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 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.

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, Montrose joined the San Francisco–based band Sawbuck, whose lineup at the time included Mojo Collins (vocals, guitar), Starr Donaldson (guitar), Chuck Ruff (drums), and Bill Church (bass). Sawbuck was signed to Fillmore Records, the label co‑owned by producer David Rubinson and promoter Bill Graham, and performed throughout 1969–1970, opening for major acts. The group was active locally, performing around the Bay Area while Montrose also worked independently as a carpenter. Through that work he met Bill Graham and producer David Rubinson, after being hired to build office partitions and sheetrock at their Fillmore Records offices. Montrose developed a working relationship with Rubinson, who allowed Sawbuck to rehearse in the Fillmore offices at night in exchange for Montrose’s carpentry work.

By late 1970, Sawbuck began recording what would become their self‑titled debut album. During these sessions Rubinson's secretary arranged an audition for Montrose with Van Morrison, who was assembling a new band for Tupelo Honey. Both Montrose and Church left Sawbuck to join Morrison, but each returned briefly as guest musicians during the completion of the Sawbuck album. They appear on two tracks each, with one track featuring both of them together.

Biography summary from English Wikipedia, photograph via Wikimedia Commons.