Ronnie Montrose
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Ronald Douglas Montrose (November 29, 1947 – March 3, 2012) was an American guitarist who founded and led the rock bands Montrose and
Gamma Gamma (uppercase , lowercase ; ''gámma'') is the third letter of the Greek alphabet. In the system of Greek numerals it has a value of 3. In Ancient Greek, the letter gamma represented a voiced velar stop . In Modern Greek, this letter re ...
. He also performed and did session work with a variety of musicians, including
Van Morrison Sir George Ivan Morrison (born 31 August 1945), known professionally as Van Morrison, is a Northern Irish singer-songwriter and multi-instrumentalist whose recording career spans seven decades. He has won two Grammy Awards. As a teenager in t ...
,
Herbie Hancock Herbert Jeffrey Hancock (born April 12, 1940) is an American jazz pianist, keyboardist, bandleader, and composer. Hancock started his career with trumpeter Donald Byrd's group. He shortly thereafter joined the Miles Davis Quintet, where he help ...
,
Beaver & Krause Beaver & Krause were an American musical duo comprising Paul Beaver and Bernie Krause. Their 1967 album ''The Nonesuch Guide to Electronic Music'' was a pioneering work in the electronic music genre. The pair were Robert Moog's sales representati ...
,
Boz Scaggs William Royce "Boz" Scaggs (born June 8, 1944) is an American singer, songwriter, and guitarist. An early bandmate of Steve Miller in The Ardells and the Steve Miller Band, he began his solo career in 1969, though he lacked a major hit until h ...
, Edgar Winter, Gary Wright,
The Beau Brummels The Beau Brummels was an American rock band. Formed in San Francisco in 1964, the band's original lineup included Sal Valentino (lead vocals), Ron Elliott (lead guitar), Ron Meagher (bass guitar), Declan Mulligan (rhythm guitar, bass, harmo ...
, Dan Hartman, Tony Williams, The Neville Brothers, Marc Bonilla and Sammy Hagar. Montrose's 1973 debut album has often been cited as "America's answer to
Led Zeppelin Led Zeppelin were an English rock band formed in London in 1968. The group comprised vocalist Robert Plant, guitarist Jimmy Page, bassist/keyboardist John Paul Jones, and drummer John Bonham. With a heavy, guitar-driven sound, they are ci ...
". Ronnie Montrose is often recognized as one of the most influential guitarists in early hard rock.


