RIP Ronnie Montrose

[Rifleman]

Source

Rock wild man Sammy Hagar talks about his first exposure to guitarist Ronnie Montrose, who died Saturday at age 64 of prostate cancer, as if it took place last week rather than nearly 40 years ago.

At the time, Hagar was in a soul and R&B band in the Bay Area when he saw Montrose playing with the Edgar Winter Group.

“I was over the soul and R&B thing and wanted to be a high-energy rock 'n’ roll guy -- what I’ve been doing ever since,” Hagar said Monday. “Edgar Winter came through San Francisco and Tower of Power was opening, so we went to see them. I saw Ronnie Montrose that night and he blew my mind. I thought, ‘I want a guy like that in my band, and if my guitar player isn’t going to do that, then I’ll be like that.’

yes, Sammy Hagar got his start with "Montrose" a band that made 3 records with RCA. The LAT blog has a video link to "Bad Motor Scooter", one of my favorites from the first album, although "Rock Candy" is better known. A little early for Heavy Metal, although the sound is there.

[seattlegal]