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Punk and metal guitarist Ross “The Boss” Friedman has revealed that he’s been diagnosed with the incurable disease Amyotrophic Lateral Sclerosis (ALS), commonly referred to as Lou Gehrig’s Disease. The 72-year-old co-founder of New York punk stalwarts the Dictators and power metal band Manowar said in a statement on Monday (Feb. 9) that the diagnosis came after he’d suffered through several months of concerning symptoms.
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“It’s difficult to know what lies ahead,” he said in a statement. “And it crushes me not to be able to play guitar, but the outpouring of love has been so, so strong. I’m absolutely blown away by the love and support from family, friends and fans. I love you all.”
An accompanying statement published on the Dictators’ Instagram revealed that the diagnosis came after Friedman suffered through a series of “seemingly unrelated symptoms” over several months, including weakness in his hands and legs, which he thought may have been caused by a number of “very minor strokes.”
But after changing his diet, beginning physical therapy and increasing his exercise didn’t seem to slow the disease’s progression or increase his strength, Friedman received the diagnosis. According to the Mayo Clinic, ALS is a progressive, incurable nervous system disease that “affects nerve cells in the brian and spinal cord,” causing loss of muscle control, trouble swallowing and slurred speech.
Bronx-bred Friedman co-founded the Dictators in New York in 1973 with his friends bassist/singer Andy Shernoff and rhythm guitarist Scott Kempner, with drummer Stu Boy King joining a year later. One of the original bands from what would become a fertile New York punk scene, the Dictators released their 1975 debut album on Epic Records, The Dictators Go Girl Crazy!, beating such scene stalwarts as the more well-known Ramones to record store shelves by a year.
The band whose sound melded the burgeoning snarly punk sound with a cheeky reverence for pop culture — they did a grungy cover of Cher and Sonny Bono’s “I Got You Babe” on their debut — released two more albums during their heyday. Friedman appeared on 1977’s Manifest Destiny, which hit No. 193 on the Billboard 200 album chart, and 1978’s Bloodbrothers, before the group broke up for the first of many times.
Friedman then co-founded the New York power metal band Manowar — who scored the Guinness record for the loudest band performance in 1984 — with friend bassist Joey DeMaio and played on the group’s first six albums, leaving the group in 1989. In the years since, he’s played with a variety of acts including Death Dealer, The Spinatras, Shakin’ Street, Brain Surgeons and his own Ross the Boss Band since 2009. Friedman was inducted into the Metal Hall of Fame in 2017.