Gamma (band)
Encyclopedia
Gamma was a band formed by guitarist Ronnie Montrose
and singer Davey Pattison
in San Francisco in 1979. They released four albums: Gamma 1
in 1979, Gamma 2
in 1980, Gamma 3
in 1982 (all on Elektra Records
) and Gamma 4
in 2000. Their best known song is probably "Fight to the Finish" from their first album, but another popular song was "Meanstreak".
in 1978, after having disbanded the hard rock band Montrose
in 1977. Gamma were a far more AOR
-oriented band than Montrose, and used a lot of the latest keyboard technology in their sound.
Their debut album Gamma 1
was released in 1979 and reached #131 on the Billboard Album charts, totalling 17 weeks on the survey. Gamma scored a hit single with "I'm Alive" which got to #60 on Billboard's Singles charts. The original lineup of Ronnie Montrose
(guitars), Davey Pattison
(vocals), Alan Fitzgerald
(bass), Jim Alcivar
(keyboards) and Skip Gillette (drums) recorded this album.
Gamma 2
was issued in 1980. Alan Fitzgerald (who later joined Night Ranger
as their keyboardist) was replaced by bassist Glenn Letsch
, and Denny Carmassi
came in on drums. The album had a memorable cover design by Mick Haggerty, featuring 2 sharks with only their fins visible burrowing through a lawn that was being sprinkled. The album peaked at #65, and featured a heavier sound. (e.g. "Mean Streak" and "Cat On A Leash"). There was also a cover version of Thunderclap Newman
's classic "Something in the Air
". It was produced by Gary Lyons and Ronnie Montrose.
Jim Alcivar was replaced by Mitchell Froom
and Gamma 3
was released in 1982. The album reached #72 and produced the single "Right The First Time" which reached #77 on the charts and #10 on Billboard's Album Rock Tracks chart. In Canada, "Right The First Time" peaked at #27, making the song the band's only top 40 hit on a national pop chart. The album's opening track, "What's Gone Is Gone", and tracks like "No Way Out", were arena rockers, while others like "Condition Yellow" and "Moving Violation", continued the odd writing style and sounds that the band started with on their debut album.
However, Gamma's label Elektra Records
never really promoted the band, and with only moderate sales, they disbanded.
Ronnie Montrose
Ronnie Montrose, is an Amercian rock guitarist who has headed his own bands as well as performing with a variety of musicians, including Sammy Hagar, Herbie Hancock, Van Morrison, The Beau Brummels, Boz Scaggs, Beaver & Krause, Gary Wright, Tony Williams, The Neville Brothers, Dan Hartman, Edgar...
and singer Davey Pattison
Davey Pattison
Davey Pattison is a San Francisco Bay Area based rock vocalist. Pattison recorded his first music in 1969, and his career took off after arrival in the United States in 1979, on invitation from Bill Graham, to front the band Gamma, formed by Bay Area guitarist Ronnie Montrose."I'd given up all...
in San Francisco in 1979. They released four albums: Gamma 1
Gamma 1
Gamma 1, released 1979, was Gamma's debut album.It reached #131 on the Billboard Album charts, totalling 17 weeks on the survey. "I'm Alive" reached #60 on Billboard's Singles charts.- Track listing :# "Thunder & Lightning" - 4:37...
in 1979, Gamma 2
Gamma 2
On Gamma's second disc, Ronnie Montrose keeps his streak of not having the same personnel on two albums in a row, changing the line-up once again. Davey Pattison , Ronnie Montrose , and Jim Alcivar remain from Gamma 1...
in 1980, Gamma 3
Gamma 3
- Track listing :# "What's Gone Is Gone" - 5:30# "Right the First Time" - 3:47# "Moving Violation" - 3:36# "Mobile Devotion" - 6:34...
in 1982 (all on Elektra Records
Elektra Records
Elektra Records is an American record label owned by Warner Music Group. In 2004, it was consolidated into WMG's Atlantic Records Group. After five years of dormancy, the label was revived by Atlantic in 2009....
