Ronnie Montrose dies

[Basvarken]

Ronnie Montrose died yesterday (Saturday, March 3) after a five-year battle with prostate cancer. He was 64 years old.

http://legacy.roadrunnerrecords.com/blabbermouth.net/news.aspx?mode=Article&newsitemID=170627

www.ronniemontrose.com


RIP Ronnie

[Denis]

Damn, that sucks. RIP, Ronnie.

[godofthunder]

Awe shit they just keep falling. RIP Ronnie

[nofi]

too bad, great guitarist. imo the first montrose album is the best hard rock record ever recorded.

[rahock]

He was a good one alright
RIP
Rick

[gweimer]

[TBird1958]

too bad, great guitarist. imo the first montrose album is the best hard rock record ever recorded.

So very true. I've owned it as an album at least three times ( got stolen ) and as a CD twice.

RIP Ronnie.

[Nocturnal]

RIP Ronnie

[Grog]

RIP Ronnie 

[lowend1]

too bad, great guitarist. imo the first montrose album is the best hard rock record ever recorded.

A defining "moment" in rock guitar for sure. I say moment because that band never truly realized its potential. The subsequent albums were weak in the knees compared to the first.

I didn't see this one coming. Ironically, a few weeks back we lost Mark Reale of Riot, who, for the past several years had been using a black Les Paul Custom as his main stage guitar - one that was formerly owned by Ronnie.

[jumbodbassman]

Buddy of mine just saw him at BB Kings and i decided not to go.  He hung out with him after the showand got so,me pictures with him.  He looked old and bloated but not terminally ill.  Shame

RIP Ronnie

[Highlander]

I remember seeing him at the Hammersmith Odeon with Gamma - did this sparkling stands-alone solo... just him, his guitar, and the spotlight...
When he finished the place was just dead quiet - never seen it before or since - awestruck...

He quietly spoke into a mic a few moments after the echos died saying, "Well, what'ya think...?"

The place just erupted...

Even over here he was very accessible and if you emailed him he would promptly respond with a reply answering any query...

Gutted... just gutted...

RIP Ronnie, you've more than earned your place in R'n'R Heaven...

[gweimer]

News released. His death has been ruled a suicide.

http://www.washingtonpost.com/national/coroner-rules-guitarist-ronnie-montroses-death-a-suicide-wife-says-depression-tormented-him/2012/04/10/gIQAYYDH9S_story.html

[Denis]

Now that's really sad. RIP, Ronnie.

[uwe]

There is a really well-written and lenghty article in the new Classic Rock about him (scheduled unrelated to his death, but now all the more poignant) - the author had been chasing him for years for the interview, RM had become an elusive recluse preferring to transport flowers for his wife who is a wedding and event planner. When the interview finally happened (Hagar: "I doubt that Ronnie will really let himself be interviewed ..."), it was more of a stand-off with an extremely aloof RM delivering revisionist statements and dodging the (very lucid, the guy had done his homework and actually met Montrose in the seventies as a youthful fan) questions of the journalist. A difficult man at the best of times. And that is not just the author saying that, but basically everyone whoever played and recorded with him including Edgar Winter, Sammy Hagar, Bill Church, Denny Carmassi and Ted Templeman (who had already produced him with Van the Man).

I remember two things from an interview he did more than a decade (possibly even two decades) ago:

- That "Bruce Springsteen's music is just as formatted as AC/DC's, he doesn't stray an iota from what his fans expect".

- "My dream band? Deep Purple, Ian Gillan line up, with me taking the place of Ritchie Blackmore."

The Classic Rock interview is also insightful as to how much early VH patterned themselves after Montrose. They wanted Templeman as a producer because of his work with Montrose and Eddie demanded every recording trick of the Montrose debut to be repeated on VH's debut.