BRANHAM, ROOSEVELT “ROSS” (1934-2014)

Primarily a Columbus area musician, Ross was born in Pike County, Kentucky, but settled in Columbus. He could play banjo, guitar, mandolin, and bass. He was a mainstay in the Columbus club scene, playing regularly at the Irv-Nell Grill (later Chet’s Bar) with Robby Robinson, Danny Milhon, Sid Campbell, Eldon Allen, and Don Edwards (Don Van Loon). He played with Pee Wee Lambert in the 1950s and with Paul “Moon” Mullins and Sid Campbell in the Log Cabin Boys in the 1960s. In later years, he played with a band called Caney Creek. He and Don Edwards recorded a single on Early Bird Records in 1959, “Old Man Mose” and “When the Roses Bloom Again.”