) and Gamma 4
Gamma 4(album)
Gamma's fourth disc was originally released on Ronnie Montrose's own label, RoMoCo, in 2000. In 2005, it was rereleased by Wounded Bird Records.-Track listing:# "Darkness to Light" - 5:35# "Love Will Find You" - 4:18...
in 2000. Their best known song is probably "Fight to the Finish" from their first album, but another popular song was "Meanstreak".
History
Ronnie Montrose put the band together after having released a solo album Open FireOpen Fire (Ronnie Montrose album)
Open Fire was the first instrumental album from Ronnie Montrose which explored jazz, rock and acoustic concepts in the vein of Blow by Blow by Jeff Beck. Ronnie dropped hints in previous Montrose albums that he was heading in this direction. Songs like "Whaler" and "One And a Half" from Warner...
in 1978, after having disbanded the hard rock band Montrose
Montrose (band)
Montrose was a California-based hard rock band. The band originally featured Ronnie Montrose on guitar and future solo artist and former Van Halen frontman Sammy Hagar...
in 1977. Gamma were a far more AOR
Album-oriented rock
Album-oriented rock is an American FM radio format focusing on album tracks by rock artists.-Music played:Most radio formats are based on a select, tight rotation of hit singles...
-oriented band than Montrose, and used a lot of the latest keyboard technology in their sound.
Their debut album Gamma 1
Gamma 1
Gamma 1, released 1979, was Gamma's debut album.It reached #131 on the Billboard Album charts, totalling 17 weeks on the survey. "I'm Alive" reached #60 on Billboard's Singles charts.- Track listing :# "Thunder & Lightning" - 4:37...
was released in 1979 and reached #131 on the Billboard Album charts, totalling 17 weeks on the survey. Gamma scored a hit single with "I'm Alive" which got to #60 on Billboard's Singles charts. The original lineup of Ronnie Montrose
Ronnie Montrose
Ronnie Montrose, is an Amercian rock guitarist who has headed his own bands as well as performing with a variety of musicians, including Sammy Hagar, Herbie Hancock, Van Morrison, The Beau Brummels, Boz Scaggs, Beaver & Krause, Gary Wright, Tony Williams, The Neville Brothers, Dan Hartman, Edgar...
(guitars), Davey Pattison
Davey Pattison
Davey Pattison is a San Francisco Bay Area based rock vocalist. Pattison recorded his first music in 1969, and his career took off after arrival in the United States in 1979, on invitation from Bill Graham, to front the band Gamma, formed by Bay Area guitarist Ronnie Montrose."I'd given up all...
(vocals), Alan Fitzgerald
Alan Fitzgerald
Alan Fitzgerald, U.S. musician , was a member of several U.S. bands.He played as a bassist in the bands Montrose and Gamma, both of which also featured guitarist Ronnie Montrose....
(bass), Jim Alcivar
Jim Alcivar
Jim Alcivar is an American keyboard and synthesizer player and sound engineer. He is most noted for his connection to guitarist Ronnie Montrose and appearing in his bands Montrose and Gamma and on his first solo album Open Fire. His father is composer, arranger and producer Bob Alcivar.-Discography...
(keyboards) and Skip Gillette (drums) recorded this album.
Gamma 2
Gamma 2
On Gamma's second disc, Ronnie Montrose keeps his streak of not having the same personnel on two albums in a row, changing the line-up once again. Davey Pattison , Ronnie Montrose , and Jim Alcivar remain from Gamma 1...
was issued in 1980. Alan Fitzgerald (who later joined Night Ranger
Night Ranger
Night Ranger is an American rock band from San Francisco that gained popularity during the 1980s with a series of albums and singles. The band's first five albums sold more than 10 million copies worldwide...
as their keyboardist) was replaced by bassist Glenn Letsch
Glenn Letsch
Glenn Letsch, is an American bass guitarist. He was in a Los Angeles band with Mitchell Froom called "Bullet Park" . After Ronnie Montrose produced their demo, he asked Letsch to join his band Gamma, where Letsch became friends with singer Davey Pattison...
