Robert Dennis James (1952 – February 2021) was an American rock singer-songwriter who was best known for his work with the band Montrose. Born in

Struthers, Ohio Struthers is a city in eastern Mahoning County, Ohio, United States, along the Mahoning River. The population was 10,063 at the 2020 census. Located directly southeast of Youngstown, it is a suburb of the Youngstown–Warren metropolitan area. ...

, James moved to the South Bay area of Los Angeles in 1963. His early bands The Symbols of Time, Shatterminx, and Swan included

David Pack David Robert Pack (born July 15, 1952) is an American singer and musician who co-founded the rock band Ambrosia (band), Ambrosia in the 1970s. Career As performer Pack was co-founder, guitarist and main vocalist for the band Ambrosia (band), A ...

(

Ambrosia In the ancient Greek myths, ''ambrosia'' (, grc, ἀμβροσία 'immortality'), the food or drink of the Greek gods, is often depicted as conferring longevity or immortality upon whoever consumed it. It was brought to the gods in Olympus ...

Joe Puerta Joe Puerta (born 2 July 1951, California, US) is the bassist/vocalist and founder of the American rock group Ambrosia. He co-wrote one of the band's early hits, "Holdin' On To Yesterday" (1975). He was a touring member (bass/vocals) of the bands ...

(

Robert Fleischman Robert Fleischman (born March 11, 1953) is an American singer and songwriter. He is known for working with the rock band Journey, briefly as their lead vocalist in 1977 and occasionally thereafter as a songwriting collaborator. Biography Fle ...

(

Journey Journey or journeying may refer to: * Travel, the movement of people between distant geographical locations ** Day's journey, a measurement of distance ** Road trip, a long-distance journey on the road Animals * Journey (horse), a thoroughbred ra ...

), and Marc Droubay ( Survivor). In early 1975 he was chosen by

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 ...

as the replacement for vocalist

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 ...

in the band Montrose and is featured as lead vocalist and co-songwriter on the Montrose albums '' Warner Brothers Presents... Montrose!'' (1975) and '' Jump On It'' (1976). After leaving Montrose in early 1977 he reunited with his pre-Montrose original band Swan who recorded demos at Capitol Records with Montrose engineer Charles Faris and performed live in the Los Angeles area. In 1978 he relocated to New York to join the Anglo-American group Magnet who were mentored by Danny Goldberg, Phil DeHaviland,

Jerry Moss Jerome S. Moss (born May 8, 1935) is an American recording executive, best known for being the co-founder of A&M Records, along with trumpet player and bandleader Herb Alpert. Music career After graduating from Brooklyn College with a degree ...

, and

Peter Frampton Peter Kenneth Frampton (born 22 April 1950) is an English musician and songwriter who was a member of the rock bands Humble Pie and the Herd. As a solo artist, he has released several albums, including his major breakthrough album, the live ...

. Magnet featured Frampton's former

Humble Pie Humble Pie are an English rock band formed by guitarist and singer Steve Marriott in Moreton, Essex, in 1969. They are known as one of the first supergroups of the late 1960s and found success in the early 1970s with songs such as " Black Cof ...

bandmate

Jerry Shirley Jerry Shirley (born 4 February 1952) is an English rock drummer, best known as a member of the band Humble Pie, appearing on all their albums. He is also known for his work with Fastway, Joey Molland from Badfinger, Alexis Korner, Billy Nicholl ...

on drums, and released the album ''Worldwide Attraction'' on the A&M label in 1979. During this period James was approached by

Aerosmith Aerosmith is an American Rock music, rock band formed in Boston in 1970. The group consists of Steven Tyler (lead vocals), Joe Perry (musician), Joe Perry (guitar), Tom Hamilton (musician), Tom Hamilton (bass), Joey Kramer (drums) and Brad Whi ...

manager David Krebs as a possible replacement for

Steven Tyler Steven Victor Tallarico (born March 26, 1948), known professionally as Steven Tyler, is an American singer, best known as the lead singer of the Boston-based rock band Aerosmith, in which he also plays the harmonica, piano, and percussion. ...

