Bill Church

Who is Bill Church?

William 'Bill' Church started out playing bass in a band called Sawbuck in 1969, with Mojo Collins, Starr Donaldson, Ronnie Montrose and Chuck Ruff. As the band was beginning to record their first album, Montrose and Church left Sawbuck to join Van Morrison on his Tupelo Honey album. When Montrose rejoined Ruff to record Edgar Winter Group's smash They Only Come Out at Night, Church remained with Morrison and appeared on the Saint Dominic's Preview LP. When Montrose left Winter to form his own hard rock outfit, Montrose, Church was recruited along with singer Sammy Hagar and drummer Denny Carmassi. Church was replaced on the second Montrose album Paper Money by Alan Fitzgerald.

After Hagar left Montrose to start his solo career, Church rejoined the singer for eight studio albums from Nine on a Ten Scale to VOA until Hagar left to front Van Halen.

Nicknamed "Electric Church," he has occasionally regrouped with Hagar over the years to record on several of the latter's solo albums. Church, along with Ronnie Montrose and Denny Carmassi had a "Montrose reunion" on Hagar's Marching To Mars CD on the song "Leaving The Warmth of the Womb."