When he heard news that Mick Ralphs had died on Wednesday (June 23), Todd Ronning remembered the good times rocking with the English guitarist, of Bad Company and Mott the Hoople fame.
Ralphs, 81, spent the last years of his life bedridden at a care facility following a stroke, and this year will be inducted into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame with Bad Company.
A Surrey resident, Ronning played in Bad Company from 2012 until 2019. In 2016, Ralphs stepped away from the band due to poor health.
Ronning calls Ralphs a "true legend" for writing huge rock hits including "Feel Like Makin' Love, "Can't Get Enough," "Ready for Love" and others.
"He hasn't been well, and you kind of expect things like this to happen, but when it does it hits you, you know?" Ronning told the Now-Leader.
Ronning will forever cherish his time on the road with Ralphs, including a 2013 appearance on The Tonight Show with Jay Leno.
"It was close to five years of playing with him and Bad Company," Ronning recalled.
"Off stage he was always in a good mood, always happy, joking and fun and very personable, hung out with the crew, you know what I mean? He didn't play any of that, 'I'm at this level and you're not,' kind of nonsense, just easy to be around."
Ronning first met Ralphs in 2011 when the latter joined Paul Rodgers and band on stage at London's famous Royal Albert Hall, as guest guitarist, prior to officially rejoining Bad Company for a reunion that lasted a few years.
"We did 'Can't Get Enough,' and they set up his gear on my side of the stage, and when he (Ralphs) hit that C chord in that C tuning on his Telly (Telecaster guitar), it was like bam! Like, I had never heard anything like that before. Just wham, it was amazing."
Ronning's last gig with Ralphs was also in London, at O2 Arena in October 2016.
"Two or three days later he had some kind of stroke and he wasn't mobile anymore," Ronning said. "The last time I saw him was last January when my band Hillbilly Vegas was in England, and I had a chance to see him again. I was hoping to see him again on this trip (a summer tour of England), but obviously not, sadly."
Over the past decade-plus Ronning toured and recorded with Bad Company vocalist Paul Rodgers, whom he first met back in 1996 when Rodgers lived part-time in South Surrey.
In 2023 Ronning helped record Midnight Rose, Rodgers' first album of original music in 25 years. The single, “Living It Up” was co-written by the British-Canadian singer with Ronning and Maple Ridge-based drummer Rick Fedyk, with guitar work by Ray Roper and Keith Scott, organ by Chris Gestrin, production by Bob Rock and mix by Randy Staub.
Ronning, younger brother of former NHL hockey player Cliff Ronning, isn't yet sure if he'll attend the 2025 Rock and Roll Hall of Fame induction ceremony involving Bad Company, on Nov. 8 at Peacock Theatre in Los Angeles. "I'd love to be there but I haven't heard anything yet — nobody's given me a yes or no about what's happening, but I'll let you know," he said on June 25.
