Robert Ross is 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 ...

singer, songwriter, acoustic and electric guitarist, slide guitarist, and harmonica player. He is the leader of the Robert Ross Band and The Jazz-Manian Devils. He also performs as a solo artist. He was born in

Brooklyn Brooklyn () is a borough of New York City, coextensive with Kings County, in the U.S. state of New York. Kings County is the most populous county in the State of New York, and the second-most densely populated county in the United States, be ...

, New York, United States. Ross was nominated seven times for a

New York Music Award The New York Music Awards is an annual awards ceremony and live concert, established in 1986 with its first sold-out show at Madison Square Garden, New York City, United States. It ran for six years with annual sold-out shows at the Beacon Theate ...

and has won twice, once for Best Blues Artist in 1989, and once for Best Live Blues Artist in 2011. Ross was inducted into the New York Blues Hall of Fame in 2011. He has also won several grants for integrating music into education programs. Ross' original song, "Sittin' in the Jailhouse", was recorded in 1980 by

Johnny Winter John Dawson Winter III (February 23, 1944 – July 16, 2014) was an American singer and guitarist. Winter was known for his high-energy blues rock albums and live performances in the late 1960s and 1970s. He also produced three Grammy Award-win ...

and appeared on Winter's album, ''

Raisin' Cain ''Raisin' Cain'' is an album by Johnny Winter, released in 1980 by Blue Sky Records. A retrospective album review for AllMusic by William Ruhlmann notes the mix of rock and roll, Chicago blues, and New Orleans rhythm and blues/New Orleans blues ...

'' and Winter's

compilation Compilation may refer to: *In computer programming, the translation of source code into object code by a compiler **Compilation error **Compilation unit *Product bundling, a marketing strategy used to sell multiple products *Compilation thesis M ...

, ''A Rock 'n' Roll Collection''. As co-leader of the Dicey Ross Band with harmonica player

Bill Dicey William J. Dicey (May 25, 1936 – March 17, 1993) was an American blues harmonicist, singer and songwriter. He recorded two live albums and one studio album in his own name, as well as playing the harmonica and singing on a number of other music ...

, Ross recorded with

Big Joe Turner Joseph Vernon "Big Joe" Turner Jr. (May 18, 1911 – November 24, 1985) was an American singer from Kansas City, Missouri. According to songwriter Doc Pomus, "Rock and roll would have never happened without him." His greatest fame was due to ...

in 1976 for

Spivey Records Spivey Records was a specialist blues record label founded by blues singer Victoria Spivey and jazz historian Len Kunstadt in 1961. Spivey Records released a series of blues and jazz albums between 1961 and 1985. History of Spivey Records The lab ...

. Ross has also worked with

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 ...

Lightnin' Hopkins Samuel John "Lightnin" Hopkins (March 15, 1912 – January 30, 1982) was an American country blues singer, songwriter, guitarist and occasional pianist from Centerville, Texas. In 2010, ''Rolling Stone'' magazine ranked him No. 71 on its list o ...

Brownie McGhee Walter Brown "Brownie" McGhee (November 30, 1915 – February 16, 1996) was an American folk music and Piedmont blues singer and guitarist, best known for his collaboration with the harmonica player Sonny Terry. Life and career McGhee wa ...

Memphis Slim John Len Chatman (September 3, 1915 – February 24, 1988), known professionally as Memphis Slim, was an American blues pianist, singer, and composer. He led a series of bands that, reflecting the popular appeal of jump blues, included saxopho ...

Sunnyland Slim Albert Luandrew (September 5, 1906March 17, 1995), "Blues pianist and singer Sunnyland Slim was born Albert Luandrew in Vance, Mississippi, September 5, 1906 (most sources say 1907, but the Social Security Death Index and 1920 census data give t ...

Otis Rush Otis Rush Jr. (April 29, 1934 – September 29, 2018) was an American blues guitarist and singer-songwriter. His distinctive guitar style featured a slow-burning sound and long bent notes. With qualities similar to the styles of other 1950s art ...

Dr. John Malcolm John Rebennack Jr. (November 20, 1941 – June 6, 2019), better known by his stage name Dr. John, was an American singer and songwriter. His music encompassed New Orleans blues, jazz, funk, and R&B. Active as a session musician from t ...

Bobby Lewis Robert Alan Lewis (February 9, 1925 – April 28, 2020) was an American rock and roll and rhythm and blues singer, best known for his 1961 hit singles "Tossin' and Turnin'" and "One Track Mind". Biography Lewis was born in Indianapolis, Indiana ...

