Guitarist Ronnie Montrose Dies at 64

[Alphabet Soup]

Guitarist Ronnie Montrose, one of rock’s great sidemen, whose namesake band Montrose introduced Sammy Hagar to the world, died Saturday. He was 64.



The cause was complications from prostate cancer, his wife and manager, Leighsa Montrose, said.

Mr. Montrose, a San Francisco native, got his first break when he was hired to play guitar on Van Morrison’s 1971 album, “Tupelo Honey.” His career as a sideman continued with Boz Scaggs, Herbie Hancock and the Edgar Winter Group, playing on the hits “Frankenstein” and “Free Ride.”

But his greatest success came with his own band, Montrose, which he formed in 1973. The original lineup featured Hagar on vocals and released two Led Zeppelin inspired albums considered rock classics, “Montrose,” and 1974’s “Paper Money.” The hits “Bad Motor Scooter,” “Rock Candy” and “Space Station No. 5” became FM radio staples.

More here: http://blog.sfgate.com/culture/2012/03/04/guitarist-ronnie-montrose-dies-at-64/

[MNHawk]

It took a few days, but number 3 happened 

Yes, the first Montrose is truly a classic.

Montrose - Bad Motor Scooter

[Libertas]

The Big C strikes again.   

[IronDioPriest]

That first Montrose album with Sammy was a staple of my youth. What an awesome collection of rock and roll, straight from the gut. I wore out the vinyl and then the cassette.

RIP.

[AlanS]

The Montrose/ Hagar combo was one of the premier rock groups. I still have some of the songs in my library. RIP, Ronnie.

[IronDioPriest]

I have a feeling all the dudes who've been lined up for the cover of Guitar Player magazine are gonna get bumped out a month.

[Alphabet Soup]

A sad update to the News of Ronnie Montrose's passing...

Ronnie Montrose’s Death Caused By Self-Inflicted Gunshot

It has been confirmed that Ronnie Montrose’s death last month was not directly due to his long battle with cancer. The San Mateo County Coroner’s Office reports the guitarist instead died from suicide in the form of a self-inflicted gunshot wound.

According to family friend Michael Molenda, in a sad and touching article on GuitarPlayer.com, the Montrose family knew the findings would be made public soon. So they posted a statement on the guitarist’s website and official Facebook page, which reads in part:

    “By now, the devastating truth of Ronnie’s death is public knowledge. We hope you can understand why we wanted to keep this news a private family matter for as long as possible. We can only hope that you will choose to celebrate Ronnie’s life, and what his music meant to you, rather than mourn his passing. Ronnie would have wanted it that way.”

Montrose apparently suffered from clinical depression for much of his life. His wife and manager, Leighsa Montrose, explained that he “had a very difficult childhood, which caused him to have extremely deep and damaging feelings of inadequacy, this is why he always drove himself so hard.”

More: http://ultimateclassicrock.com/ronnie-montrose-suicide/

[trapeze]

He was one of the lesser known talents of the seventies. I have Bad Motor Scooter in my mp3 collection. I should have a few others.

It's always sad to see someone succumb to depression and, in this case, a delusion.

Montrose “never thought he was good enough. He always feared he’d be exposed as a fraud. So he was exacting in his self-criticism, and the expectations he put upon himself were tremendous.

He was most definitely not a fraud. But he apparently was seriously deluded about what it meant to be a success. He bought into the lie.

Pity.

[AlanS]

He was most definitely not a fraud. But he apparently was seriously deluded about what it meant to be a success. He bought into the lie.

Pity.

That truly is the saddest part.

[MNHawk]

Suicide of aging rock stars is a trend that needs to be ixnayed right now.  Brad Delp was more than enough.