Career

Montrose was born 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 ...
. When he was a toddler, his parents moved back to his mother's home state of
Colorado Colorado (, other variants) is a state in the Mountain West subregion of the Western United States. It encompasses most of the Southern Rocky Mountains, as well as the northeastern portion of the Colorado Plateau and the western edge of t ...
(his father was from
Bertrand, Nebraska Bertrand is a village in Phelps County, Nebraska, United States. The population was 750 at the 2010 census. History Bertrand was established in 1884 when the railroad was extended to that point. It was named for a railroad official. 1925 edition ...
, and his mother was from Golden, Colorado). He spent most of his younger years in
Denver Denver () is a consolidated city and county, the capital, and most populous city of the U.S. state of Colorado. Its population was 715,522 at the 2020 census, a 19.22% increase since 2010. It is the 19th-most populous city in the Unit ...
until he ran away at about 16 years old to pursue his musical career. Ultimately he spent most of his life in the San Francisco Bay area. In 1969, he started out in a band called 'Sawbuck' with Mojo Collins (lead vocals, guitar), Starr Donaldson (guitar, vocals), Chuck Ruff (drums) and Bill Church (bass). They were signed to Fillmore Records, co-owned by producer
David Rubinson David Rubinson (born August 7, 1942 in Brooklyn, New York)Internet Movie DatabaseMini-Biography of David Rubinson Retrieved 2012-06-05.as of 2017 it's 1962? is an American recording engineer and music producer, who was particularly involved in music ...
and promoter Bill Graham, and toured and opened for major acts. At the end of 1970 and beginning of '71, they were recording their first and only album, Sawbuck. During this time, Rubinson had arranged an audition for Montrose with Van Morrison. Morrison, having recently moved from New York to California, needed a new band to record his next album ''
Tupelo Honey ''Tupelo Honey'' is the fifth studio album by Northern Irish singer-songwriter Van Morrison. It was released in October 1971 by Warner Bros. Records. Morrison had written all of the songs on the album in Woodstock, New York, before his move to ...
''. Both Montrose and Church left Sawbuck to join Morrison, but both did appear on two songs on the Sawbuck album which was released in 1972. Montrose and Church also played on the song "
Listen to the Lion "Listen to the Lion" is a song written by Northern Irish singer-songwriter Van Morrison and featured on his sixth album, ''Saint Dominic's Preview'' (1972). Its poetic musings and "bass-led shuffle" lead back to ''Astral Weeks'' territory. Record ...
", recorded during the Tupelo Honey sessions and released on Morrison's next album ''
Saint Dominic's Preview ''Saint Dominic's Preview'' is the sixth studio album by Northern Irish singer-songwriter Van Morrison. It was released in July 1972 by Warner Bros. Records. ''Rolling Stone'' declared it "the best-produced, most ambitious Van Morrison record y ...
'' (1972). Montrose played briefly with
Boz Scaggs William Royce "Boz" Scaggs (born June 8, 1944) is an American singer, songwriter, and guitarist. An early bandmate of Steve Miller in The Ardells and the Steve Miller Band, he began his solo career in 1969, though he lacked a major hit until h ...
before joining the Edgar Winter Group in 1972. Montrose then recruited Chuck Ruff, which essentially ended the band Sawbuck. For Winter's third album release, '' They Only Come Out at Night'' (1972), which included the hit singles "
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 ...
" and " Free Ride", Montrose recorded electric guitar, acoustic 12-string, and mandolin. Montrose formed his own band, Montrose, in 1973. It featured Sammy Hagar on vocals. That incarnation of the band released two albums on
Warner Bros. Records Warner Records Inc. (formerly Warner Bros. Records Inc.) is an American record label. A subsidiary of the Warner Music Group, it is headquartered in Los Angeles, California. It was founded on March 19, 1958, as the recorded music division of the ...
, '' Montrose'' (1973) and '' Paper Money'' (1974), before Hagar left to pursue a solo career. Although the liner notes for the CD edition of ''Paper Money'' said that Montrose was invited to play lead guitar for Mott the Hoople after he left the Edgar Winter Group, Montrose said that it never happened and was just a rumor. He also added his guitar work to Gary Wright's song, "Power of Love" off the 1975 album, '' The Dream Weaver''. The guitarist released two more Montrose band albums in the rock/vocal format ('' Warner Bros. Presents Montrose!'' (1975) and '' Jump on It'' (1976), featuring vocalist Bob James replacing Sammy Hagar and adding Jim Alcivar on keyboards. Montrose then shifted direction and released a solo album, the all-instrumental '' Open Fire'' (1978) with Edgar Winter producing. In 1979, Montrose formed
