Without Ronnie Montrose, there would be no Sammy Hagar. Ronnie was the one who helped launched Sammy’s career and fame. Montrose was the first major band Sammy had before his solo career and Van Halen.

In Ronnie’s earlier life, he grew up in San Francisco, but ran away from home to Colorado when he was 16. There, he formed the band, Sawbuck with bassist, Bill Church, in 1969. Later, he briefly played guitar for Boz Scaggs, and the Edgar Winter Group. Yes, he did play guitar on the Edgar Winter hit instrumental, “Frankenstein” and, “Free Ride”.

Later in 1972, he formed his own band, Montrose, in which he recruited, Sammy Hagar as his lead singer. They did two albums together. A self titled album and a second album, called, “Paper Money”. They are most famous for their hit, “Rock Candy”.

Over the years, Ronnie continued to play live. In 2009, he announced he had prostate cancer. Ronnie lost his battle with cancer and passed away. He was 64.

Kev