, and Denny Carmassi
Denny Carmassi
Denny Carmassi is an American drummer.Carmassi was a member of the first four line-ups of the band Montrose. After Montrose, he played with his former Montrose bandmate Sammy Hagar as a solo artist, and with his former Montrose bandmates Ronnie Montrose and Jim Alcivar in the band Gamma.He also...
came in on drums. The album had a memorable cover design by Mick Haggerty, featuring 2 sharks with only their fins visible burrowing through a lawn that was being sprinkled. The album peaked at #65, and featured a heavier sound. (e.g. "Mean Streak" and "Cat On A Leash"). There was also a cover version of Thunderclap Newman
Thunderclap Newman
Thunderclap Newman were a British one-hit wonder band that Pete Townshend of The Who and Kit Lambert had formed circa December 1968 - January 1969 in a bid to showcase the talents of John "Speedy" Keen, Andy "Thunderclap" Newman and Jimmy McCulloch....
's classic "Something in the Air
Something In The Air (song)
"Something in the Air" is a song recorded by Thunderclap Newman, a band created by Pete Townshend for The Who's former roadie John 'Speedy' Keen who wrote and sang the song, from their only album Hollywood Dream. It was a UK #1 single for three weeks in July 1969...
". It was produced by Gary Lyons and Ronnie Montrose.
Jim Alcivar was replaced by Mitchell Froom
Mitchell Froom
-Career:Froom began his career as a keyboard player in Sonoma County, California. The band Crossfire featured two keyboards players; Mitchell on one side of the stage and brother David on the other with Gary Pihl on guitar...
and Gamma 3
Gamma 3
- Track listing :# "What's Gone Is Gone" - 5:30# "Right the First Time" - 3:47# "Moving Violation" - 3:36# "Mobile Devotion" - 6:34...
was released in 1982. The album reached #72 and produced the single "Right The First Time" which reached #77 on the charts and #10 on Billboard's Album Rock Tracks chart. In Canada, "Right The First Time" peaked at #27, making the song the band's only top 40 hit on a national pop chart. The album's opening track, "What's Gone Is Gone", and tracks like "No Way Out", were arena rockers, while others like "Condition Yellow" and "Moving Violation", continued the odd writing style and sounds that the band started with on their debut album.
However, Gamma's label Elektra Records
Elektra Records
Elektra Records is an American record label owned by Warner Music Group. In 2004, it was consolidated into WMG's Atlantic Records Group. After five years of dormancy, the label was revived by Atlantic in 2009....
never really promoted the band, and with only moderate sales, they disbanded.
- Ronnie MontroseRonnie MontroseRonnie Montrose, is an Amercian rock guitarist who has headed his own bands as well as performing with a variety of musicians, including Sammy Hagar, Herbie Hancock, Van Morrison, The Beau Brummels, Boz Scaggs, Beaver & Krause, Gary Wright, Tony Williams, The Neville Brothers, Dan Hartman, Edgar...
resumed solo activities, releasing a series of instrumental albums with little success, before reforming Montrose in 1987 with a new lineup.
- Davey PattisonDavey PattisonDavey Pattison is a San Francisco Bay Area based rock vocalist. Pattison recorded his first music in 1969, and his career took off after arrival in the United States in 1979, on invitation from Bill Graham, to front the band Gamma, formed by Bay Area guitarist Ronnie Montrose."I'd given up all...
went on to sing for Robin TrowerRobin TrowerRobin Leonard Trower , known professionally as Robin Trower, is an English rock guitarist who achieved success with Procol Harum during the 1960s, and then again as the bandleader of his own power trio.-Biography:...
, and also sang on two songs from Ronnie Montrose's 1990 solo album, "The Diva Station".
- Denny CarmassiDenny CarmassiDenny Carmassi is an American drummer.Carmassi was a member of the first four line-ups of the band Montrose. After Montrose, he played with his former Montrose bandmate Sammy Hagar as a solo artist, and with his former Montrose bandmates Ronnie Montrose and Jim Alcivar in the band Gamma.He also...
went on to drum for over a decade with HeartHeart (band)Heart is an American rock band who first found success in Canada. Throughout several lineup changes, the only two members remaining constant are sisters Ann and Nancy Wilson. The group rose to fame in the 1970s with their music being influenced by hard rock as well as folk music...
, then played with Coverdale/Page and WhitesnakeWhitesnakeWhitesnake are an English rock band, founded in 1978 by David Coverdale after his departure from his previous band, Deep Purple. The band's early material has been compared by critics to Deep Purple, but by the mid 1980s they had moved to a more commercial hard rock style...
