was a weekly one-hour satellite radio show hosted by Bob Dylan that originally aired from May 2006 to April 2009. Each episode had a freeform mix of music, centered on a theme (such as "Weather", "Money" or "F ...

'' in 2006. In 1970, he recorded a version of

The Beatles The Beatles were an English rock band, formed in Liverpool in 1960, that comprised John Lennon, Paul McCartney, George Harrison and Ringo Starr. They are regarded as the most influential band of all time and were integral to the developmen ...

' song "

The Long and Winding Road "The Long and Winding Road" is a song by the English rock band the Beatles from their 1970 album '' Let It Be''. It was written by Paul McCartney and credited to Lennon–McCartney. When issued as a single in May 1970, a month after the Beatl ...

" under the pseudonym of Day Costello,Leigh, Spencer
"Ross MacManus - Elvis' Dad"
, BBC ''Radio Merseyside'' interview. which spent 17 weeks in the Australian chart, peaking at number 16. MacManus was responsible for the music and vocals from the

R. White's Lemonade R. White's Lemonade is a British brand of a carbonated lemonade, which is produced and sold in the United Kingdom by Britvic. Robert and Mary White produced the first R. White's lemonade in Camberwell, south London, in 1845. The White Family took ...

television advertisement theme song "Secret Lemonade Drinker", on which Costello sang backing vocals. He also wrote and sang a number of songs for British 1970's sex comedies including the ''

Alan Street Alan Street (born 17 April 1982) is a British former competitive figure skater. He is the 2001 British national champion in men's singles. He competed at four World Junior Championships, achieving his best result, sixth, in 2001 (Sofia, Bulgar ...

'' trilogy (1974), ''

Secrets of a Superstud ''Secrets of a Super Stud'', also known as ''It's Getting Harder All the Time'' and ''Naughty Girls on the Loose'', is a 1976 British sex comedy film, one of many to be also filmed in a hardcore version for export. It was shot at Twickenham Fi ...

'' (1976) and ''Can I Come Too?'' (1979). He played the trumpet on two of Elvis Costello's albums: '' Out Of Our Idiot'' (1987) on the song, "A Town Called Big Nothing", credited to the MacManus Gang and originally recorded for the film '' Straight To Hell'', and '' Mighty Like A Rose'' (1991) on the song, "Invasion Hit Parade". His 1972 album of cover versions of

Elvis Presley Elvis Aaron Presley (January 8, 1935 – August 16, 1977), or simply Elvis, was an American singer and actor. Dubbed the "Honorific nicknames in popular music, King of Rock and Roll", he is regarded as Cultural impact of Elvis Presley, one ...

songs, ''Elvis Presley's Golden Hits Sung by Big Ross & The Memphis Sound'', was reissued on CD in 2008 as ''Elvis' Dad Sings Elvis''. McManus died in November 2011, at the age of 84.

Family

MacManus married Lillian Alda Ablett in 1952; the couple later divorced. Their son Declan, better known as Elvis Costello, was born in 1954. With his second wife, Sara Thompson, a singer who died on 12 November 2011, he had four sons: Ronan MacManus, Ruairi, Liam and Kieran, who were formerly in the band Riverway. Ronan was lead singer in The BibleCode Sundays and Ronan and Ruairi also perform together as The MacManus Brothers.

UK discography

Singles

* "Patsy Girl" / "I'm the Greatest" by Ross McManus and the Joe Loss Blue Beats (

HMV Sunrise Records and Entertainment, trading as HMV (for His Master's Voice), is a British music and entertainment retailer, currently operating exclusively in the United Kingdom. The first HMV-branded store was opened by the Gramophone Company ...

, 1964) * "Stop Your Playing Around" / "Girlie Girlie" by Ross McManus (HMV, 1966) * "

Can't Take My Eyes Off You "Can't Take My Eyes Off You" is a 1967 song written by Bob Crewe and Bob Gaudio. It was recorded as a single by Frankie Valli. The song was among his biggest hits, earning a gold record and reaching No. 2 on the ''Billboard'' Hot 100 for a we ...

" / " If I Were A Rich Man" by Ross McManus (

Decca Decca may refer to: Music * Decca Records or Decca Music Group, a record label * Decca Gold, a classical music record label owned by Universal Music Group * Decca Broadway, a musical theater record label * Decca Studios, a recording facility in W ...

, 1967) * "

The Long And Winding Road "The Long and Winding Road" is a song by the English rock band the Beatles from their 1970 album '' Let It Be''. It was written by Paul McCartney and credited to Lennon–McCartney. When issued as a single in May 1970, a month after the Beatl ...

" / "Free (Unlimited Horizons)" by Day Costello (Spark, 1970)

Albums

* ''Elvis Presley's Golden Hits Sung by Big Ross & The Memphis Sound'' (1972) * ''Elvis' Dad Sings Elvis'' (reissued on CD in 2008)

References

External links

*
Elvis-costello.net mini-biography
{{DEFAULTSORT:McManus, Ross 1927 births 2011 deaths Elvis Costello English jazz singers English jazz trumpeters Male trumpeters English male singers English people of Irish descent English Roman Catholics People educated at St. Anselm's College People from Birkenhead British male jazz musicians