Russ Rosser, local guitar legend who brought unique sound to central Alabama, dies

BIRMINGHAM, Ala. ( WIAT ) — Russ Rosser, a guitarist who was a mainstay of the local music scene in Gadsden and across Alabama, has died.

Rosser, a “ one-man band ” who would often play restaurants, bars and small clubs with a unique guitar he designed himself, died earlier this week. According to online records, he was 68 years old.

Rosser first picked up the guitar when he was 13 and spent the rest of his life playing in bands and on his own as a solo act. For years, he was particularly known for a custom Formica guitar that was wired for him to be able to play guitar, drums and sing at the same time, as well as access sounds not common on guitar alone, such as synth and keyboards. The guitar was stolen following a gig in 2017 and, as of Thursday, was never recovered.

In 2009, Rosser experienced tragedy when he severed three fingers on his left hand in a saw accident. For a time, he thought his music career was over.

“That’s the first thing I thought about when it happened,” Rosser said in an interview with The Gadsden Times . “It was a freakish accident, and I thought, “Well, I’m not a guitarist anymore.”

However, through surgery and a change in his playing style, Rosser was able to play music again, this time using three fingers and a thumb to play notes. In an interview with The Times, Rosser credited his comeback with a higher power having plans for him in music.

Following Rosser’s death, friends and fellow musicians took to his Facebook page to share their memories of the guitarist.

“He had an encyclopedic knowledge of 60s and 70s popular music and a seemingly unlimited reservoir of patience with drunks and their attempts to ‘stump the (one man) band’ that was Russ,” Phil Proctor wrote.

Others spoke about how in addition to being an incomparable musician, Rosser was also a decent man.

“I know a lot of you guys that knew him might be aware of some of this, but I have to say that I’ve never known a more kind-hearted and generous genius, than Russ Rosser,” Tommy Carter wrote.

No funeral arrangements have been announced.

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