Gamma Gamma (uppercase , lowercase ; ''gámma'') is the third letter of the Greek alphabet. In the system of Greek numerals it has a value of 3. In Ancient Greek, the letter gamma represented a voiced velar stop . In Modern Greek, this letter re ...
with vocalist
Davey Pattison Davey Pattison (born November 18, 1945 in Scotland) is a San Francisco Bay Area based rock vocalist. Pattison recorded his first music in 1969, and his career took off after arrival in the United States in 1979, on invitation from Bill Graham ...
at the recommendation of fellow Scotsman
James Dewar Sir James Dewar (20 September 1842 – 27 March 1923) was a British chemist and physicist. He is best known for his invention of the vacuum flask, which he used in conjunction with research into the liquefaction of gases. He also studied ato ...
bassist/vocalist for
Robin Trower Robin Leonard Trower (born 9 March 1945) is an English rock guitarist who achieved success with Procol Harum throughout 1967–1971, and then again as the bandleader of his own power trio known as the Robin Trower Band. Biography Robin Trowe ...
. Jim Alcivar appears on his fourth Ronnie Montrose project in a row and bassist Alan Fitzgerald returns as well with drummer Skip Gillette. Gamma had more of a progressive rock edge as compared to the Montrose band and initially produced three consecutive albums. The rhythm section was replaced by Montrose drummer Denny Carmassi and bassist
Glenn Letsch Glenn Letsch (born June 23, 1949) is an American bass guitarist. He was in a Los Angeles band with Mitchell Froom called "Bullet Park" . After Ronnie Montrose produced their demo, he asked Letsch to join his band Gamma, where Letsch became friend ...
with Gamma 2. Gamma 3 saw Alcivar replaced by Mitchell Froom on keyboards. In 1983 Montrose played lead guitar on the song "(She Is a) Telepath" from
Paul Kantner Paul Lorin Kantner (March 17, 1941 – January 28, 2016) was an American rock musician. He is best known as the co-founder, rhythm guitarist, and vocalist of Jefferson Airplane, a leading psychedelic rock band of the counterculture era. He cont ...
's album '' Planet Earth Rock and Roll Orchestra'' although he wasn't a member of the original PERRO. In 1985 he joined
Seattle Seattle ( ) is a seaport city on the West Coast of the United States. It is the seat of King County, Washington. With a 2020 population of 737,015, it is the largest city in both the state of Washington and the Pacific Northwest regio ...
's Rail (winners of MTV's first Basement Tapes video competition) for several months. He was looking for a new band and one of Rail's guitarists, Rick Knotts had recently left. Billed as 'Rail featuring Montrose' or 'Ronnie & Rail', they played a set of half Rail favorites and half Montrose songs ("Rock Candy", "Rock the Nation", "Matriarch" and Gamma's remake of Thunderclap Newman's " Something in the Air"). At the end of the tour, there was an amicable split. He continued to record through the 1980s and 1990s, releasing solo albums including '' The Speed of Sound'' (1988), '' Music from Here'' (1994), and '' Bearings'' (2000), as well as another Montrose album titled ''
Mean There are several kinds of mean in mathematics, especially in statistics. Each mean serves to summarize a given group of data, often to better understand the overall value (magnitude and sign) of a given data set. For a data set, the ''arithme ...
'' (1987) and a fourth Gamma album '' Gamma 4'' (2000). Montrose appeared on Sammy Hagar's solo album ''
Marching to Mars ''Marching to Mars'' is the tenth studio album by American rock singer-songwriter and vocalist Sammy Hagar, and his first post-Van Halen solo album. It features various musicians on different songs. It was released on May 20, 1997, by MCA Records ...
'' (1997) along with original Montrose members bassist Bill Church and drummer Denny Carmassi on the song "Leaving the Warmth of the Womb". The original Montrose lineup also reformed to play as a special guest at several Sammy Hagar concerts in summer 2004 and 2005. Montrose also performed regularly from 2001 until 2011 with a Montrose lineup featuring Keith St. John on lead vocals and a rotating cast of veteran hard rock players on bass and drums. In 2011, Montrose formed the 'Ronnie Montrose Band' with Randy Scoles on vocals, Dan McNay on bass, and Steve Brown on drums, playing music from his entire career, including both Montrose and Gamma songs. This lineup was captured in his final released work, the concert DVD ''Ronnie Montrose: Live at the Uptown''. During his 2009 tour, Montrose revealed that he had fought prostate cancer for the previous two years but was healthy once again; he continued to tour until his death in 2012.


