By Monk
Former The Dictators/Manowar guitarist Ross ‘The Boss’ Friedman has died at the age of 72, following a short battle with ALS.
Friedman formed The Dictators, widely regarded as one of the first New York punk bands, in 1973, with bassist Andy Shernoff and vocalist Handsome Dick Manitoba.
After a brief tenure with French outfit Shakin’ Street, he teamed up with Joey DeMaio to formed OTT battle metallers Manowar in 1980, with whom he recorded six albums before leaving in 1988.
After leaving Manowar, he re-united with former bandmates Shernoff and Manitoba, initially in the latter’s Wild Kingdom project and then in a reformed Dictators.
He also formed his own Ross The Boss Band, who released four albums between 2008 and 2020.