Charles W. Ruff III (May 25, 1951 – October 14, 2011) was an American rock drummer well known for his work with

Edgar Winter Edgar Holland Winter (born December 28, 1946) is an American musician. He is a multi-instrumentalist, playing keyboards, guitar, saxophone, and percussion, as well as singing. His success peaked in the 1970s with his band the Edgar Winter Group ...

on the popular instrumental "

Frankenstein ''Frankenstein; or, The Modern Prometheus'' is an 1818 novel written by English author Mary Shelley. ''Frankenstein'' tells the story of Victor Frankenstein, a young scientist who creates a sapient creature in an unorthodox scientific ex ...

Biography

Edgar Winter Group with Rick Derringer 1975

Ruff was born in

Reno, Nevada Reno ( ) is a city in the northwest section of the U.S. state of Nevada, along the Nevada-California border, about north from Lake Tahoe, known as "The Biggest Little City in the World". Known for its casino and tourism industry, Reno is the ...

, on May 25, 1951, to Charles W. "Bill" Ruff II and Georgie Ruff. He played in the rock group Sawbuck with

Ronnie Montrose Ronald Douglas Montrose (November 29, 1947 – March 3, 2012) was an American guitarist who founded and led the rock bands Montrose and Gamma. He also performed and did session work with a variety of musicians, including Van Morrison, Herbie H ...

and Bill Church from 1968 to 1970. Ruff and Montrose later joined Edgar Winter with

Dan Hartman Daniel Earl Hartman (December 8, 1950 – March 22, 1994) was an American rock musician, multi-instrumentalist, singer, and songwriter. Among songs he wrote and recorded were " Free Ride" as a member of the Edgar Winter Group, and the solo hits ...

to form The Edgar Winter Group in 1972. It was with this band that he had his biggest successes. The album ''

They Only Come Out at Night ''They Only Come Out at Night'' is the debut studio album by American rock band the Edgar Winter Group. A commercial success, the album reached the #3 on the US ''Billboard'' 200 chart and features two of the band's signature songs, "Frankenstei ...

'' (1973) featured "

," which reached No. 1 in the U.S. in May 1973, and the top 15 single " Free Ride", which reached No. 14 that same year. The album ''

Shock Treatment ''Shock Treatment'' is a 1981 American musical comedy film directed by Jim Sharman, and co-written by Sharman and Richard O'Brien. It is a follow-up to the 1975 film ''The Rocky Horror Picture Show''. While not an outright sequel, the film do ...

'' featured the top 40 hit "River's Risin'" and "Easy Street", which also charted. In 1977, Ruff joined

Sammy Hagar Samuel Roy Hagar (born October 13, 1947), also known as the Red Rocker, is an American singer, songwriter, and guitarist. He rose to prominence in the early 1970s with the hard rock band Montrose and subsequently launched a successful solo car ...

and performed on the albums '' Street Machine'' (1979) and '' Danger Zone'' (1979), including the song "Bad Reputation", which is in the film ''

Up the Academy ''Mad Magazine Presents Up the Academy,'' often shortened to ''Up the Academy,'' is a 1980 American comedy film directed by Robert Downey Sr. and starring Wendell Brown, Tommy Citera, Ron Leibman, Harry Teinowitz, Hutch Parker, Ralph Macchio, T ...

''. In his later years, Ruff continued performing music in Reno, Nevada, with the Chuck Ruff Group, The Max Volume Band (played drums on the 2007 album ''Illuminaughty'') and his last project, Geezersläw. In 1967, Chuck dated Kristine (Krissy) Pickering, who now sits on the Supreme Court Of Nevada, as of October 29, 2020. Ruff died in

San Francisco San Francisco (; Spanish language, Spanish for "Francis of Assisi, Saint Francis"), officially the City and County of San Francisco, is the commercial, financial, and cultural center of Northern California. The city proper is the List of Ca ...

on October 14, 2011, after a long illness. He was survived by two sons, Dustin and Damian.Chuck Ruff interview @Swampland.com
Retrieved April 14, 2012. Ruff played

Gretsch Drums Gretsch Drums is a division of American musical instrument manufacturer Gretsch. The company was founded in Brooklyn, New York, in 1883. Gretsch drum kits have been used by many notable drummers including Max Roach, Tony Williams, Art Blakey, ...

throughout his career.

