From:   "Dik de Heer" 
Date:  Mon Oct 21, 2002  1:04 am
Subject:  Born To Be With You : Doctor Ross
 
DOCTOR ROSS (By Jean-Marc Pezet)

Born Isaiah Ross, 21 October 1925, Tunica, Mississippi
Died 28 May 1993, Flint, Michigan

Isaiah "Ike" Ross was born into a family of 11 children. His father, Jake
Ross, played harmonica and it was from him that Isaiah inherited his
musical abilities. John Lee "Sonny Boy" Williamson also greatly
influenced the playing style of the young Ike Ross.
He learned to played harmonica at the age of six. He aspired to be a
professional musician from the age of nine, and was playing country
suppers and juke joints long before his Army call-up in 1942. It was
during his Army stint that he acquired the "Doctor" moniker due to his
penchant for reading medical books.

In the late 40s and early 50s, Dr Ross was featured on a number of live
radio shows for stations in the Arkansas / Mississippi area, and notably
at WDIA in Memphis, TN. In the early 1950s, prior to his decision to
become a one-man band, Ross also teamed with Willie Love to tour
with Barber Parker's Silver Kings band and The King Biscuit Boys.
It was in Memphis, for Sam Phillips, that he had done his initial
recordings between 1952 and 1954. The first single was leased to
Chess, "Country Clown" / "Dr. Ross Boogie" (CHESS 1504), whilst
two others were issued on the famed Sun label, the greats "Come Back
Baby" / "Chicago Breakdown" (SUN 193) 1953, and "The Boogie
Disease" / "Juke Box Boogie" (SUN 212) 1954.
Then Doctor Ross moved to Flint, Michigan, where he recorded for the
Detroit-based Fortune (the mighty "Cat Squirrel", 1958) and HI-Q (two
singles) in the early 1960s. He found work in the automobile industry
(Flint is home of Buick) but continued to play.
In 1965, he was inevitably brought over to Europe and toured with the
Annual Folk Blues Festival. That year, he also recorded LPs for Blue
Horizon, Testament and Extra. Since then Dr Ross has appeared at
various concerts and festivals both in the USA and Europe. In 1991,
he appeared in England both at the Burnley National Blues Festival
and the Newcastle Carnival Festival. He died in Flint in 1993.

Recommended listening:
- Dr Ross "Boogie Disease" ARHOOLIE CD3771 (the 1951-1954 Memphis sessions)
- the SUN Singles have been re-released  on numerous Sun Blues
compilations over the years.
Discography : http://hoppula.tripod.com/doctorross.htm