Legendary rock guitarist Ronnie Montrose, died after fighting prostate cancer for a long period of time. Ronnie, who was born in San Francisco, CA on November 29, 1947, played with a wide range of rock artists during his career which started in his teenage years and spanned 40 years.
The Ronnie Montrose official website published a tribute which read:
“A few months ago, we held a surprise party for Ronnie Montrose’s 64th birthday. He gave an impromptu speech, and told us that after a long life, filled with joy and hardship, he didn’t take any of our love for granted. He passed today. He’d battled cancer, and staved off old age for long enough. And true to form, he chose his own exit the way he chose his own life. We miss him already, but we’re glad to have shared with him while we could.”
Ronnie Montrose scored his first major gig at the ripe young age of 23 when Van Morrison had him play on their legendary album, Tupelo Honey . Later in life, Montrose went on to appear on two more Van Morrison albums in addition to recording tracks with Gary Write, Beau Brummels, Herbie Hancock, and many more musicians.
In 1973, Montrose banded together with Sammy Hagar, who was at the time an unknown singer, and formed a three man rock group which Hagar eventually left to pursue a solo career which led to worldwide success and fame with the legendary Van Halen. Perhaps a tribute to his old friend, Sammy Hagar continues to play some of Ronnie Montrose’s songs including Rock Candy , Make It Last , and Bad Motor Scooter .
How Did Ronnie Montrose Die?
Ronnie was originally diagnosed back in 2007 with prostate cancer which was surgically operated on. After two years of recovering from surgery, Montrose hit the road to play close to 50 shows while still battling a second round of cancer. According to his booking agent, Jim Douglas, Ronnie Montrose was declared dead Saturday at his Millbrae, California home at the age of 64.
If you could say one last thing to Ronnie Montrose, what would it be?
Source: http://www.mtv.com/news/articles/1680379/ronnie-montrose-dead.jhtml
