Ross MacManus explained

Background:solo_singer
Ross MacManus
Birth Name:Ronald Patrick Ross McManus
Birth Date:20 October 1927
Birth Place:Birkenhead, Cheshire, England
Death Place:England
Years Active:1950–2011
Past Member Of:Joe Loss
Elvis Costello
Francis Platt

Ronald Patrick Ross McManus (20 October 1927 – 24 November 2011),[1] [2] known as Ross MacManus, was an English musician, singer and trumpet player of Irish descent. He performed with Joe Loss and his orchestra. He was the father of Elvis Costello (born Declan MacManus).

Life and career

McManus was born on Conway Street, Birkenhead,[3] [4] to Mabel and Pat McManus.[5] 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.[6]

Prior to joining the Joe Loss Band, he had his own band called Ross MacManus & The New Era Music from 1950 until 1955. That bebop band played at various Liverpool nightspots. He later joined Joe Loss in March 1955.[7] 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's radio series, Theme Time Radio Hour in 2006.[8] In 1970, he recorded a version of The Beatles' song "The Long and Winding Road" under the pseudonym of Day Costello,[9] which spent 17 weeks in the Australian chart, peaking at number 16.[10]

MacManus was responsible for the music and vocals from the R. White's Lemonade television advertisement theme song "Secret Lemonade Drinker", on which Costello sang backing vocals.[11]

He also wrote and sang a number of songs for British 1970's sex comedies including the Alan Street trilogy (1974), Secrets of a Superstud (1976) and Can I Come Too? (1979).[12]

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".[13] His 1972 album of cover versions of Elvis Presley 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.[1] [14]

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[3] who died on 12 November 2011,[15] he had four sons. One, Ronan, was lead singer in The BibleCode Sundays.

UK discography

Singles

Albums

External links

Notes and References

  1. Web site: it is with profound sorrow that we announce the passing of ross macmanus at the age of 84 - Yellow Press . Elvis Costello . 2011-11-25 . 2016-03-14 . dead . https://web.archive.org/web/20160311220103/http://www.elviscostello.com/news/it-is-with-profound-sorrow-that-we-announce-the-passing-of-ross-macmanus-at-the-age-of-84/256 . 11 March 2016.
  2. News: Obituary: Ross MacManus. The Times. 26 November 2011. 26 November 2011.
  3. Thomson, Graeme. Complicated Shadows: The Life and Music of Elvis Costello. Edinburgh: Canongate Ltd (2005)
  4. Web site: Index entry. 23 June 2011. FreeBMD. ONS.
  5. Web site: The Merseyside Roots of Elvis Costello - Merseysider MagazineMerseysider Magazine . Merseysidermagazine.com . 2016-03-14 . 23 September 2013 . https://web.archive.org/web/20130923054039/http://www.merseysidermagazine.com/site/extras/the-merseyside-roots-of-elvis-costello/ . dead .
  6. Book: Costello, Elvis. Unfaithful Music & Disappearing Ink. 1. 2–3. [...] my Dad added an a to make it "MacManus" because it looked posher and better in print.. Penguin Random House UK. 2015. Hardback. 978-0-241-00346-6 .
  7. Book: Tobler, John. 1992. NME Rock 'N' Roll Years. 1st. Reed International Books Ltd. London. CN 5585. 12.
  8. Web site: * F A T H E R S * . Notdarkyet.org . 2016-03-14.
  9. Leigh, Spencer, "Ross MacManus - Elvis' Dad", BBC Radio Merseyside interview.
  10. Web site: Australian Charts . ARIA Charts: Special Occasion Charts - 1970 .
  11. Web site: R Whites logo. 1 May 2008 . dead . https://web.archive.org/web/20080423054712/http://www.britvic.com/Brand.aspx?id=50 . 23 April 2008 .
  12. News: Ross MacManus. London. The Daily Telegraph. 27 November 2011.
  13. Web site: Ross MacManus | Credits . . 2016-03-14.
  14. News: Laing . Dave . 2011-12-21 . Ross MacManus obituary . en-GB . The Guardian . 2023-06-12 . 0261-3077.
  15. Web site: Ronan MacManus is fundraising for Cystic Fibrosis Trust . Justgiving.com . 2011-11-12 . 2016-03-14.