Ronnie Montrose
November 29, 1947 - March 3, 2012

Ronnie Montrose was an American guitarist who, since the early 1970's, has built a reputation as one of hard rock's leading players.  Montrose was playing in a band called Sawbuck in when he was offered the chance to play with Van Morrison.  He can be heard on Morrison's Tupelo Honey and Saint Dominic's Preview.  Within a year or two, he was in the Edgar Winter Group before starting his own band, Montrose, in 1973.  The group, which included then-unknown Sammy Hagar on lead vocals, went on to release such hard rock staples as "Bad Motor Scooter" and "Rock Candy."  Their self-titled debut sold over a million copies and has been called the first American heavy metal album.  Montrose later formed Gamma who is perhaps best known for "Fight To The Finish" and "Meanstreak."  As an in-demand session player, Montrose played on records by the likes of Gary Wright, Boz Scaggs, the Beau Brummels, Nicolette Larson, Herbie Hancock, and the Neville Brothers.  Montrose continued to record, tour , and produce well into the 2000s.  On March 3, 2012, Ronnie Montrose died of prostate cancer.  He was 64.

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Mark Reale was a guitarist who is best remembered as the founder of and creative force behind influential hard rock band, Riot.  Born in New York City, Reale began putting the group together in 1975.  Two years later, they released their acclaimed debut album, Rock City.  Before they knew it, they were touring with the likes of KISS, Molly Hatchet, AC/DC, Sammy Hagar, and Rush.  In 1981, they released Fire Down Below which is considered their masterpiece and one of the defining metal albums of the early ’80s.  Reale disbanded Riot in 1984 and started another band, Narita, but reformed it a couple of years later.  Riot continued to perform and record through the fall of 2011 when they released their latest album, Immortal Soul.  Mark Reale, was 56 when he died from complications of Crohn’s Diseased on January 25, 2012.  Former band mate Rhett Forrester was the victim of an unsolved carjacking/murder in 1994, while original lead singer, Guy Speranza died of pancreatic cancer in 2003.

Michael Davis
June 5, 1943 – February 17, 2012

Michael Davis was the bassist for Detroit garage rock legends, the MC5 who were heavy influences on the punk movement to soon follow.  More than just another loud blues-rock band, the MC5 were endeared by fans for their anti-establishment lyrics.  The band’s use of itself as a political voice inspired future generations to do the same.  Bands like the Clash and Rage Against the Machine have cited them as an influence for doing just that.  Following his departure from the group, Davis played in Destroy All Monsters, an underground band that found a strong cult status among punk fans.  In the mid 2000s, Davis and his wife founded The Music Is Revolution Foundation whose mission is to build public awareness that music education can help students improve their overall grades.  Davis was also a talented visual artist who found his work gracing clothing, skateboard decks and much more.  Michael Davis died of liver failure on February 17, 2012.  He was 68.  MC5 band mates, Rob Tyner and Fred “Sonic” Smith passed away in 1991 and 1994 respectively.

Willie “Big Eyes” Smith was an influential electric blues triple threat.  Not only was he revered for his singing and harmonica playing, but he was also an award-winning drummer.  Born in Helena, Arkansas, Smith moved to Chicago when he was 17 and initially took up the harmonica.  Inspired by the likes of harpists Sonny Boy Williamson II and Henry Strong, Smith formed his own trio within a year of landing in Chicago.  It was also around this time that he played on Bo Diddley’s recording of “Diddy Wah Diddy.”  Smith soon realized that harmonica players were basically a dime a dozen in Chicago, so he switched to drums and was shortly thereafter hired by Muddy Waters.  He went on to play with Waters on and off for the next two decades, only taking a break during the mid ’60s to earn more consistent money as a cab driver.  Between 1960 and 1980, Smith played on over 80 of Waters’ recordings, many of which ending up on Grammy-winning albums.  In 1980, Smith and other members of Waters’ band splintered off to form the Legendary Blues Band who some may recognize as the band behind John Lee Hooker in the 1980 motion picture, The Blues Brothers, starring Dan Aykroyd and John Belushi.  The Legendary Blues Band recorded seven albums and toured with the Rolling Stones, Eric Clapton, and Bob Dylan during their run.  It wasn’t until 1995 that Smith began making his own albums.  He continued to record and perform as recently as 2010 when he and former Legendary Blues Band mate and Muddy Waters refugee, Pinetop Perkins released Joined At The Hip for Telarc Records.  The album earned the pair a Grammy for Best Traditional Blues Album on February 13, 2011.  Perkins passed away a little over a month later.  According to The Celebrity Cafe, Willie “Big Eyes” Smith passed away on September 16, 2011 following a stroke.  He was 75.