Death

Montrose died from a self-inflicted gunshot wound on March 3, 2012. His death was originally assumed to be the result of his prostate cancer. However, the San Mateo County Coroner's Office released a report that confirmed the guitarist had shot himself. The toxicology reported a blood alcohol content of 0.31 percent at the time of death. In early 2012, the deaths of his uncle and of Lola, his bulldog, worsened what '' Guitar Player'' magazine called a "
clinical depression Major depressive disorder (MDD), also known as clinical depression, is a mental disorder characterized by at least two weeks of pervasive low mood, low self-esteem, and loss of interest or pleasure in normally enjoyable activities. Introdu ...
that plagued him since he was a toddler." Montrose was survived by his wife, two children and five grandchildren.


Discography


Solo albums

* '' Open Fire'' (1978) * ''
Territory A territory is an area of land, sea, or space, particularly belonging or connected to a country, person, or animal. In international politics, a territory is usually either the total area from which a state may extract power resources or a ...
'' (1986) * '' The Speed of Sound'' (1988) * ''
The Diva Station ''The Diva Station'' is a mix of instrumental rock music with three songs with vocals. Former Gamma vocalist Davey Pattison reunites for two songs with Ronnie Montrose. Track listing # "Sorcerer" (Ronnie Montrose) 6:24 # "The Diva Station" (M ...
'' (1990) * '' Mutatis Mutandis'' (1991) * '' Music from Here'' (1994) * ''
Mr. Bones ''Mister'', usually written in its contracted form ''Mr.'' or ''Mr'', is a commonly used English honorific for men without a higher honorific, or professional title, or any of various designations of office. The title 'Mr' derived from earlier ...
'' (video game soundtrack) (1996) * '' Roll Over and Play Live'' (Live album) (1999) * '' Bearings'' (1999) * '' 10x10'' (2017)


with Montrose

* '' Montrose'' (1973) * '' Paper Money'' (1974) * '' Warner Brothers Presents Montrose!'' (1975) * '' Jump on It'' (1976) * ''
Mean There are several kinds of mean in mathematics, especially in statistics. Each mean serves to summarize a given group of data, often to better understand the overall value (magnitude and sign) of a given data set. For a data set, the ''arithme ...
'' (1987) * '' The Very Best of Montrose'' (2000)


with Gamma

* '' Gamma 1'' (1979) * ''
Gamma 2 ''Gamma 2'' is Gamma's second album, released in 1980. On this album Ronnie Montrose keeps his streak of not having the same personnel on two albums in a row, changing the line-up once again. Davey Pattison (vocals), Montrose (guitar), and Jim ...
'' (1980) * '' Gamma 3'' (1982) * '' The Best of Gamma'' (1992) * '' Gamma 4'' (2000)


Session work

*
Herbie Hancock Herbert Jeffrey Hancock (born April 12, 1940) is an American jazz pianist, keyboardist, bandleader, and composer. Hancock started his career with trumpeter Donald Byrd's group. He shortly thereafter joined the Miles Davis Quintet, where he help ...
– ''
Mwandishi ''Mwandishi'' is the ninth album by jazz pianist Herbie Hancock, released in 1971. It is the first album to officially feature Hancock’s ‘Mwandishi’ sextet consisting of saxophonist Bennie Maupin, trumpeter Eddie Henderson, trombonist J ...
'' (1971) "Ostinato (Suite for Angela)" * Victoria (Domalgoski) – ''Victoria'' (1971) "Song About the Sun", "We've Got Ways to Keep High" with Herbie Hancock *
Beaver & Krause Beaver & Krause were an American musical duo comprising Paul Beaver and Bernie Krause. Their 1967 album ''The Nonesuch Guide to Electronic Music'' was a pioneering work in the electronic music genre. The pair were Robert Moog's sales representati ...
– ''Gandharva'' (1971) "Saga of the Blue Beaver" *
Van Morrison Sir George Ivan Morrison (born 31 August 1945), known professionally as Van Morrison, is a Northern Irish singer-songwriter and multi-instrumentalist whose recording career spans seven decades. He has won two Grammy Awards. As a teenager in t ...
– ''
Tupelo Honey ''Tupelo Honey'' is the fifth studio album by Northern Irish singer-songwriter Van Morrison. It was released in October 1971 by Warner Bros. Records. Morrison had written all of the songs on the album in Woodstock, New York, before his move to ...
'' (1971) *
Van Morrison Sir George Ivan Morrison (born 31 August 1945), known professionally as Van Morrison, is a Northern Irish singer-songwriter and multi-instrumentalist whose recording career spans seven decades. He has won two Grammy Awards. As a teenager in t ...
– '' The Philosopher's Stone'' (1971) "Ordinary People" & " Wonderful Remark" ompilation released 1999*
Kendell Kardt Kendell Kardt (born February 27, 1943) is an American songwriter, poet, author, composer, arranger, recording artist, and performer whose career spans 1962 to the present. He has recorded albums for Capitol Records (1969) with the group Rig, ...
– ''Buddy Bolden'' (unreleased solo LP 1971) " Buddy Bolden" & " Black Train

