Ross McManus

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Chart positions
Explanation of the data
Singles
Patsy Girl (& the Joe Loss Blue Beats)
  DE 15th 05/15/1966 (18 weeks)
  AT 5 October 15, 1966 (8 weeks)

Ronald Patrick "Ross" McManus (born October 20, 1927 in Birkenhead , England ; † November 24, 2011 ) was a British singer and trumpeter . He was the father of Elvis Costello .

Career

McManus' father and uncle grew up in an orphanage where they learned to play musical instruments. Both became classical orchestral musicians, and that's how Ross McManus learned to play the violin and trumpet, but moved on to jazz as a teenager . After the war he was drafted and stationed in Egypt , where he developed his talent as an entertainer. Back in England he performed in clubs. In 1950 he played bebop with Ross McManus and the New Era Music . Then he concentrated on working as a singer and songwriter. In 1955 he was hired by Joe Loss and his orchestra and became the singer of one of the most successful British big bands since the 1940s. Between 1961 and 1964 they also had several chart hits in the British charts.

In 1964 he also recorded the self-written song Patsy Girl with the musicians of Joe Loss, but was unsuccessful. It wasn't until two years later, when the song found its way to the European continent, that it became a hit. Especially in Austria and Germany, the bluebeat title became a major chart hit. But it remained his only success.

In 1970 he recorded the Beatles song The Long and Winding Road under the name Day Costello with his own orchestra. Costello was the maiden name of his grandmother, which his son Elvis Costello also used later .

In 1972 McManus sang for a commercial for the popular R Whites Lemonade with his son singing in the background.

The following year, Ross McManus wrote and sang the rock 'n' roll background music for another spot of the same drink, The Secret Lemonade Drinker , in which his son also appeared. The spot won an award at the International Advertising Festival in 1974 and developed into a cult advertising film. It was used for nine years and reissued in the 1990s.

Ross McManus was twice represented as a trumpeter on recordings of his son Elvis Costello, so in 1987 on the track "A Town Called Big Nothing" from the album Out of Our Idiot and in 1991 on the track "Invasion Hitparade" from the album Mighty Like a Rose .

Discography

Albums

  • Ross McManus Sings Elvis Presley's Golden Hits (1970; re-released 1997 as Elvis' Dad Sings Elvis )
  • The Leaving of Liverpool (1972)

Singles

  • Patsy Girl / I'm the Greatest (Ross McManus & the Joe Loss Blue Beats, 1966)
  • Girlie, Girlie / Stop Your Playing Around (1966)
  • Can't Take My Eyes Off You / If I Were a Rich Man (1967)

literature

  • Julia Edenhofer: The great oldie lexicon . Bastei Lübbe, 1991, ISBN 3-404-60288-9 .
  • Fred Schruers: Fathers & Sons: The Costellos . In: Rolling Stone , November 11, 1999.

Web links

Individual evidence

  1. ↑ DE chart discography
  2. ↑ AT chart discography
  3. ↑ It is with profound sorrow that we announce the passing of Ross MacManus at the age of 84. ( Memento of March 11, 2016 in the Internet Archive ) Message on the website of Elvis Costello, November 25, 2011, accessed: November 25, 2011 (English)
  4. ↑ Nick Enoch: Elvis Costello's father Ross MacManus, who sang R White's I'm A Secret Lemonade Drinker in classic TV ad, dies aged 84. In: Daily Mail online November 26, 2011, accessed November 27, 2011 (English).
  5. ↑ Interview with Spencer Leigh ( Memento from August 9, 2008 in the Internet Archive )
  6. ^ The Long and Winding Road / Day Costello , info about the single at 45cat
  7. ↑ a b Info on R White's Lemonade and the commercial ( Memento from August 12, 2007 in the Internet Archive ), Britvic plc
  8. ↑ Credits from Ross MacManus at allmusic
personal data
SURNAME McManus, Ross
ALTERNATIVE NAMES McManus, Ronald Patrick (real name); MacManus, Ross
BRIEF DESCRIPTION British musician
DATE OF BIRTH October 20, 1927
PLACE OF BIRTH Birkenhead , England
DATE OF DEATH November 24, 2011