Mick Ronson

Not to be confused with Mark Ronson.

Mick Ronson
Ronson performing at the Old Waldorf in San Francisco on 26 October 1981
Ronson performing at the Old Waldorf in San Francisco on 26 October 1981
Background information
Birth nameMichael Ronson
Also known asRonno
Born(1946-05-26)26 May 1946
Kingston upon Hull, Yorkshire, England
Died29 April 1993(1993-04-29) (aged 46)
London, England
Genres
Occupations
Instruments
  • Guitar
  • piano
  • vocals
Years active1966–1993
Labels

Michael Ronson (26 May 1946 – 29 April 1993)[1] was an English musician, songwriter, arranger, and producer. He achieved critical and commercial success working with David Bowie as the guitarist of the Spiders from Mars. He was a session musician who recorded five studio albums with Bowie followed by four with Ian Hunter, and also worked as a sideman in touring bands with Van Morrison and Bob Dylan.[2] A classically trained musician, Ronson was known for his melodic approach to guitar playing.

Ronson and Bowie produced Lou Reed's Transformer with Ronson playing lead guitar and piano and writing string arrangements, which brought mainstream recognition.[3] The album is considered an influential landmark of the glam rock genre, anchored by Reed's most successful single, "Walk on the Wild Side".[4] The next decade, John Cougar Mellencamp credited Ronson for helping to arrange his most successful hit single, "Jack & Diane".

Ronson recorded five solo studio albums, the most popular being Slaughter on 10th Avenue, which reached No. 9 on the UK Albums Chart.[5] He played with various bands after his time with Bowie. He was named the 64th-greatest guitarist of all time by Rolling Stone in 2003[6] and 41st in 2012 by the same magazine.[7]

  1. ^ Salewicz, Chris (3 May 1993). "Obituary: Mick Ronson". The Independent. Archived from the original on 14 May 2022. Retrieved 16 January 2016.
  2. ^ Moore, John (25 April 2013). "Mick Ronson: sideman and Starman". The Guardian. Retrieved 28 October 2016.
  3. ^ Walker, Nick (13 October 1997). "Blurred vision at the Beeb". The Independent. Archived from the original on 14 May 2022.
  4. ^ Wiener, John (11 May 1987). "Beatles Buy-Out". The New Republic.
  5. ^ Roberts, David (2006). British Hit Singles & Albums (19th ed.). London, UK: Guinness World Records Limited. p. 469. ISBN 1-904994-10-5.
  6. ^ "100 Greatest Guitarists: David Fricke's Picks: Mick Ronson". Rolling Stone. Archived from the original on 27 June 2015. Retrieved 26 January 2016.
  7. ^ "100 Greatest Guitarists: Mick Ronson". Rolling Stone. Retrieved 14 June 2013.