|
Guitarist, arranger, songwriter, producer
and perennial sideman, Mick Ronson made his mark during glam-rock's
early '70s heyday but worked consistently with frequent collaborators
David Bowie and Ian Hunter till his death in 1993. From 1967-68
he played with a hometown garage rock group, The Rats, in Hull.
In 1969, he was discovered by fledgling folksinger and producer,
Mike Chapman, who asked him to join his recording band. From there
he was on to a collaboration with Bowie beginning with "Space
Oddity" in 1969 and lasting through 1973's Pin-Ups. He arranged
"Changes" among others on Hunky Dory (1972) and was Bowie's flamboyant
guitarist in the Spiders from Mars during the Rise and Fall of
Ziggy Stardust (1972) album and tours.
It has remained a mystery as to how much of Bowie's material Ronson
wrote in exchange for "arrangement" credits, but his stamp is
on some important records of the era: He co-produced Lou Reed's
Transformer (RCA, 1972) with Bowie and briefly joined Mott the
Hoople after working as an arranger on All the Young Dudes (1972).
As glam rock faded, Ronson continued to work with Hunter in the
Hunter/Ronson band and as a songwriter, guitarist and producer
on Hunter's solo work.
He recorded two solo albums for MainMan, Slaughter on 10th Avenue
(1974) and Play Don't Worry (1975). His identifiable wah-wah sound
straddled genres outside his beloved glam and hard rock: From
Bob Dylan's Rolling Thunder Revue to Morrissey's Your Arsenal(1992).
Ronson consistently worked with divergent artists from Roger McGuinn
and David Johansen to John Mellencamp ("Jack and Diane").
He and Hunter recorded YUI Orta in 1989 for Mercury and in 1990,
Ronson was diagnosed with cancer. He was reunited with Bowie for
Black Tie White Noise(1993) and that same year appeared at the
Freddie Mercury Tribute Concert with Hunter and Bowie. He made
one final record with some help from his friends Hunter, Bowie,
Chrissie Hynde and Mellencamp, Heaven 'n Hull, (Epic) which was
released posthumously in 1994. Just Like This, a two-disc collection
of unreleased material, followed in 1999, and Showtime, a collection
of live material, arrived the next year.
This bio courtesy www.allmusic.com
|
Learn To play guitar like a rock star!
Recommended guitar courses from GuitarMadeSimple.com |
Level 1 & 2: "Guitar
Made Simple" By Chris Standring
From
absolute beginner to solid intermediate, this course walks
you through absolutely everything necessary to give you a
strong grounding in a wide variety of guitar styles. You will
learn open chords, strumming patterns, single line melodies,
25 well known songs, notes on the fretboard, sight-reading,
Blues, rock, classical, single string improv and venture into
a little jazz, and much much more. All with audio, video,
TAB and traditional music notation. More info and order Guitar
Made Simple here
"Move over Mel Bay! 'Guitar Made Simple'
is an extremely well thought out beginners program, with a
very thorough and personal approach to help you easily learn
how to play the guitar... correctly! So much more than trying
to learn alone with just a book, this brilliant system connects
with you as if an instructor is right with you in your own
home. Well done Chris!" - Corky James LA studio
guitarist with Avril Lavigne, Hilary Duff, Kelly Clarkson,
Leann Rimes, Backstreet Boys, Liz Phair, Nick Lachey and Mandy
Moore
|
|
Level 2 & 3: "Play
What You Hear" By Chris Standring
From
intermediate to advanced level, this highly acclaimed course
teaches you how to "play what you hear". You will
learn the jazz vocabulary and understand how to improvise
using this vocab over many different harmonies. You will learn
to hear major, melodic minor and blues scales and learn harmony
and how to see it all very simply on the fretboard. Over 300
audio examples and tons of play along tracks. More info and
order Play What You Hear here
"By far the most innovative and effective
ear training program for guitarists I have seen! Simply the
best learning method to come along since Jamie Abersold. Chris
has hit on something really good and much needed today Players
of my generation learned to play on the bandstand as we were
forced to "play what we heard" and if we didn't,
we had to get it together pretty darn quick. This course will
help speed up that learning process rapidly. I will recommend
this course to my students highly!" - Ron Eschete
Concord Recording artist and educator
|
|
|
|
|
How good is your guitar playing?
Take this simple test and find
out now!
|
|
 |
Take The Test! |
How good are you in your opinion?
|
|
| |
Read all about the great rock Guitarists here:
|
|
|
|
