[1] The band's original lineup featured lead vocalist and frontman Sammy Hagar, who later found greater success as a solo artist and as a member of Van Halen.

This prior connection provided the band with access to Templeman who heard their demos and helped the newly formed group secure a deal with Warner Bros.

The band, as yet officially unnamed and billed as 'Ronnie Montrose and Friends', made their public debut on April 21, 1973 via a 45-minute radio broadcast aired on KSAN FM's Tom Donahue show.

Billboard chart,[5] it proved to be an international sleeper hit which over a period of several decades has sold in excess of one million copies, attaining platinum status.

[2] Often cited as 'America's answer to Led Zeppelin', it is held to be influential amongst hard rock and heavy metal band Iron Maiden who have recorded and/or performed cover versions of songs from the album.

[6] The first member to leave the original Montrose lineup was bassist Bill Church, who was replaced by Alan Fitzgerald for the band's second album, Paper Money (1974),[7] also produced by Ted Templeman.

[8] Despite its significant stylistic departure from the band's iconic debut, lukewarm response from critics, and mixed reactions from fans, Paper Money initially sold twice as many copies as Montrose.

Under the high-profile management of impresario and concert promoter Bill Graham, Montrose reached the peak of their commercial popularity during the Warner Bros Presents and Jump On It era from 1975 to 1977, which found the band adhering to a grueling tour schedule across America and Canada, performing predominantly in large arena and stadium venues sharing the bill with major artists that included The Rolling Stones, Kiss, Peter Frampton, Yes, Rush, The Eagles, Journey, and Aerosmith, as well as headlining their own shows in mid-size arenas.

[citation needed] Ronnie Montrose performed off and on from 2001 until his death with a Montrose lineup that featured Keith St John (endorsed by Sammy Hagar) on vocals, and a rotating cast of veteran hard rock players including Chuck Wright, Ricky Phillips, Dave Ellefson, Mick Mahan, and Sean McNabb on bass, and Pat Torpey, Mick Brown (Dokken), Eric Singer, Jimmy DeGrasso, and Bobby Blotzer (Ratt) on drums.

Notably, in 2009 Montrose (with Keith St John, Mick Brown, and Sean McNabb) performed at West Fest, the 40th Woodstock reunion at Golden Gate Park for a crowd of 70,000.

[citation needed] A reunion of the original Montrose lineup was planned for a one-time performance at Sammy Hagar's Cabo Wabo nightclub in October 2012.