Discography

*''Sawbuck'' – ''Sawbuck'' (1972), Filmore Records *''

'' –

The Edgar Winter Group Edgar Holland Winter (born December 28, 1946) is an American musician. He is a multi-instrumentalist, playing keyboards, guitar, saxophone, and percussion, as well as singing. His success peaked in the 1970s with his band the Edgar Winter Group ...

(1972),

Epic Records Epic Records is an American record label owned by Sony Music Entertainment, a subsidiary of Sony Corporation of America Sony Corporation of America (SONAM, also known as SCA), is the American arm of the Japanese conglomerate Sony Group ...

*''

'' – The Edgar Winter Group (1974), Epic Records *''

Jasmine Nightdreams ''Jasmine Nightdreams'' is the fifth studio album by Edgar Winter, released in 1975. Track listing Personnel Musicians *Edgar Winter - "the nightdreamer" - vocals, saxophone, keyboards, synthesizer *Johnny Winter - "slide rider" - slide guitar ...

'' – Edgar Winter (1975), Blue Sky Records *''The Edgar Winter Group With Rick Derringer'' (1976), Blue Sky Records *''Johnny and Edgar Winter Live'' (1976), Blue Sky Records *'' Street Machine'' –

Band (1979),

Capitol Records Capitol Records, LLC (known legally as Capitol Records, Inc. until 2007) is an American record label distributed by Universal Music Group through its Capitol Music Group imprint. It was founded as the first West Coast-based record label of note ...

*'' Danger Zone'' – Sammy Hagar Band (1979), Capitol Records *''Use It or Lose It'' – Michael Furlong Band (1984),

Atlantic Records Atlantic Recording Corporation (simply known as Atlantic Records) is an American record label founded in October 1947 by Ahmet Ertegun and Herb Abramson. Over its first 20 years of operation, Atlantic earned a reputation as one of the most i ...

*''Fatal Attraction'' – Adam Bomb (1985) *''Illuminaughty'' – The Max Volume Band, Tadzhiq Music Group (2007)

Filmography

*''In Concert'' (1972) *''

Kenny Rogers and the First Edition Kenny Rogers and the First Edition, until 1970 billed as The First Edition, were an American rock band. The band's style was difficult to singularly classify, as it incorporated elements of country, rock and psychedelic pop. Its stalwart member ...

: Rollin' on the River'' (1973) *'' Flipside'' (1973) *''

Don Kirshner Donald Kirshner (April 17, 1934 – January 17, 2011) was an American music publisher, music consultant, rock music producer, talent manager, and songwriter. Dubbed "the Man with the Golden Ear" by ''Time'' magazine, he was best known fo ...

's Rock Concert'' (1974) *'' The Midnight Special'' (1974) *''

The Old Grey Whistle Test ''The Old Grey Whistle Test'' (sometimes abbreviated to ''Whistle Test'' or ''OGWT'') is a British television music show. The show was devised by BBC producer Rowan Ayers, commissioned by David Attenborough and aired on BBC2 from 1971 to 1988. ...

'' (1974) *''

American Bandstand ''American Bandstand'', abbreviated ''AB'', is an American music-performance and dance television program that aired in various versions from 1952 to 1989, and was hosted from 1956 until its final season by Dick Clark, who also served as the pro ...

'' (1985)

References

External links

* {{DEFAULTSORT:Ruff, Chuck American drummers 1951 births 2011 deaths Musicians from Reno, Nevada Sammy Hagar & the Waboritas members