The death of guitarist Ronnie Montrose has officially been ruled suicide by the San Mateo County coroner.
Ronnie Montrose in 1974
The San Francisco Chronicle reports that Montrose had a blood-alcohol reading of 0.31. The legal limit in California is .08.
The 64-year old guitarist was found with an unregistered revolver in the living room of his home.
Montrose was diagnosed with prostate cancer in 2007 and had been suffering from clinical depression.
The following statement from his family has been posted at the Montrose website:
“By now, the devastating truth of Ronnie’s death is public knowledge. We hope you can understand why we wanted to keep this news a private family matter for as long as possible. We can only hope that you will choose to celebrate Ronnie’s life, and what his music meant to you, rather than mourn his passing. Ronnie would have wanted it that way. He loved being a guitarist, a composer, a producer, and a creator of magic. He fully understood his gifts, and yet he constantly pushed himself to evolve, improve, and make better music. He did this for himself, and he did this for you, because he adored and appreciated his fans. Please keep his energy, his joy, and his love in your hearts”.
“Please note that there will be no more statements from the Montrose family at this time. We ask that you respect the family’s privacy”.
Ronnie died on March 3, 2012.
The 1973 Montrose album featured the debut of lead singer Sammy Hagar, who later went on to solo success and to front Van Halen.
Ronnie has played on records by Van Morrison, Boz Scaggs, Gary Wright, Edgar and Johnny Winter and Herbie Hancock.
