Ross Harvey Obituary, Death Cause – On July 5th, 2023, Ross Harvey, the original host of Bluegrass Rambling, passed away. It is with great sadness that CKUT announces his passing. In 1988, Ross became a member of the CKUT family when he took over as the host of Bluegrass Rambling. Beginning in 1991, he also took over as the host of Country Classics. Above, he is shown answering the phones during CKUT’s Funding Drive in 1991.
On Sunday evenings, a great number of Montreal residents would tune on their radios to listen to Ross’s enormous library of music. Throughout the course of his show, the phone would constantly ring with callers making requests or simply expressing their gratitude. During the time that we were trying to raise money, Ross volunteered to take phone shifts, and he also baked peanut butter cookies from scratch for us to eat.
A large portion of the CKUT family was there to celebrate the occasion, and many of them were exposed to the country and bluegrass scene for the very first time. We owe a debt of gratitude to Ross for ensuring that CKUT’s Sunday nights are still the best time to satisfy your cravings for bluegrass and country music. Our sympathies to all. If you have any of Ross’s old radio shows or if you have any memories that you would want to share, please send an email to production@ckut.ca.
Ross was a regular at the Wheel Club, which was a veterans social club in NDG that featured live bluegrass on Monday nights. There, he was able to listen to the music that he liked while drinking his rye and ginger and chatting with patrons as well as listeners. The Wheel Club was the location where Ross handed off the hosting duties of the radio shows to new hosts and inaugurated them with a fantastic party.
