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Donald's Encyclopedia of Popular MusicA B C D E F G H I J K L M N O P Q R S T U V W X Y ZMONTROSE, Ronnie(b Ronald Douglas Montrose, 29 November 1947, San Francisco CA; d 3 March 2012, Brisbane CA) Guitarist and bandleader who was influential but apparently not interested in dominating, so was outshone in the marketplace by the people he influenced. He grew up in Denver, returning to California in the late 1960s to find a career as a sideman. He played on Van Morrison’s albums Tupelo Honey and Saint Dominic’s Preview; with Herbie Hancock, Boz Scaggs and others; and remarkably on the Edgar Winter Group’s They Only Come Out At Night, featuring the sort of power chords and guitar pyrotechnics that would become known as heavy metal. He formed Montrose in 1973 with Bill Church on bass and Denny Carmassi on drums, and the young singer Sammy Hagar. The self-titled debut album ’73 on WB started slowly but eventually became a landmark in the genre, produced by Ted Templeman, as was the follow-up Paper Money ’74. Templeman later produced Van Halen, whose guitarist Eddie Van Halen named Montrose as an influence. Hagar left after the second album and eventually replaced David Lee Roth as Van Halen’s lead singer. Meanwhile Montrose (the band) released two more albums, Warner Brothers Presents ... Montrose! ‘75 and Jump on It ‘76. Ronnie Montrose moved toward a softer sound, forming Gamma for three albums 1979-82, titled Gamma 1, 2 and 3, all on Wounded Bird, and also making solo albums on various labels, some of which defined as jazz-rock; these included Open Fire ’78 (WEA), Territory ’86 (Wounded Bird), The Speed of Sound ’88, Diva Station ’90 (both on Enigma), Mutatis Mutandis ’91 (IRS), Music From Here ’94 (on Fearless Urge), and Mr. Bones ’96 (Sega). He formed a new version of Montrose for the album Mean ’87 on Enigma, and the original lineup played on Hagar’s solo album Marching To Mars ’97 on MCA; he reformed Gamma 2000 for a fourth album by that group called Concert Classics on Rance Life. He continued to tour for several years after learning that he had prostate cancer. |