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Ronald Douglas Montrose was born in San Francisco on November 29, 1947, but spent his childhood in Denver. He came to music later than most, at 18 (after holding a friend’s guitar), and quickly began learning songs by ear. His education was through riffs and licks learned from records by Elvis, the Beatles, Stones, Beach Boys, Roy Orbison, Chuck Berry, and others. He was recruited into a local band called Grim Reapers, where he played an unfriendly Danelectro 12-string, then worked with Daddy Longlegs before returning to San Francisco. His professional career began in ’69, with Sawbuck, which recorded a self-titled album for Fillmore Records in ’71. He then connected with David Rubinson, partner of promoter Bill Graham, who secured session work for Ronnie with luminaries like Van Morrison (on Tupelo Honey) and Herbie Hancock (Mwandishi). He performed briefly with Boz Scaggs, then joined the Edgar Winter Group in ’71 as lead guitarist, playing electric, 12-string acoustic, and mandolin on They Only Come Out at Night, with an all-star lineup that included Rick Derringer, Randy Jo Hobbs, and Dan Hartman. Produced by Bill Szymczyk (of Eagles fame), the disc boasted landmark tracks “Frankenstein” and “Free Ride.” Encouragement from Winter to “play heavier” led Montrose, then a journeyman session guitarist, to pursue a harder rock direction, harnessing the power of high-decibel amplification. It paved the path to Montrose, the band, which formed in ’73.