Genre: Blues
Rating: 🐍 🐍 🐍 🐍 🐍
1974
Doctor Ross (October 21, 1925 – May 28, 1993) is a lesser known but still famous Delta Blues artist. He was born in Mississippi and the rough authenticity of his origins resonate strongly on this album. He traveled a great deal during his life. He served in the Pacific Theater during the Second World War. He also served during the Korean War but I don’t know the specifics of what he did or where he was stationed. After his tenure in the military he moved to Memphis and did a radio show at WDIA radio station where he may have met BB King and Rufus Thomas. WDIA was the first black identified radio station in America. Doctor Ross, who actually studied medicine autodidactically, soon released records on both Sun and Chess records. He then toured across America and Europe. Unfortunately, he did not receive enough notoriety to live off his music so he worked as a janitor in Flint, Michigan until he reached the age of retirement.
This album is full of great rough and tumble blues tracks. Serious fans probably already know but if not it’s a good chance to dig into something raw and cool.
Warmth Highest 