Montrose was an American hard rock band formed in 1973 and named after guitarist and founder Ronnie Montrose. The band's original lineup featured lead vocalist and frontman Sammy Hagar, who later found greater success as a solo artist and as a member of Van Halen. Rounding out the original foursome were bassist Bill Church and drummer Denny Carmassi. The band experienced moderate success before disbanding in early 1977. The 1973 debut album Montrose eventually proved to be an international sleeper hit, selling in excess of one million copies and attaining platinum status in 1986.
Ronald Douglas Montrose was an American guitarist who founded and led the rock bands Montrose and Gamma. He also performed and did session work with a variety of musicians, including Van Morrison, Herbie Hancock, Beaver & Krause, Boz Scaggs, Edgar Winter, Gary Wright, The Beau Brummels, Dan Hartman, Tony Williams, The Neville Brothers, Marc Bonilla and Sammy Hagar.
Denny Carmassi is an American drummer most notable for playing with many rock bands.
Live at the Deaf Club is a live album released by the Dead Kennedys in 2004 and had a limited edition re-release 2013 in the UK on Let Them Eat Vinyl. The actual performance took place at the San Francisco Deaf Club on March 3, 1979.
Davey Pattison is a Scottish-American singer based in the San Francisco Bay Area. Pattison started his career in 1969, and it took off after arrival in the United States in 1979, on invitation from Bill Graham, to front the rock band Gamma, formed by Ronnie Montrose.
Gamma was an American hard rock band formed by guitarist Ronnie Montrose and singer Davey Pattison in San Francisco in 1979. They released four albums: Gamma 1 (1979), Gamma 2 (1980), Gamma 3 (1982) and Gamma 4 (2000). Their biggest hit was 1982's "Right the First Time", which was a minor chart entry in the US, but a top 40 hit in Canada. Some of their other best known songs include "Fight to the Finish" from their first album, and "Meanstreak" and "Voyager" from the second album.
The Speed of Sound is a 1988 all-instrumental album by American rock guitarist Ronnie Montrose, who led the bands Montrose and Gamma and also performed and did session work with a variety of musicians, including Van Morrison (1971–72), Herbie Hancock (1971), Beaver & Krause (1971), Boz Scaggs (1971), Edgar Winter, Gary Wright (1975), The Beau Brummels (1975), Dan Hartman (1976), Tony Williams (1978), The Neville Brothers (1987), Marc Bonilla, Sammy Hagar (1997), and Johnny Winter. In 1997, Ronnie stated that this album was his favorite instrumental record he had done so far. The track titles are words and phrases referencing aviation themes.
Gamma 1, released in 1979, is Gamma's debut album. It reached No. 131 on the Billboard Album charts, totalling seventeen weeks on the survey. "I'm Alive" reached No. 60 on the Billboard singles charts. "I'm Alive" is a cover of The Hollies song from 1965.
Francis Alan Fitzgerald is an American musician. A multi-instrumentalist, he is best known as the second bassist of Montrose and as keyboardist for Night Ranger. He has also performed with Gamma, and former Montrose bandmate Sammy Hagar. Fitzgerald also worked as an offstage keyboard player with Van Halen, during their concerts from 1991 until 2004, 2007, 2012.
Gamma 2 is Gamma's second album, released in 1980. On this album Ronnie Montrose keeps his streak of not having the same personnel on two albums in a row, changing the line-up once again. Davey Pattison (vocals), Montrose (guitar), and Jim Alcivar (synthesizer) remain from Gamma 1. Glenn Letsch replaces Alan Fitzgerald on bass and old Montrose bandmate Denny Carmassi replaces Skip Gillette on drums.
Gamma 3 is the third studio album released by the rock band Gamma. It was released in 1982.
Gamma 4 is Gamma's fourth and final album and was originally released on Ronnie Montrose's own label, RoMoCo, in 2000. In 2005, it was re-released by Wounded Bird Records. It was the last full album in Montrose's lifetime to feature contributions from him.
Mean is the fifth and final album by American hard rock band Montrose, released in 1987. It has much more of a glam metal sound than previous Montrose albums. It was the lowest-charting release on Montrose's career, reaching No. 165 on the Billboard 200 in June 1987.
Warner Bros. Presents Montrose! is the third studio album by American hard rock band Montrose, released on Warner Bros. Records on 26 September 1975.
Jump on It is the fourth studio album by American hard rock band Montrose.
Blood Sports is a 1984 album released by the British heavy metal band Avenger. It was reissued in 2002 by Frontline Records.
Open Fire is the debut studio album by American guitarist Ronnie Montrose.
Bob Alcivar is an American music producer, composer, conductor and keyboard player. He is the father of rock keyboard player Jim Alcivar.
The Best of Gamma is a compilation of music from the first three Gamma albums.
The Very Best of Montrose is the only compilation album by American hard rock band Montrose. It was released in 2000 by Rhino Records. The album contains songs from the group's five albums, the first four in consecutive years in the mid-seventies and another from 1987.