with
Jerry Garcia Jerome John Garcia (August 1, 1942 – August 9, 1995) was an American musician best known for being the principal songwriter, lead guitarist, and a vocalist with the rock band Grateful Dead, which he co-founded and which came to prominence ...
*
Boz Scaggs William Royce "Boz" Scaggs (born June 8, 1944) is an American singer, songwriter, and guitarist. An early bandmate of Steve Miller in The Ardells and the Steve Miller Band, he began his solo career in 1969, though he lacked a major hit until h ...
– ''Unreleased Muscle Shoals tapes'' (1971) * Sawbuck – ''Sawbuck'' (1972) "Believe" and "Lovin' Man" *
Van Morrison Sir George Ivan Morrison (born 31 August 1945), known professionally as Van Morrison, is a Northern Irish singer-songwriter and multi-instrumentalist whose recording career spans seven decades. He has won two Grammy Awards. As a teenager in t ...
– ''
Saint Dominic's Preview ''Saint Dominic's Preview'' is the sixth studio album by Northern Irish singer-songwriter Van Morrison. It was released in July 1972 by Warner Bros. Records. ''Rolling Stone'' declared it "the best-produced, most ambitious Van Morrison record y ...
'' (1972) "
Listen to the Lion "Listen to the Lion" is a song written by Northern Irish singer-songwriter Van Morrison and featured on his sixth album, ''Saint Dominic's Preview'' (1972). Its poetic musings and "bass-led shuffle" lead back to ''Astral Weeks'' territory. Record ...
" – recorded 1971 during Tupelo Honey sessions * Edgar Winter Group – '' They Only Come Out at Night'' (1972) *
Kathi McDonald Kathryn Marie "Kathi" McDonald (September 25, 1948 – October 3, 2012) was an American blues and rock singer and songwriter. As a teenager she sang with different bands around the Pacific Northwest before she was discovered by Ike Turner. She sa ...
– ''Insane Asylum'' (1973) "(Love Is Like a) Heat Wave", "Heartbreak Hotel" & "If You Need Me" * Gary Wright – '' The Dream Weaver'' (1975) "Power of Love" *
The Beau Brummels The Beau Brummels was an American rock band. Formed in San Francisco in 1964, the band's original lineup included Sal Valentino (lead vocals), Ron Elliott (lead guitar), Ron Meagher (bass guitar), Declan Mulligan (rhythm guitar, bass, harmo ...
– ''
The Beau Brummels The Beau Brummels was an American rock band. Formed in San Francisco in 1964, the band's original lineup included Sal Valentino (lead vocals), Ron Elliott (lead guitar), Ron Meagher (bass guitar), Declan Mulligan (rhythm guitar, bass, harmo ...
'' (1975) "Down to the Bottom" * Dan Hartman – '' Images'' (1976) "The Party's in the Back Room" & "High Sign" * Hoodoo Rhythm Devils – ''Safe in Their Homes'' (1976) "Safe in Their Homes" & "Teach Your Daughter" * Tony Williams – ''
The Joy of Flying ''The Joy of Flying'' is a jazz fusion album by Tony Williams. It was recorded at the end of The Tony Williams Lifetime years, and is considered his first solo album since 1966. It includes three duets, two with Mahavishnu Orchestra keyboardist ...
'' (1978) " Open Fire" *
Nicolette Larson Nicolette Larson (July 17, 1952 – December 16, 1997) was an American singer. She is perhaps best known for her work in the late 1970s with Neil Young and her 1978 hit single of Young's "Lotta Love", which hit No. 1 on the Hot Adult Contem ...
– '' In the Nick of Time'' (1979) "Just in the Nick of Time" * Lauren Wood – '' Lauren Wood'' (1979) "Dirty Work" (Steely Dan cover) * Earth Quake – ''Two Years in a Padded Cell'' (1979) "Trouble" * Jamie Sheriff – ''No Heroes'' (1980) "Soldier" *
Paul Kantner Paul Lorin Kantner (March 17, 1941 – January 28, 2016) was an American rock musician. He is best known as the co-founder, rhythm guitarist, and vocalist of Jefferson Airplane, a leading psychedelic rock band of the counterculture era. He cont ...
– '' Planet Earth Rock and Roll Orchestra'' (1983) "(She Is a) Telepath" * The Neville Brothers – ''Uptown'' (1987) "Whatever It Takes" * Various Artists – '' Guitar Speak'' (1988) "Blood Alley 152" * Heist – ''High Heel Heaven'' (1989) "She Needs Love", "Tighter" * Various Artists – '' ''Born to Ski'''' soundtrack (1991) "Born to Ski" * Marc Bonilla – ''
EE Ticket ''EE Ticket'' is the first studio album by guitarist Marc Bonilla, released in June 1991 through Reprise Records. Track listing Personnel *Marc Bonilla – guitar, guitar synthesizer, synthesizer * Kevin Gilbert – vocals, keyboard, Mellotro ...
'' (1991) "Razorback" * Marc Bonilla – '' American Matador'' (1993) "I Am the Walrus" (instrumental cover) * Anti-M – ''Positively Negative'' (1995) "Security", "Television", "Lonely" and "Iniki" *
Glenn Hughes Glenn Hughes or Glen Hughes may refer to: *Glenn Hughes (musician), born 1951 *Glenn Hughes (American singer) (1950–2001) *Glenn Hughes (cricketer), born 1959 *Glen Hughes Glen Hughes is an Australian former professional rugby league footbal ...
– ''Addiction'' (1996) "Justified Man" * Edgar Winter – ''The Real Deal'' (1996) "Eye of the Storm" * Kevin Cride

