Artist Profile
RON E. BECK
Drummer Vocalist Songwriter Producer
Artist Profile
Ron E. Beck was born and raised in Omaha, Nebraska. At age eighteen, after reaching the top of the Omaha music scene Beck decided to go west along with his twin brother Don E. The brothers followed their mentors Buddie Miles, Herbie Rich, and Stemsie Hunter to the West Coast, all of whom had just joined Michael Bloomfield's Electric Flag. Since 1971 Beck has been established and welcomed by the Oakland and San Jose music scenes. Beck currently resides in the Bay Area.
1975 through 1978 toured and recorded with the highly acclaimed group
Tower of Power
Ron E. Beck has also performed and recorded with . . .
Marilyn McCoo and Billy Davis Jr., Bobby Womack, John Lee Hooker, Bell & James, Robbie Nevil, Sylvester and 2 Tons of Fun, Bill Withers, Clifford Coulter, Lydia Pense, Sista Monica, Dr. Lonnie Smith, Fred Wesley, Chester Thompson, and Merl Saunders.
Beck recorded with Marilyn McCoo and Billy Davis Jr. during 1978. The legendary Steve Cropper produced the release for CBS Records.
In 1979 Ron E. joined the popular disco group Bell and James well known for their hit, 'Livin' It Up Friday Night.' Robbie "C 'est La Vie" Nevil was the featured guitarist in the B & J band.
Known primarily as a funky drummer, Ron E. is also an accomplished singer whose vocal style has been praised by such notables as Tom Bell, Carlos Santana, Steve Cropper and Wallace 'Scotty' Scott of the Whispers.
While performing with the popular Bay Area R&B-fusion group Spang-A-Lang from 1981 through 1986, Beck was known for bringing the crowd to their feet screaming when he would sing such songs as Bobby Womack's 'Where Do We Go From Here' and Prince's 'Purple Rain.'
For most of 1993 Beck toured the United States with the Bobby Womack band. From late 1993 to 1998, Ron E. Beck played drums, sang, composed and co-produced 4 albums for Sista Monica.
From 1996 to present, Ron has been one of the main developers for Emu/Ensoniq, Inc., a Silicon Valley electronic musical instrument manufacturer. Ron was the featured artist at the 1997 NAMM Show for Emu/Ensoniq, Inc. Beck has composed beats and demos for the Planet Phatt, Mo Phatt, Carnaval, Proteus 2000, MP7, PK6, and the P2500 keyboard to mention a few. Several of Ron's musical contributions to Emu can be heard on their website, Emu.com