. In 2002 he joined ForeignerForeigner (band)Foreigner is a British-American rock band, originally formed in 1976 by veteran English musicians Mick Jones and ex-King Crimson member Ian McDonald along with American vocalist Lou Gramm...
for touring duties.
- Mitchell FroomMitchell Froom-Career:Froom began his career as a keyboard player in Sonoma County, California. The band Crossfire featured two keyboards players; Mitchell on one side of the stage and brother David on the other with Gary Pihl on guitar...
went on to become a highly successful producer in the 1980s and 1990s, producing albums for Elvis CostelloElvis CostelloElvis Costello , born Declan Patrick MacManus, is an English singer-songwriter. He came to prominence as an early participant in London's pub rock scene in the mid-1970s and later became associated with the punk/New Wave genre. Steeped in word play, the vocabulary of Costello's lyrics is broader...
, Los LobosLos LobosLos Lobos are a multiple Grammy Award–winning American Chicano rock band from East Los Angeles, California. Their music is influenced by rock and roll, Tex-Mex, country, folk, R&B, blues, brown-eyed soul, and traditional Spanish and Mexican music such as cumbia, boleros and norteños.-History:The...
, Crowded HouseCrowded HouseCrowded House are a rock band, formed in Melbourne, Australia and led by New Zealand singer-songwriter Neil Finn. Finn is the primary songwriter and creative director of the band, having led it through several incarnations, drawing members from New Zealand , Australia and the United States...
, Suzanne VegaSuzanne VegaSuzanne Nadine Vega is an American songwriter and singer known for her eclectic folk-inspired music.Two of Vega's songs reached the top 10 of various international chart listings: "Luka" and "Tom's Diner"...
, Paul McCartneyPaul McCartneySir James Paul McCartney, MBE, Hon RAM, FRCM is an English musician, singer-songwriter and composer. Formerly of The Beatles and Wings , McCartney is listed in Guinness World Records as the "most successful musician and composer in popular music history", with 60 gold discs and sales of 100...
, the Del Fuegos, Bonnie RaittBonnie RaittBonnie Lynn Raitt is an American blues singer-songwriter and a renowned slide guitar player. During the 1970s, Raitt released a series of acclaimed roots-influenced albums which incorporated elements of blues, rock, folk and country, but she is perhaps best known for her more commercially...
, and many others.
- Glenn LetschGlenn LetschGlenn Letsch, is an American bass guitarist. He was in a Los Angeles band with Mitchell Froom called "Bullet Park" . After Ronnie Montrose produced their demo, he asked Letsch to join his band Gamma, where Letsch became friends with singer Davey Pattison...
went on to work with Monty ByromMonty ByromMonty Curtis Byrom is an American rock, blues and country guitarist, singer, songwriter and producer. He fronted bands Billy Satellite, New Frontier, and the Academy of Country Music nominated Big House. Earlier in his career Byrom co-produced and co-wrote hit songs for Eddie Money while a...
in the band New Frontier. He has also performed the bass on Montrose's Mean album and currently tours with Robin Trower.
Discography
- 1979 Gamma 1Gamma 1Gamma 1, released 1979, was Gamma's debut album.It reached #131 on the Billboard Album charts, totalling 17 weeks on the survey. "I'm Alive" reached #60 on Billboard's Singles charts.- Track listing :# "Thunder & Lightning" - 4:37...
- 1980 Gamma 2Gamma 2On Gamma's second disc, Ronnie Montrose keeps his streak of not having the same personnel on two albums in a row, changing the line-up once again. Davey Pattison , Ronnie Montrose , and Jim Alcivar remain from Gamma 1...
- 1982 Gamma 3Gamma 3- Track listing :# "What's Gone Is Gone" - 5:30# "Right the First Time" - 3:47# "Moving Violation" - 3:36# "Mobile Devotion" - 6:34...
- 1992 The Best of GammaThe Best of GammaThe Best of Gamma is a compilation of music from the first three Gamma albums.- Track listing :# Mean Streak - 4:50 **# Four Horsemen - 4:48 **# Dirty City - 4:04 **...
- 1998 Concert Classics (a bootleg of a 1979 concert in Denver)
- 2000 Gamma 4