GUEST POST: Heavy Metal Sunday lowers the flags

kshandra here, bearing sad tidings: Ronnie Montrose has passed away at the age of 64. He had been battling prostate cancer for several years.

After getting his break playing on Van Morrison's Tupelo Honey in 1971, Montrose went on to session work with Herbie Hancock, Boz Scaggs, and the Edgar Winter Group (including performing on that band's seminal rock instrumental "Frankenstein") before forming his own band in 1973 with a then-unknown Sammy Hagar. Montrose the band released two albums before Hagar's departure; they would work together again, with Ronnie and original band members Bill Church and Denny Carmassi playing on Hagar's 1997 solo album Marching to Mars, and appearing as special guests on his 2004 and 2005 solo tours.

Montrose remained busy throughout his career, releasing albums interchangeably as a solo artist and with both Montrose and his second band, Gamma (formed in 1979), along with continued session work for artists as diverse as Gary Wright, Nicolette Larson, and the Neville Brothers. He still performed live on a regular basis, as well; he was scheduled for a show here in Santa Clara at the Avalon at the end of March. (As heavily involved as he was with SF Bay Area charities, I find myself hoping that they'll turn the event into a memorial fundraiser.)

But none of y'all are here to listen to me ramble - you're here for the music, and I don't blame you. From his 1978 solo album Open Fire, here is Ronnie Montrose, recorded live in New York City, with his version of the Academy Award-nominated song "Town Without Pity."