Bob James (rock singer)

Robert Dennis (Bob) James (born 1952) is an American singer and songwriter best known for his work with the band Montrose.^[1]

Born in Struthers, Ohio, James moved to the South Bay area of Los Angeles in 1963. His early bands included David Pack (Ambrosia), Joe Puerta (Ambrosia), Robert Fleischman (Journey), and Marc Droubay (Survivor). In early 1975 he was chosen by Ronnie Montrose as the replacement for vocalist Sammy Hagar in the band Montrose and is featured as lead vocalist and co-songwriter on the Montrose albums Warner Brothers Presents... Montrose! (1975)^[2] and Jump On It (1976).^[3]

After leaving Montrose in early 1977 he reunited with his pre-Montrose original band Swan who recorded demos at Capitol Records with Montrose engineer Charles Faris and performed live in the Los Angeles area. In 1978 he relocated to New York to join the Anglo-American group Magnet who were mentored by Danny Goldberg, Phil DeHaviland, Jerry Moss, and Peter Frampton. Magnet featured Frampton's former Humble Pie bandmate Jerry Shirley on drums, and released the album Worldwide Attraction^[4] on the A&M label in 1979. During this period James was approached by Aerosmith manager David Krebs as a possible replacement for Steven Tyler.

Circa 1981, following the dissolution of Magnet, James formed the Los Angeles based group Private Army featuring former Cheap Trick member Pete Comita on guitar and the future Quiet Riot rhythm section of bassist Rudy Sarzo and drummer, Prick Dauer. By early 1982 Private Army had disbanded and James relocated to Chicago to form USSA with Private Army guitarist Pete Comita, future Ozzy Osbourne/Mötley Crüe drummer Randy Castillo, and ex-Pezband guitarist Tommy Gawenda. His USSA-era composition “Reach Out” was recorded by Cheap Trick and appears on the Heavy Metal^[5] movie soundtrack.

By the fall of 1982 he had left USSA and returned to Los Angeles where he remained active throughout the remainder of the 1980s and early 1990s as a songwriter and performer before turning his focus to mechanical engineering, engineering management, and real estate investing. After nearly three decades of professional silence, in July 2013 James filmed a music video for his original composition Diamond in the Rough which can be seen on YouTube. His son Brendan Willing James (b. 1979) is also a vocalist.

Discography

With Montrose

• Warner Brothers Presents... Montrose! (1975)
• Jump On It (1976)

With Magnet

• Worldwide Attraction (1979)

References

• Montrose; "Warner Brothers Presents... Montrose!" liner notes; Warner Brothers Records 1975
• Montrose; "Jump On It" liner notes; Warner Brothers Records 1976
• Ronnie Montrose; "The Very Best of Montrose" liner notes; Rhino Records 2000 [1]