Ross ‘the Boss’ Friedman dead at 72: The Dictators and Manowar guitarist was diagnosed with ALS weeks ago

Iconic rock guitarist Ross Friedman, known to fans as ‘Ross the Boss,’ has died at the age of 72 weeks after his diagnosis with amyotrophic lateral sclerosis (ALS).

Friedman was among the founding fathers of the New York City punk rock movement as the guitarist of The Dictators, which he helped form in 1972.

While touring with Black Sabbath in 1980, he was introduced to bassist Joey DiMaio, with whom he launched the heavy metal group Manowar.

Friedman shatteringly revealed last month that he had been diagnosed with ALS, which is colloquially known as Lou Gehrig’s disease.

The rare, incurable degenerative condition impairs the nervous system over time and causes the muscles to increasingly suffer from paralysis. 

It was announced Friday that Friedman had succumbed to the illness the previous night, via a statement posted to his official Instagram page. 

‘His music meant everything to him & his guitar was his life’s breath. This insidious disease took that away from him,’ the post read in part.

Friedman revealed his ALS diagnosis on February 9, just 10 days before the disease would claim the life of Grey’s Anatomy icon Eric Dane.

‘It’s difficult to know what lies ahead, and it crushes me not to be able to play guitar, but the outpouring of love has been so, so strong,’ he said. 

‘I’m absolutely blown away by the love and support from family, friends and fans. I love you all,’ Friedman added, according to Blabbermouth.

A statement from his publicist revealed: ‘The diagnosis followed several months of seemingly unrelated symptoms that included weakness in his hands and legs.’

The announcement continued: ‘A series of very minor strokes was initially thought to have been the cause, but changes in diet, exercise and added physical therapy did nothing to slow the progression or increase his strength.’

Friedman was born in 1954 in the Bronx, and by his late teens he was a forerunner of punk, forming one of the genre’s early bands The Dictators with frontman Andy ‘Adny’ Shernoff and rhythm guitarist Scott ‘Top Ten’ Kempner.

They released a trio of albums through the 1970s – The Dictators Go Girl Crazy!, Manifest Destiny and Bloodbrothers – before falling apart in the early 1980s. 

Their final album began with a song called Faster and Louder, which was kicked off by an uncredited Bruce Springsteen counting: ‘One, two, one, two, three, four.’ 

When the Dictators fell apart, Friedman bounced back by briefly joining Shakin’ the French rock band founded by songstress Fabienne Shine, who was known as ‘Twiggy’ in the beloved Jane Fonda sex comedy Barbarella.

In 1980, he toured with Black Sabbath, which had just kicked out an increasingly unreliable Ozzy Osbourne and replaced him with Ronnie James Dio. 

It was Dio who arranged the meeting between Friedman and drummer  Joey DeMaio, with whom Ross the Boss created the heavy metal group Manowar.

Manowar, with lush orchestral backing and themes based on fantasy and as well as Norse and Greco-Roman mythology, had the slogan: ‘Death to false metal.’

In 1984 the Guinness Book of World Records named them the loudest band on the planet, based on an earsplitting performance they gave that year in West Germany. 

Friedman featured on the band’s first six studio albums Battle Hymns, Into Glory Ride, Hail to England, Sign of the Hammer, Fighting the World and Kings of Metal.

DeMaio fired Friedman from Manowar in 1988, a decision Ross the Boss described as ‘the worst possible mistake ever made’ decades later on The Mike Nelson Show. 

Friedman accused DeMaio of wanting a band full of ‘puppets,’ saying he was focused on ‘money and greed’ and was loath to ‘have a partner like me, 50 percent partner.’

Meanwhile Friedman insisted he ‘wasn’t gonna take bulls*** from DeMaio,’ whom he alleged was ‘telling me what to wear’ and how to speak.

Addressing an imaginary DeMaio, he said: ‘When you met me, I had already done four major albums, major records on major labels. I had already done three with The Dictators and one with Shakin’ Street. You had done zero.’

As a result of his years of experience, Friedman was already familiar with the press people that Manowar were interacting with as their star rose in Europe.

‘I’d been interviewed by them many times over before Manowar. I said: “You can’t tell me how to talk and what to say and what to dress,”‘ said Friedman.