. Circa 1981, following the dissolution of Magnet, James formed the Los Angeles based group Private Army featuring former

Cheap Trick Cheap Trick is an American rock band from Rockford, Illinois, formed in 1973 by guitarist Rick Nielsen, bassist Tom Petersson, lead vocalist Robin Zander and drummer Bun E. Carlos. The current lineup of the band consists of Zander, Nielsen and ...

member

Pete Comita Cheap Trick is an American rock band from Rockford, Illinois, formed in 1973 by guitarist Rick Nielsen, bassist Tom Petersson, lead vocalist Robin Zander and drummer Bun E. Carlos. The current lineup of the band consists of Zander, Nielsen and ...

on guitar and the future

Quiet Riot Quiet Riot is an American Heavy metal music, heavy metal band founded in Los Angeles in 1973 by guitarist Randy Rhoads and bassist Kelly Garni. The original lineup featured Rhoads and Garni with lead vocalist Kevin DuBrow and drummer Drew F ...

rhythm section of bassist

Rudy Sarzo Rodolfo Maximiliano Sarzo Lavieille Grande Ruiz Payret y Chaumont (born November 18, 1950) is a Cuban American hard rock/ heavy metal bassist. He remains best known for his work with Quiet Riot, Ozzy Osbourne, and Whitesnake, and has also played ...

and drummer

Frankie Banali Frankie Banali (November 14, 1951 – August 20, 2020) was an American rock drummer, most widely known for his work with heavy metal band Quiet Riot. His signature tone and iconic drum intros first became famous on their album ''Metal Health' ...

. When Pete Comita left the band, Bob James replaced him with guitarist Peter Van Name. By early 1982 Private Army had disbanded and James relocated to Chicago to form 'USSA' with Private Army guitarist

, future

Ozzy Osbourne John Michael "Ozzy" Osbourne (born 3 December 1948) is an English singer, songwriter, and television personality. He rose to prominence during the 1970s as the lead vocalist of the heavy metal band Black Sabbath, during which period he adop ...

Mötley Crüe Mötley Crüe is an American heavy metal band formed in Los Angeles in 1981. The group was founded by bassist Nikki Sixx, drummer Tommy Lee, lead guitarist Mick Mars and lead singer Vince Neil. Mötley Crüe has sold over 100 million albums ...

drummer

Randy Castillo Randolpho Francisco Castillo (December 18, 1950 – March 26, 2002) was an American musician. He was Ozzy Osbourne's drummer during the mid-1980s to the early 1990s, and later as drummer for Mötley Crüe, from 1999 to his death in 2002. Ea ...

and ex- Pezband guitarist Tommy Gawenda. His USSA-era composition “Reach Out” was recorded by

and appears on the 1981 '' Heavy Metal'' movie soundtrack. By late 1982, he had left USSA and returned to Los Angeles where he remained active throughout the remainder of the 1980s and early 1990s as a songwriter and performer, before turning his focus to mechanical engineering, engineering management, and real estate investing. After nearly three decades of professional silence, in July 2013 James filmed a music video for his original composition "Diamond in the Rough", which can be seen on

YouTube YouTube is a global online video platform, online video sharing and social media, social media platform headquartered in San Bruno, California. It was launched on February 14, 2005, by Steve Chen, Chad Hurley, and Jawed Karim. It is owned by ...

. His son Brendan Willing James (born 1979) is the bassist and vocalist with the band

Grizfolk Grizfolk is a Swedish-American alternative rock band consisting of Adam Roth (lead vocals, guitar), Sebastian Fritze (synthesizer, backing vocals), Fredrik Eriksson (guitar) and Bill Delia (drums). Based in Los Angeles with roots in Sweden, Griz ...

. In early 2021, album format videos for "Dusk Summons the Sky" by Shatterminx and "The Lost Album" by Swan, showcasing Bob's pre and post Montrose recordings, were posted to YouTube. Bob died in February 2021 at the age of 68.

Discography

With Montrose

*'' Warner Bros. Presents (Montrose album)'' (1975) *'' Jump On It'' (1976)

With Magnet

*'' Worldwide Attraction (1979)

References

Other sources

*Montrose; ''Warner Bros. Presents'' liner notes; Warner Brothers Records 1975 *Montrose; ''Jump On It'' liner notes; Warner Brothers Records 1976 *Ronnie Montrose; ''The Very Best of Montrose'' liner notes; Rhino Records 2000

External links

* {{DEFAULTSORT:James, Bob 1952 births 2021 deaths American male songwriters American rock musicians American rock songwriters Montrose (band) members Musicians from Ohio People from Struthers, Ohio Songwriters from Ohio