Pinetop Perkins Joe Willie "Pinetop" Perkins (July 7, 1913 – March 21, 2011) was an American blues pianist. He played with some of the most influential blues and rock-and-roll performers of his time and received numerous honors, including a Grammy Life ...

Cyril Neville Cyril Garrett Neville (born October 10, 1948) is an American percussionist and vocalist who first came to prominence as a member of his brother Art Neville's funky New Orleans-based band, The Meters. He joined Art in the Neville Brothers band u ...

Big Mama Thornton Willie Mae Thornton (December 11, 1926 – July 25, 1984), better known as Big Mama Thornton, was an American singer and songwriter of the blues and R&B genres. She was the first to record Leiber and Stoller's " Hound Dog", in 1952, which becam ...

Louisiana Red Iverson Minter (March 23, 1932 – February 25, 2012), known as Louisiana Red, was an American blues guitarist, harmonica player, and singer, who recorded more than 50 albums. He was best known for his song "Sweet Blood Call". Biography Born ...

, J.B. Hutto,

Eddie Kirkland Eddie Kirkland (August 16, 1923 – February 27, 2011) was an American electric blues guitarist, harmonicist, singer, and songwriter. Kirkland, known as the "Gypsy of the Blues" for his rigorous touring schedules, played and toured with John ...

Floyd Jones Floyd Jones (July 21, 1917 – December 19, 1989) was an African-American blues singer, guitarist and songwriter. He was one of the first of the new generation of electric blues artists to record in Chicago after World War II, and a number of h ...

, and

Homesick James Homesick James (April 30, 1910December 13, 2006 was an American blues musician known for his mastery of the slide guitar. He worked with his cousin, Elmore James, and with Sonny Boy Williamson II. Early years Homesick James was born in Somervil ...

. The Robert Ross Band tours frequently and has released seven recordings including two albums in Europe on Brambus Records. in 2020, Ross was a semi-finalist at the

International Blues Challenge The International Blues Challenge (IBC) is a music competition run by the Blues Foundation. Notable blues artists that have competed in the IBC over the years also includes Fiona Boyes, Eden Brent, Michael Burks, Tommy Castro, Sean Costello, Alb ...

. Ross' diverse repertory includes boogie woogie, soul, blues, rock and roll and jazz.

Discography

* ''When You Needed Me'' by The City Boys Allstars featuring Ross singing his original song, "Last Night the Bottle Let Me Down" * ''What Are We Fighting For?'' by Robert Ross on Fountainbleu Records (2004) * ''Sleight of Hand'' by Robert Ross Band on Fountainbleu Records (2002) * ''Lightness....To Dark'' (USA title: ''It's Alive'' on Blue Planet Records) on Brambus Records (1999) by Robert Ross * ''Darkness....to Light'' on Brambus Records (1996), and in USA on Blue Planet Records by Robert Ross * ''Rockin' The Rails'' on Blue Planet Records (1992) by Robert Ross Band * ''It's Rough 'n' Tough'' on RCA / Victoria Records (1984) by Robert Ross * ''Introducing Robert Ross'' (EP) on Baron Records (1981) * ''I'm Gonna Sit Right Down And Write Myself A Letter'' with

(1978). * ''What Is The Blues'' (LP-1022) with Eunice Davis on Spivey Records (1977). Credited as "Bob" Ross. * ''New York Really Has The Blues'' (LP-1018) with

Victoria Spivey Victoria Regina Spivey (October 15, 1906 – October 3, 1976), sometimes known as Queen Victoria, was an American blues singer and songwriter. During a recording career that spanned 40 years, from 1926 to the mid-1960s, she worked with Louis A ...

, Dicey Ross Band (featuring Robert Ross),

Washboard Doc Joseph Doctor (September 8, 1911 – September 16, 1988), known as Washboard Doc, was an American New York blues musician, who specialised in playing the washboard (musical instrument), washboard. He recorded with Victoria Spivey, Alec Seward, ...

Sugar Blue Sugar Blue (born James Joshua "Jimmie" Whiting, December 16, 1949, Harlem, New York City) is an American blues harmonica player. He is probably best known for playing on the Rolling Stones' single " Miss You", and in partnering Louisiana Red. T ...

, Brooklyn Slim (

Paul Oscher Paul Allan Oscher (February 26, 1947 – April 18, 2021) was an American blues singer, songwriter, and instrumentalist. Primarily a harmonica player, he was the first permanent white member of Muddy Waters' band.Norman Darwen, "Obituary: Paul ...

) on Spivey Records (1976).

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Ross, Robert Year of birth missing (living people) Living people American blues singers American blues guitarists American blues harmonica players Musicians from Brooklyn Brambus Records artists RCA Records artists