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Mick Ronson
From HitStory, the pop encyclopedia of School of Rock · Artist
Mick Ronson was born in 1946 in Kingston upon Hull and became an English guitarist, songwriter, arranger and producer. As a child he had classical lessons on piano, recorder, violin and later harmonium. At first he wanted to be a cellist, but chose the guitar when he discovered the music of Duane Eddy. In 1965 he moved to London to look for work. In early 1970 Bowie's drummer John Cambridge tracked him down in Hull, where he was marking out rugby pitches as a council gardener, and brought him to Bowie's group The Hype.
Music and breakthrough
Ronson became the guitarist of the Spiders from Mars and played on five studio albums by David Bowie, including Hunky Dory and The Rise and Fall of Ziggy Stardust and the Spiders from Mars. He also wrote string arrangements and gave much of the sound of those years its character. Aladdin Sane and Pin Ups followed. Together with Bowie he produced Transformer by Lou Reed, on which he played guitar and piano and wrote strings, with Walk on the Wild Side as its best-known track. Later he played on four albums with Ian Hunter and toured with Van Morrison and Bob Dylan. His own album Slaughter on 10th Avenue from 1974 reached number nine in the British album chart.
Influence
In 1994 Bowie called him the perfect counterpart to the character of Ziggy: a down-to-earth Northerner beside a glamorous rock star. Ronson died in 1993. Rolling Stone ranked him at number 64 in 2003 and at number 41 in 2012 among the greatest guitarists.
Listening
Discography
Studio albums
- 1974Slaughter on 10th Avenue
- 1975Play Don’t Worry
- 1989YUI Orta
- 1991Casino Steel & The Bandits featuring Mick Ronson
- 1994Heaven and Hull
- 1999Just Like This
- 2000Indian Summer (soundtrack)
- 2003Hard Life