Marty Ross

Marty Ross is an American singer, songwriter and guitarist who is best known for his role in the TV series the New Monkees and as a member of the power pop band The Wigs.

Biography

Ross was born in Eugene, Oregon. His mother Margaret, born in England, was a folk singer, his father Gordon was a professor of history at Rockford College, now known as Rockford University. Ross became proficient at the tenor banjo by his 5th birthday and learned to play the guitar at 6 years old. He was influenced by his mother's folk harmonies and his Uncle Bob Fisher (his mom's brother) sense of rock and roll. Fisher quit the band he was in to move from England to live with the Ross family in the late 1960s in Rockford, Illinois.The band he quit would go on to become the popular rock band Mott The Hoople.

Ross was schooled in Rockford and during his father's sabbatical Ross went to high school in London, United Kingdom, Barcelona, Spain then returned to finish schooling in Rockford.It was in Spain that Ross learned flamenco guitar which eventually became part of his style of play. Following high school graduation, he enrolled at Bradley University in Peoria, Illinois majoring in music but before the end of his freshman year moved to Milwaukee, Wisconsin to begin his music career.

In Milwaukee he joined the power pop band The Wigs. The band’s album File Under Pop Vocal was a regional hit. He later auditioned for and was offered a part in the pop rock music group New Monkees and in the television series of the same name.

Movies

As a member of The Wigs, Ross appeared in the motion picture My Chauffeur and sang on camera the song "Fire!" which he wrote. Jim Cushinery of The Wigs wrote seven songs for the film making the band's contribution to the film a total of eight songs. The soundtrack to My Chauffeur was released in June 2013. Ross also performed a song for the film Murphy's Law, produced 3 songs and performed a cover of the Deep Purple classic "Hush" for the movie "Stateside" and the opening theme for Kounterfeit. Ross wrote and produced songs for the feature films "Mod Squad","The Runner" and many others. He can also be heard singing in the Showtime movie "Noriega: Gods Favorite ". Ross teamed with Randy Gerston to produce for the movie Blair Witch Project the single mix of " The Order Of Death" by Public Image Limited.

Television

Ross appeared in the 1987 syndicated musical situation comedy television series the New Monkees produced by Columbia Pictures Television.

The producers selected him for one of the four leading roles after auditioning over 5,000 people. The series was produced by Bob Rafelson,Burt Scheneider and Steve Blauner of the original TV show The Monkees. After the show was cancelled Ross rejoined Jim Cushinery and Bobby Tews from The Wigs to form the band 57 Braves. He eventually shifted his career from a live performer to one of a music composer for film and TV. He provided songs for over 300 episodes of television including,but not limited to traditional music from different and varied musical cultures tthrouout the world. These instrumentals proved to be useful in many shows including Nash Bridges, Soldier Of Fortune, Lifestyles of the Rich and Famous, The Ricki Lake Show, CBS Sports,Fame Fortune and Romance, Home Videos of The Stars and numerous TV movies.

Ross played his first solo show in many years opening for former Baby's frontman John Waite at the Rose Theater in Pasadena CA in July 2016 and performed bass with Prairies Hermits in a limited run tour featuring famed artist and drummer Prairie Prince in September 2016.

Personal life

Ross is married to B.M.I. executive Doreen Ringer Ross and has a daughter Chelsea, a respected animal expert.