One of the first American-bred hard rock groups to challenge British supremacy in the early '70s,
Montrose are remembered as, if not the most successful, then certainly one of the most influential bands of the era. In fact, many of the personalities responsible for the group's legendary self-titled debut (producer
Ted Templeman, engineer
Donn Landee, vocalist
Sammy Hagar) would later become instrumental players in the formative and latter-day career of the mighty
Van Halen. And to his credit, though he ultimately lacked the focus and leadership skills to consistently guide his band's career, guitarist
Ronnie Montrose was a true original on the instrument. His superlative playing aside, the avid big-game hunter lived the guitar-playing gunslinger lifestyle long before
Ted Nugent made the combination famous.
After cutting his teeth as a session musician with the likes of
Van Morrison and the Edgar Winter Group,
Ronnie Montrose decided to form his own, self-named band in 1973. Enlisting the help of fellow session pros
Bill Church (bass),
Denny Carmassi (drums), and a talented up-and-coming California singer named
Sammy Hagar,
Montrose soon released their eponymous first album in November of that year. Although it never broke the Billboard Top 100,
Montrose eventually went platinum and was arguably the first full-fledged heavy metal album by an American band (early proto-metal efforts by
Blue Cheer and
Steppenwolf notwithstanding). With classics like "Space Station No. 5" and "Bad Motor Scooter" leading the charge to the nation's airwaves, it is still considered one of the finest, most influential releases of the decade to boot. But trouble was already looming, as
Church quit the group soon after and was replaced by bassist/keyboard player
Alan Fitzgerald for the ensuing tour. Released less than a year after their debut,
Paper Money proved to be a surprisingly diverse but unfocused follow-up that failed to match its predecessor's popularity. Making things worse, escalating tensions between
Ronnie Montrose and
Hagar soon led to the latter's departure following the
Paper Money tour. (
Hagar went on to an increasingly successful solo career and eventually, of course,
Van Halen.)
Hagar's replacement was relative newcomer Bob James, but it was new full-time keyboardist
Jim Alcivar who quickly placed his stamp on the group's appropriately titled third album,
Warner Bros. Presents Montrose!, which was released at the tail end of 1975 and produced by
Ronnie himself. Soon after the release,
Fitzgerald departed the band (he later became a member of
Night Ranger). New bassist
Randy Jo Hobbs performed on 1976's
Jack Douglas-produced
Jump on It. Also poorly received and boasting an ill-conceived album cover to match, it never had a chance and the musicians soon went their separate ways.
Carmassi joined
Hagar's solo band (also featuring
Bill Church by then) and later played with
Heart and many others. As for committed outdoorsman
Ronnie Montrose, the guitarist took some time off to enjoy his other hobbies before releasing three albums with new band
Gamma in the early '80s. He recorded under the
Montrose name once again for 1987's Mean, a one-off affair featuring singer Johnny Edwards (later briefly of
Foreigner), bassist Glenn Letsch, and drummer
James Kottak (soon to form
Kingdom Come, and eventually a member of
the Scorpions).
In early 2002,
Ronnie Montrose formed a new
Montrose lineup with bassist
Chuck Wright (
Quiet Riot), drummer
Pat Torpey (
Mr. Big), and singer Keith St. John (
Burning Rain). They played West Coast dates throughout the year in support of their Rhino compilation
The Very Best of Montrose.
Montrose continued his production and session work, and would tour regularly over the last dozen years of his life, despite battling prostate cancer during the late 2000s. A self-inflicted gunshot ended his life on March 3, 2012. ~ Eduardo Rivadavia