Ross Friedman, later Ross the Boss, co-founded the now iconic punk band The Dictators in 1973 with whom he recorded three full-lengths albums, After that there was a stint in the French hard rock band Shakin' Street and then, together with Joey DiMaio, he formed America's most heavy metal bands. Manowar.
When Shakin' Street was opening up for the then Dio-fronted Black Sabbath in 1980, Ronnie James Dio introduced Ross to bassist Joey DeMaio. They found each other quickly, teamed up with singer Eric Adams, who would then form three of four cornerstones of Manowar over six records from "Battle Hymns" (1982) to "Kings of Metal" (1988). It's six records that shaped the band into what it became, with songs like "Blood of My Enemies", "Sign of the Hammer" and "Wheels of Fire".
Ross has done a lot more over the years, such as reuniting The Dictators, playing with Blue Öyster Cult's legendary drummer in Brain Surgeons and more, but we jump forward 20 years to 2008 when the band that bears the guitarist's name released their first record, "New Metal Leader". Then Ross teamed up with the Manowar tribute band Men of War. Although the band has made several records with their own material, they put a lot of emphasis on Manowar material when they play live, which of course pleases all fans of 80s Manowar. For every true Manowar fan, there's only one boss on the guitar post, and that's Ross the Boss.