– ''Signatures'' (1996) "Stratovision" * Sammy Hagar – ''
Marching to Mars ''Marching to Mars'' is the tenth studio album by American rock singer-songwriter and vocalist Sammy Hagar, and his first post-Van Halen solo album. It features various musicians on different songs. It was released on May 20, 1997, by MCA Records ...
'' (1997) "Leaving the Warmth of the Womb" * C.J. Hutchins – ''Out of These Hands'' (1998) "Cannonball" (bass), "Cross-Leg", "Rock Me to Sleep", "Out of These Hands", "What Went Wrong" (bass) & "Circus Song" * David Culiner – ''Implode'' (1999) "Human Shield" * Jerry Jennings – ''Shortcut to the Center'' (1999) eleased in 2005"Observation" (acoustic), "One Blue Lady" (lead) *
Bruce Turgon Bruce Turgon (born April 25, 1952) is an American bass guitarist, guitarist, vocalist, songwriter and producer. Bruce has played in several bands throughout his career including: Foreigner, The Lou Gramm Band, Shadow King, Steve Stevens, Warr ...
– ''Outside Looking in'' (2005) "Outside Looking in" * Various Artists – ''The Songs of
Pink Floyd Pink Floyd are an English rock band formed in London in 1965. Gaining an early following as one of the first British psychedelic music, psychedelic groups, they were distinguished by their extended compositions, sonic experimentation, philo ...
'' (2002) & '' Back Against the Wall'' (2005) "Another Brick in the Wall (Pt. 2)" * Various Artists – ''Secondhand Smoke – A Tribute to Frank Marino'' (2005) "Try for Freedom"


Production

* Mitchell Froom – ''Key of Cool'' (1984) *
Jeff Berlin Jeffrey Arthur Berlin (born January 17, 1953) is an American jazz fusion bassist. He first came to prominence in the 1970s as a member of the band Bruford led by drummer Bill Bruford. Musical career Berlin was born on January 17, 1953, in Queen ...
/ Vox Humana – ''Champion'' (1985) background vocals * Wrath – ''Nothing to Fear'' (1987) * Heathen – ''Breaking the Silence'' (1987) * C.J. Hutchins – ''Out of These Hands'' (1998) guitar, bass * Jerry Jennings – ''Shortcut to the Center'' (1999) eleased in 2005* Y&T – ''Unearthed, Vol. 2'' (2005) composer


References


External links


Ronnie Montrose website


{{DEFAULTSORT:Montrose, Ronnie 1947 births 2012 suicides American heavy metal guitarists Guitarists from San Francisco Lead guitarists Slide guitarists Montrose (band) members Suicides by firearm in California 20th-century American guitarists Gamma (band) members 2012 deaths