Early in his career Greg Ridley played under the name of Dino as guitarist for "Dino & the Danubes" before joining bands such as the "Ramrods". Ridley and Mike Harrison formed The VIPs in 1964, playing blues based music. The band added guitarist Luther Grosvenor and American keyboard player Gary Wright, before changing their name to Spooky Tooth in 1968. Spooky Tooth signed to Island and recorded two albums It's All About Spooky Tooth (1968) and Spooky Two (1969).

In January 1969 Ridley was approached by Steve Marriott from the Small Faces - who was forming a new band, called Humble Pie. The line up also included guitarist Peter Frampton from The Herd and drummer Jerry Shirley. Humble Pie's first album As Safe As Yesterday Is was released and a second album Town and Country was also released in the same year. A contract with A&M Records and a re-working of their sound into a harder brand of music, coupled with extensive touring of US followed. A double album Performance Rockin' the Fillmore, featuring a now historic recording of a raw performance of rare quality, catapulted Humble Pie into rock history. Ridley's powerful bass playing anchored the band's performance and was at the centre of their sound. In addition Ridley and drummer Jerry Shirley comprised one of the most respected rhythm sections in Rock music during this period.

This incarnation of Humble Pie continued until 1975 and Ridley left the music business, after finishing an unreleased album with Marriott and abortive attempts with bands such as Mike Patto and Ollie Halsall's band Boxer.

On 14 April 2001 he appeared with Jerry Shirley, Peter Frampton and Clem Clempson, billed as a one off Humble Pie re-union, at a Steve Marriott Tribute Concert. Earlier that year, he had also become involved with a Humble Pie project initiated by Jerry Shirley's reactivation of the group and the enlisting of another former Humble Pie guitarist and vocalist Bobby Tench. This resulted in the album Back on Track, released by Sanctuary in 2002 and a short tour of Germany with Company of Snakes during the early part of 2003. The project was cut short when Ridley became ill.

On 19 November 2003, Ridley died in Alicante, Spain of pneumonia and resulting complications. He was 61.

was an American blues guitarist, chiefly associated with Chicago blues.

Phillips was born on a plantation and learned the blues from Memphis Minnie at an early age. He relocated to Memphis and played with Bill Harvey, Roosevelt Sykes, and Hound Dog Taylor. Following Taylor's death in 1976, Phillips recorded under his own name, as well as playing with J. B. Hutto, Lil' Ed Williams, and Cub Koda amongst others.

Phillips died of natural causes in August 1999, at the age of 74.^[1]

(from wikipedia.org)

Ronnie Hammond was the lead singer for successful southern rock band, the Atlanta Rhythm Section.  The group itself was born out of a group of in-demand studio musicians from the Atlanta, Georgia area.  When the band was recording their first album in 1972, Hammond happened to show up at the studio as an assistant  engineer, and once the guys heard him sing, they asked him to join the band.  Hammond sang for ARS on their first six albums, during their peak years.  In 1978, they released Champagne Jam which included the popular single of the same name.   It would become their biggest hit and take them from playing clubs and into arenas and stadiums.  In August of that same year, the band was invited by President Jimmy Carter to play at the White House.  Hammond left the group in 1982 to pursue a solo career.  He reunited with them in 1988 and continued on for the next decade or so.   On March 14, 2011, Ronnie Hammond died of heart failure.  He was 60.

(from themusicsover.worldpress.com)

Scott Columbus is best remembered as a two-time drummer for popular American metal band, Manowar.  Formed in 1980, the band eventually built a worldwide following for their raw and heavy sound that has been likened to that of Black Sabbath, Deep Purple and Hawkwind.  Their songs have tended to be aggressive and thematically violent, with the band dawning animal skins in concert to add to their primal image.  The band was once recognized by the Guinness Book of World Records for putting on the loudest concert, and for performing the longest metal concert which clocked in at just over five hours.  Columbus joined the band in 1983 but was forced to leave in 1990 to care for his ill son.  He rejoined the group in 1996 and stayed on board until 2008.  He made occasional concert appearances with them in recent years.  Scott Columbus was 56 when he passed away on April 4, 2011.  Cause of death was not immediately released.

(from themusicsover.worldpress.com)