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Montrose (band)

From Alfawiki
Montrose
Company typeBand
IndustryMusic
Founded1973
FounderRonnie Montrose
Defunct1977, 2012
Headquarters
California
,
United States
ProductsMusic albums, singles
Websitewww.ronniemontrose.com

Montrose was a hard rock group from the United States, established in 1973 by guitarist and founder Ronnie Montrose. The initial ensemble included lead singer Sammy Hagar, who later gained fame as a solo performer and with Van Halen, bassist Bill Church, and drummer Denny Carmassi. The band experienced moderate acclaim before disbanding in early 1977. Their self-titled debut album, Montrose, released in 1973, gradually became a global success, surpassing one million sales and receiving platinum certification in 1986.

History

Prior to creating Montrose, Ronnie Montrose worked as a session guitarist, collaborating with Bill Church on Van Morrison's Tupelo Honey album. He was also a member of the Edgar Winter Group, contributing to the popular track "Frankenstein" from the 1972 album They Only Come Out at Night.

The founding lineup—Ronnie Montrose on guitar, Sammy Hagar handling vocals, Bill Church on bass, and Denny Carmassi playing drums—came together in early 1973 after Montrose departed from the Edgar Winter Group. Hagar and Carmassi were recruited from San Francisco-based cover bands, while Church connected with Montrose through their session work with Van Morrison and producer Ted Templeman. Templeman played a key role in securing a contract with Warner Bros. after hearing their demo recordings. Their first public performance occurred on April 21, 1973, via a KSAN FM radio broadcast that featured tracks from their debut album along with previously unreleased songs. This broadcast circulated unofficially until it was officially released in 2017 as part of the album’s Deluxe Version.

Produced by Ted Templeman, their debut album was launched late in 1973 under Warner Bros. Although it initially reached only No. 133 on the U.S. Billboard charts, it has since become recognized as an influential hard rock record, selling over one million copies and earning platinum certification. Often referred to as "America's answer to Led Zeppelin," the album left a significant impact on bands like Iron Maiden. Management duties were handled by Dee Anthony.

Bassist Bill Church departed first and was succeeded by Alan Fitzgerald for the band's sophomore effort, Paper Money (1974), also produced by Templeman. Ronnie Montrose aimed to diversify the band's sound on this record, shifting away from their heavier metal roots. Despite receiving mixed critical feedback, Paper Money initially sold twice as many copies as their debut and climbed to No. 65 on the Billboard 200 chart.

During the European tour of 1974–75, internal conflicts escalated, culminating in Hagar’s exit in February 1975. His replacement was Los Angeles vocalist Bob James, with keyboardist Jim Alcivar joining to enrich their musical palette. Drummer Denny Carmassi and bassist Alan Fitzgerald remained part of the group. This revised lineup made its live debut at San Francisco’s Winterland Ballroom on April 5, 1975. Subsequently, the band parted ways with producer Templeman.

Montrose went on to release two additional albums: Warner Brothers Presents... Montrose! (1975), produced by Ronnie Montrose himself, and Jump On It (1976), produced by Jack Douglas, known for his work with Aerosmith. Both albums featured James on vocals and Alcivar on keyboards. For Jump On It, Alan Fitzgerald was replaced by Randy Jo Hobbs, although live performances often relied on Alcivar to cover bass parts.

Under the management of concert promoter Bill Graham, Montrose reached their commercial peak between 1975 and 1977 during extensive tours across North America. The album Warner Bros Presents peaked at No. 79 on the Billboard 200 chart.

Following an earlier near-fatal amphetamine overdose, Ronnie Montrose implemented a strict no-drugs and no-alcohol policy for all band members during this phase.

After Bob James departed following a December 31, 1976 show at Winterland, Montrose disbanded. Ronnie Montrose then released his solo instrumental album Open Fire in January 1978 and collaborated with jazz-fusion drummer Tony Williams. In 1979, he established the progressive hard rock band Gamma, featuring Jim Alcivar, Alan Fitzgerald, drummer Skip Gillette, and vocalist Davey Pattison. Their debut record Gamma 1 appeared in 1979; it was followed by Gamma 2 in 1980, which included former Montrose drummer Denny Carmassi replacing Gillette and bassist Glenn Letsch taking over for Fitzgerald—who later co-founded Night Ranger.

Post-Montrose Careers

Following his departure from Montrose, Sammy Hagar established a thriving solo career, initially collaborating with former Montrose bassist Bill Church and drummer Billy Carmassi. He produced several successful albums featuring popular tracks such as "Your Love Is Driving Me Crazy," "I Can't Drive 55," and "There's Only One Way To Rock." In July 1985, Hagar became a member of Van Halen.

In 1987, Ronnie Montrose assembled a revamped Montrose lineup that included vocalist Johnny Edwards, drummer James Kottak—both previously part of Buster Brown—and bassist Glenn Letsch from Gamma. This group released the album Mean in 1987. Subsequently, Kottak went on to join the German hard rock bands Kingdom Come and Scorpions.

The original Montrose members reunited for the song "Leaving the Warmth of the Womb" on Sammy Hagar's 1997 album Marching to Mars and also appeared together during encore performances at Hagar’s concerts in both 2003 and 2005.

From 2001 until his passing, Ronnie Montrose led a continuously evolving Montrose lineup featuring vocalist Keith St John—endorsed by Hagar—and seasoned hard rock musicians such as Chuck Wright, Ricky Phillips, Dave Ellefson, Mick Mahan, and Sean McNabb on bass, alongside drummers including Pat Torpey, Mick Brown, Eric Singer, Jimmy DeGrasso, and Bobby Blotzer. After overcoming prostate cancer between 2007 and 2009, Montrose returned to frequent live shows, notably performing at West Fest in 2009 before an audience of 70,000. Plans were made for an original lineup reunion at Sammy Hagar’s Cabo Wabo nightclub in October 2012. Later that year, Ronnie created the "Ronnie Montrose Band" to broaden his live repertoire by incorporating Gamma songs and other material from his catalog, with Dan McNay on bass, Steve Brown on drums, and Randy Scoles handling vocals.

After enduring a prolonged struggle with clinical depression, Ronnie Montrose died by suicide on March 3, 2012. On April 27, 2012, an all-star tribute concert was held in his honor featuring Sammy Hagar, Denny Carmassi, Bill Church, and lead guitarist Joe Satriani.

Band Members

Timeline

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 bar:Sammy  text:Sammy Hagar
 bar:Bob    text:Bob James
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 bar:Jim    text:Jim Alcivar
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 bar:Alan   text:Alan Fitzgerald
 bar:Randy  text:Randy Jo Hobbs
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 bar:Bob    from:05/02/1975 till:01/01/1977 color:Lvocals
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Studio albums

Year Album Title US Chart Position Certification
1973 Montrose 133 US Platinum
1974 Paper Money 65
1975 Warner Bros. Presents Montrose! 79
1976 Jump on It 118
1987 Mean 165

Compilation albums

Singles

  • "Rock the Nation" (1973)
  • "Bad Motor Scooter" (UK, 1974)
  • "Space Station Number 5" (1974)
  • "Paper Money" (1974)
  • "Connection" (1975)
  • "I Got the Fire" (Japan, 1975)
  • "Matriarch" (1975)
  • "Music Man" (1976)
  • "Jump on It" (Japan, 1976)
  • "Let's Go" (1977)
  • "Space Station Number 5" (1980 UK re-release) UK Singles Chart position: 71

See also

External links

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