Ronald Douglas Montrose (November 29, 1947 – March 3, 2012) was an American musician and 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 Hancock, Beaver & Krause, Boz Scaggs, Edgar Winter, Gary Wright, The Beau Brummels, 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". Ronnie Montrose is often recognized as one of the most influential guitarists in early hard rock.
Career
Montrose was born in San Francisco, California. When he was a toddler, his parents moved back to his mother's home state of Colorado (his father was from Bertrand, Nebraska, and his mother was from Golden, Colorado). He spent most of his younger years in Denver 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 late 1968, he started playing in a band called Sawbuck with Mojo Collins (vocals, guitar), Starr Donaldson (guitar, vocals), Chuck Ruff (drums) and Bill Church (bass). They were signed...
Extract from Wikipedia: “Ronnie Montrose” (CC BY-SA 4.0).