Mick Ronson

Michael Ronson (26 May 1946 – 29 April 1993) was an English musician, songwriter, arranger, and producer. He achieved critical and commercial success working with David Bowie as the guitarist of the Spiders from Mars. He was a session musician who recorded five studio albums with Bowie followed by four with Ian Hunter, and also played in touring bands with Van Morrison and Bob Dylan. A classically trained musician, Ronson was known for his melodic approach to guitar playing.

Ronson and Bowie produced Lou Reed's Transformer with Ronson playing guitar and piano and writing string arrangements, which brought him mainstream recognition. The album is considered an influential landmark of the glam rock genre, anchored by Reed's most successful single, "Walk on the Wild Side". In 2008, John Cougar Mellencamp credited Ronson for helping to arrange his most successful hit single, "Jack & Diane".

Ronson recorded three solo studio albums, the most popular being Slaughter on 10th Avenue, which reached No. 9 on the UK Albums Chart. He played with various bands after his time with Bowie. He was named the 64th-greatest guitarist of all time by Rolling Stone in 2003 and 41st in 2012 by the same magazine.

Michael Ronson was born in Kingston upon Hull in East Riding. He was the first son of George and Minnie Ronson and had two younger siblings, Maggi and David. As a child, he was trained classically to play piano, recorder, violin, and (later) the harmonium. He initially wanted to be a cellist, but switched to guitar after discovering the music of Duane Eddy, whose bass notes on the guitar sounded to Ronson much like the cello. He joined his first band, The Mariners, in November 1963, when he was 17. His stage debut with The Mariners was in support of the Keith Herd Band at Brough Village Hall, a gig for which the band travelled 35 miles and were paid 10 shillings (50p). While Ronson was working with The Mariners, another local Hull group– The Crestas–recruited him on the advice of The Mariners' bassist John Griffiths. With Ronson on board, the Crestas gained a solid reputation, making regular appearances at local halls: Mondays at the Halfway House in Hull, Thursdays at the Ferryboat Hotel, Fridays at the Regal Ballroom in Beverley, and Sundays at the Duke of Cumberland in North Ferriby.

In 1965, Ronson left The Crestas, moving to London to seek work. He took a part-time job as a mechanic, and joined a band called The Voice, replacing Miller Anderson. Soon afterwards, Crestas' drummer Dave Bradfield went to London, replacing the Voice's previous drummer. After playing a few dates with the group, Ronson and Bradfield returned from a weekend in Hull to find their gear piled at their flat and a note explaining that the rest of the group had gone to the Bahamas. Ronson stayed in London and briefly teamed with a soul band called The Wanted, before eventually returning to Hull. In 1966, he joined Hull's top local band, The Rats, joining singer Benny Marshall, bassist Geoff Appleby, and drummer Jim Simpson (who was then replaced by Clive Taylor and later John Cambridge). The group played the local circuit, and made a few unsuccessful trips to London and Paris.

Biography summary from English Wikipedia, photograph via Wikimedia Commons.